Tower Hills

From Tolkien Gateway
Tower Hills
Hills
Ted Nasmith - The White Towers.jpg
"The White Towers" by Ted Nasmith
General Information
Other namesEmyn Beraid (S)
LocationWestmarch, south-east of the Grey Havens
TypeHills
DescriptionA range of hills where the White Towers were built
InhabitantsHobbits
formerly: Elves and Men
GalleryImages of the Tower Hills

The Tower Hills (Sind. Emyn Beraid) were a range of hills at the west end of Eriador. They lay east of Mithlond, the Grey Havens of Lindon, and west of the Far Downs, of old the border of the Shire.

High upon the Tower Hills stood three tall Elven towers, the White Towers, the highest of which was called Elostirion, which held a Palantír,[1] before Cirdan removed it to the White Ship.

History[edit | edit source]

Although Gil-galad's kingdom did not have clear bounds south of the Lune, the Elves of Lindon maintained an outpost there.[2]

In S.A. 600, when the first ship of the Númenóreans sailed up the Gulf of Lune there was a meeting between the men from the sea and their distant kinsmen in the Hills.[3]

The White Towers upon the Tower Hills were built before the end of the Second Age by Gil-galad for his friend Elendil.[4]

During the Third Age, bands of Elves would go in pilgrimage to Elostirion in order to have a glimpse of the West through the Elostirion-stone.[5] The Stone remained in its tower until the end of the Age; it was then taken back into the West.[6]

In Fo.A. 31, the Westmarch was added to the Shire, making the Tower Hills the new western border of the land. Three years later Thain Peregrin I made Fastred of Greenholm the first Warden of Westmarch. He and his wife Elanor, daughter of Samwise Gamgee, moved to the Tower Hills and founded the town of Undertowers on the eastern slopes.[7]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

The name Emyn Beraid is Sindarin for "Tower Hills", from emyn ("hills") and beraid ("towers").[8]

Portrayal in adaptations[edit | edit source]

1988: J.R.R. Tolkien's War in Middle Earth:

The Towers Hills are one of the battlegrounds in this game. The White Towers can be seen at the background of the map.

References