Arossiach

From Tolkien Gateway
Arossiach
Ford
General Information
Other namesFords of Aros
LocationRiver Aros, north of Doriath
TypeFord

Arossiach, the Fords of Aros, was the ford on the upper reaches of the River Aros, where the long and perilous road through the valley of Nan Dungortheb crossed eastward into the lands of East Beleriand.

Geography[edit | edit source]

The River Aros had its sources in two streams that flowed southward out of the hills of Dorthonion. Where those streams met, an ancient east-west road crossed the upper reaches of the river at a ford. The ford marked the boundary between two regions. To the east was Himlad, and the other lands held by the sons of Fëanor. To the west was Dor Dínen, and beyond it the perilous valley of Nan Dungortheb.[1]

History[edit | edit source]

The Fords of Aros seem to date back to the days before the beginning of the Years of the Sun, when the roads north of Doriath were safe to travel. After the coming of Ungoliant, and the raising of the Girdle of Melian, the lands west of the Arossiach became a haunted and dangerous place, and in the late First Age the Fords were only used by the bravest or most desperate travellers.[2]

Aredhel, after leaving her brother Turgon and the city of Gondolin, desired to see the sons of Fëanor. Denied entrance into Doriath, she took the road north of the Hidden Kingdom and crossed the Aros at the Arossiach on her journey into Himlad.[3]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

Arossiach is a Sindarin name meaning "Fords of Aros", from Aros + iach ("ford").

References