Lond Daer
Lond Daer | |
---|---|
Harbour | |
Lond Daer shown on Pete Fenlon's map of Middle-earth produced for Middle-earth Role Playing | |
General Information | |
Location | Eriador, in Enedwaith, at the estuary of the Gwathló river |
Type | Harbour |
People and History | |
Inhabitants | Men |
Created | Between S.A. 750 and S.A. 800 |
Gallery | Images of Lond Daer |
Lond Daer Enedh (also spelt Ened) was a great harbour in Eriador founded by the Númenóreans.
History
Originally, the harbour, under the name Vinyalondë, or "New Haven", was founded by Númenor's crown prince Aldarion on the estuary of the river Gwathló, between S.A. 750 and 800.[1] It was the first permanent settlement of the Númenóreans in Middle-earth.[2] From here Aldarion's Guild of Venturers began harvesting the local timber for the ship-building industry of Númenor. It was one of their primary shipyards, fed with their reckless cutting of trees.[3]
Within a few centuries, the deforestation of the outlying regions Enedwaith and Minhiriath became cataclysmic, angering the local native population (ancestors of the Dunlendings), and they began to fight back with increasing ferocity, destroying the haven several times, and frequently burning the great wood-stores in "hit-and-run" attacks.[4]
By the time of the War of the Elves and Sauron in the middle of the Second Age, this 'New Haven' had become very well established, and its name had shifted over the intervening one thousand years to Lond Daer, the "Great Haven". As such, it was one of the two beachheads of the Númenórean forces in Eriador that were used to support the Elves around S.A. 1700.[5]
Lond Daer's shipyards were starved of timber following the war, as the forces of Sauron had burnt almost all of what remained in Enedwaith and Minhiriath. Once its shipbuilding yards were no longer practicable, Lond Daer declined in importance, and the Númenórean hunger for ever more wealth shifted focus to the establishment of newer havens to the south, Pelargir and Umbar. Following this, Lond Daer was once again renamed, being now one of several major ports in Middle-earth, and was known as Lond Daer Enedh, or "Great Middle Haven". Despite this, Númenor still maintained traffic on the Gwathló as far as the city of Tharbad.[4]
After the Downfall of Númenor, Elendil founded the realm of Arnor in the lands north of Lond Daer, but the haven was now redundant, and fell into ruin. Instead, control over the region was maintained from Tharbad. The ancient ruins of Lond Daer were still visible as late as the end of the Third Age, however, and still featured on maps from that time.[6]
Etymology
Lond Daer Enedh is Sindarin for "Great Middle Haven",[4]:264 clarily composed of lond ("haven"), daer ("great, large") and enedh ("middle").
External links
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "Aldarion and Erendis: The Mariner's Wife", Notes, Chronology
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "Aldarion and Erendis: The Mariner's Wife"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "X. Of Dwarves and Men", "Notes", #69
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Appendix D: The Port of Lond Daer"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Concerning Galadriel and Celeborn"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age" [map]