Amon Lhaw

From Tolkien Gateway
Amon Lhaw
Hill
Matěj Čadil - The Seat of Hearing.jpg
"The Seat of Hearing" by Matěj Čadil
General Information
Other namesHill of Hearing
LocationEmyn Muil, across the Nen Hithoel opposite Amon Hen
TypeHill
GalleryImages of Amon Lhaw

Amon Lhaw, also called the Hill of Hearing, was one of the three peaks above the Falls of Rauros where they drained Nen Hithoel. It towered among the Emyn Muil on the eastern banks of the Anduin. Its twin, Amon Hen (The Hill of Sight) lay upon the western bank. Between them, at the very center of the stream above Rauros, was the island hill of Tol Brandir upon which none had ever set foot.[1]

Though at one time Amon Lhaw had been part of the northern borderlands of Gondor and a high seat was built there that lay centuries in the past at the time of the War of the Ring; by then, it had long since fallen under the influence of Mordor.

When Frodo and Sam left the Fellowship they paddled across the Anduin and landed upon the southern slopes of the hill where there was a shelving shore.[2]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

Amon Lhaw is Sindarin, and translates as "Hill of Hearing", from amon ("hill") and lhaw ("ears").[3]

In his drafts, Tolkien first gave it the Quenya name Larmindon ("Listen Tower").[4]

References