Citadel of Gondor

At the Court of the Fountain by Ted Nasmith

The Citadel of Minas Tirith, Citadel^:752 or High City^:972 was the topmost seventh walled circle of the city of Minas Tirith.

Description

The Citadel was a strong fortress^:761 on the top of the Hill of Guard, on which the city of Minas Tirith was built, 700 feet above the Great Gate of Minas Tirith.^:752 It consisted of the topmost seventh wall in the shape of a circle with seven towers at equal distances along the wall, of which one tower stood next to the gate of the Citadel. On its eastern side was a battlement on the top of a pier of rock, which looked like a ship-keel and rose from the ground behind the Great Gate on the lowest circle of walls of the city.

The entrance to the Citadel was on the east side and was carved into the rock. A sloping lamp-lit tunnel led up to the seventh gate, which was guarded by the Guards of the Citadel.^:752-3

The Tower of Ecthelion^:751 and the Hall of the Kings^:968 were in the centre of the Citadel. In front of (i.e. east of) the Tower of Ecthelion was the Court of the Fountain where the White Tree had grown and died^:753 and grew again after King Aragorn had found and planted a seedling of it.^:971 Behind (i.e. west of) the Tower of Ecthelion stood the King's House. To the right of (i.e. north of) the Tower of Ecthelion was the Great Hall of Feasts. The Citadel also contained barracks for the Guard, a storehouse and buttery for the Guard,^:762 a mess for the Guard in a small hall on the north side,^:772 a house for guests close to the walls on the north side,^:759 armories and deep vaults.

It is possible that Éomer, the new King of Rohan, referred to the city of Minas Tirith in general and not to the Citadel of Minas Tirith as the topmost seventh circle of the city, when he said that the dead Théoden, his uncle and former King of Rohan, lay in the "Citadel of Gondor". At the time of his statement the body of Théoden had been laid on a bed of state in front of the dais in the Hall of the Kings and was later laid in a tomb in the Hallows of Minas Tirith,^:969 which were located behind (i.e. west of) the fifth circle of the city.^:752

Other versions of the legendarium

In a preliminary draft of what would later become the chapter "The Steward and the King" it is mentioned that the house in which the Companions of the Ring lived together with Gandalf was in the citadel. In an earlier version of what would later become the chapter "Many Partings", Merethrond is said to be in the citadel. A page for this passage contains a plan of the citadel, which shows the shape of the wall, the locations of the towers, of the White Tower and the Hall of the Kings, of the Court of the Fountain, of the King's House and of the Hall of Feasts and outlines of other buildings.