Carach Angren
| Carach Angren | |
|---|---|
| Pass | |
 | |
| "Carach Angren" by Darrell Midgette | |
| General Information | |
| Other names | Isenmouthe |
| Location | Mordor, at meeting of Udûn and Gorgoroth, joining of spurs of Ered Lithui and Ephel Dúath |
| Type | Pass |
| Inhabitants | Orcs |
| Gallery | Images of Carach Angren |
Carach Angren or Isenmouthe was a pass in the northwest of Mordor. The pass was formed where spurs reaching out from the ranges of the Ephel Dúath and the Ered Lithui met, leaving only a narrow passage between the Plateau of Gorgoroth and the smaller valley of Udûn to the north.[1]
History
As the passage to the Black Gate of the Morannon, Carach Angren was heavily fortified, and both the rocky spurs that overlooked it carried fortresses and watchtowers. Across the passage itself, a wall of earth had been built, and a great ditch had been dug across the opening spanned by a single bridge.[2]
Etymology
Both Carach Angren and Isenmouthe mean "Iron-mouth": "It was so called because of the great fence of pointed iron posts that closed the gap leading into Udûn, like teeth in jaws."[3] The Sindarin name Carach Angren comes from carach "jaws" and angren "iron".
Isen is an old English variant form of iron; and mouthe represents Old English mūða < mūð "opening, mouth" especially used of the mouths of rivers, but also applied to other openings.[3]
Despite the Old English, the name is not to be understood as Rohirric, but rather as archaic Westron, translation of Sindarin Carach Angren.[3]
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "Map of Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "Mount Doom"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings" in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 772
