Lithlad

From Tolkien Gateway
Lithlad
Plain
General Information
LocationSouth of the Ered Lithui, east of the Plateau of Gorgoroth[1][2][3]
TypePlain
DescriptionPlain

Lithlad was a plain in Mordor.[4]

The mountain range of the Ephel Duath and the mountain range of the Ered Lithui formed a great wall around the mournful plains of Lithlad and Gorgoroth and the inland sea of Nurnen in the middle.[4]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

Lithlad is a Sindarin name. It means "plain of ashes".[5] It is a compound of lith ("ash") and lad ("plain").[6]

Other versions of the legendarium[edit | edit source]

The label "Lithlad" appears on the First Map of The Lord of the Rings south of the Ered Lithui and east of Barad-dûr. The mountain spur that branches off from the Ered Lithui to the east of Barad-dûr, longer than the short spur on whose end Barad-dûr is located, does not exist on the first map.[1][2] The label "Lithlad" appears on the Second Map of The Lord of the Rings in approximately the same location south of the Ered Lithui and east of Barad-dûr and the longer mountain spur.[3] The label "Lithlad" does not appear on the Third Map of The Lord of the Rings that was drawn by J.R.R. Tolkien.[7]. It also does not appear on either the General Map of Middle-earth or The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age maps that were drawn by Christopher Tolkien and published with The Lord of the Rings and Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth respectively.

In draft 'A' of the chapter The Tower of Cirith Ungol it is mentioned that the eastern face of the tower stood up from a shelf in the mountain wall with four pointed bastions with sides facing north-east and north-west and that the windows of the tower stared over the plains of Gorgoroth and Lithlad.[8]

Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull state that Lithlad is at the feet of the Ered Lithui.[6]

Mark Fisher places Lithlad between the mountain spur on whose end Barad-dûr is located and the longer mountain spur that branches off from the Ered Lithui to the east of Barad-dûr and incorrectly claims that this position is based on The First Map of The Lord of the Rings.[9]

Although Karen Wynn Fonstad was aware of the location of Lithlad on The First Map of The Lord of the Rings, she places Lithlad on the north-western shore of the Sea of Núrnen in Nurn.[10]

Robert Foster places Lithlad either in the southwest or the east of Mordor.[11]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, "First Map of The Lord of the Rings", (accessed 11 January 2022), map square P11
  2. 2.0 2.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Treason of Isengard, "XV. The First Map of The Lord of the Rings", "Maps IIIA and III", map square P18, p. 309
  3. 3.0 3.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Ring, "Part Three: Minas Tirith", "XIV. The Second Map", The Second Map (East), map squares Q17 and Q18 p. 435
  4. 4.0 4.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Black Gate is Closed", second paragraph
  5. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Unfinished index for The Lord of the Rings", in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 457
  6. 6.0 6.1 Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 457
  7. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Maps: MIDDLE-EARTH", (accessed 11 January 2022)
  8. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Sauron Defeated, "Part One: The End of the Third Age: II. The Tower of Kirith Ungol", p. 20
  9. Mark Fisher, "Lithlad", The Encyclopedia of Arda (accessed 25 December 2021)
  10. Karen Wynn Fonstad The Atlas of Middle-earth, p. 91 with note 31 p. 93
  11. Robert Foster, The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, entry "LITHLAD"