House of the King
| House of the King | |
|---|---|
| Noble House | |
 | |
| General Information | |
| Other names | Folk of the King |
| Founder | Turgon |
| Leader | King of Gondolin |
| Locations | Gondolin |
| Physical Description | |
| Race | Noldoli |
- "Mighty was the array of the house of the king."
- ― The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, "The Fall of Gondolin"
The House of the King was one of the twelve houses of the Gondothlim, according to the early version of the legendarium in The Book of Lost Tales.
History
This folk was under the personal command of King Turgon in Gondolin. They wore white and gold and red, and their emblems the moon, the sun and the Scarlet Heart.[1]:172
During the Fall of Gondolin, Turgon watched the most of the battle from his tower,[1]:180 while his folk was hold in reserve in the Square of the Palace, biding fresh in order to defend the king.[1]:183 There they remained untouched until the remnants of all the other kindreds were gathered again at the Square. But after Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs was slain by Ecthelion of the Fountain, the King came down and joined his folk against the Orcs. Their attack was so strong that they retook much of the Square and even slew two score Balrogs. They forced one of the terrible Fire-drakes into the Fountain of the King, and it perished, though the water did also. But many of them were killed by the heat, the serpents, the enemy, and one another, for the steam that rose from the fountain obscured their view. But a body of them saved the king, and there was a rally of men beneath Glingol and Bansil.[1]:184 Under the trees, Turgon proclaimed the fall of Gondolin and ordered to the Gondothlim to be led by Tuor and leave. Tuor obeyed, but the men of the royal house said: "Here we will stay if Turgon goes not forth". They didn't budge a foot, gathering arround the base of the king's tower.[1]:185 No more is said of this house, but they probably perished with Turgon when the tower was beset and knocked down.[1]:187
Other versions of the legendarium
In the later version of the Quenta Noldorinwa, there is only a glimpse of Turgon's folk: here is mentioned "the defence of the tower of Turgon by the men of his household, until the tower was overthrown".[2] Notice that this was the text used by Christopher Tolkien for the twenty-third chapter of his edition of The Silmarillion.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, "III. The Fall of Gondolin"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Shaping of Middle-earth, "III. The Quenta: [Section] 16", p. 144
| Twelve houses of the Gondothlim |
|---|
| King (leader: Turgon) · Wing (Tuor) · Mole (Meglin) · Swallow (Duilin) · Heavenly Arch (Egalmoth) · Pillar (Penlod) · Tower of Snow (Penlod) · Tree (Galdor) · Golden Flower (Glorfindel) · Fountain (Ecthelion) · Harp (Salgant) · Hammer of Wrath (Rog) |
