Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. [T 38] The final development of the history and geography of Gondor took place around 1970, in the last years of Tolkien's life, when he invented justifications for the place-names and wrote full narratives for the stories of Isildur's death and of the battles with the Wainriders and the Balchoth (published in Unfinished Tales).

[T 17], Sauron survived the destruction of Númenor and secretly returned to his realm of Mordor, soon launching a war against the Númenórean kingdoms. The next people settled in the White Mountains, and became known as the Men of the Mountains. Fragments of pre-Númenórean languages survive in later ages in place-names such as Erech, Arnach, and Umbar. At this time Minas Anor was renamed to Minas Tirith. [T 43][11], The classical scholar Miryam Librán-Moreno writes that Tolkien drew heavily on the general history of the Goths, Langobards and the Byzantine Empire, and their mutual struggle. Despite his warnings that Sauron could easily afford to lose ten times Gondor's losses, and that those so far afield would find retreat perilous, Denethor insisted that Faramir de… [T 28] Gondor established a powerful navy and captured the southern port of Umbar from the Black Númenóreans,[T 28] becoming very rich. In the citadel, atop the spur, were the Court of the Fountain with the White Tree and the White Tower. Historical names from these peoples were used in drafts or the final concept of the internal history of Gondor, such as Vidumavi, wife of king Valacar (in Gothic). [18] The production team noted this in DVD commentary, explaining their decision to include Byzantine domes into Minas Tirith's architecture and to have civilians wear Byzantine-styled clothing. Isildur and his three elder sons were ambushed and killed by Orcs in the Gladden Fields. [T 5] This view is supported by the Drúedain terms for Gondorians and Minas Tirith—Stonehouse-folk and Stone-city. [T 24], The shorelands of Gondor were widely colonized by the Númenóreans from the middle of the Second Age, especially by Elf-friends loyal to Elendil. These landmarksare located within Osgiliath (After Battle): 1. Gondor, with the Riders of Rohan as cavalry, defeated the army of Mordor in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Early in the morning of the next day Denethor ordered his son back to Osgiliath, hoping to make the Enemy pay dearly for the crossing of the river. Near the mouths of Anduin was the island of Tolfalas. Researchers Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull have proposed a Quenya translation of Gondor: Ondonórë.

Tolkien intended the name Gondor to be Sindarin for "land of stone". —The Return of The King, "The Siege of Gondor".

", harvnb error: no target: CITEREFTolkien1955 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFTolkien1987 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFTolkien1988 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFCarpenter1981 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFTolkien1980 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFTolkien1996 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFTolkien1977 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFTolkien1954 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHammondScull2005 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFCarpenter1977 (, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", "Tolkien's annotated map of Middle-earth discovered inside copy of Lord of the Rings", "Tolkien annotated map of Middle-earth acquired by Bodleian library", "The real-life Minas Tirith from 'Lord of the Rings': A tour of Mont Saint-Michel", "With third film, 'Rings' saga becomes a classic", "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, Tolkien: A Look Behind "The Lord of the Rings", Risk: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Edition, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gondor&oldid=978402908#War_of_the_Ring_and_restoration, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 14 September 2020, at 18:19.

The war and the Third Age over, Aragorn was crowned King of both Gondor and Arnor, the sister kingdom in the north. [T 28] The kings of Harad grew stronger, leading to fighting in the south. [T 23] [a] Tolkien's map-notes for the illustrator Pauline Baynes indicate that the city had the latitude of Ravenna, a city on the Mediterranean sea, though it lay "900 miles east of Hobbiton more near Belgrade". In Gondor ten thousand years would not suffice. [T 22][T 29][T 35][T 36], Tolkien's original thoughts about the later ages of Middle-earth are outlined in his first sketches for the legend of Númenor made in the mid-1930s, and already contain conceptions resembling that of Gondor. Osgiliath was the capital city of Gondor. The seal of the stewards consisted of the three letters: R.ND.R (standing for, Boromir asks his father Denethor how many centuries it would take for a steward to become a king. [19] However, the appearance and structure of the city was based upon the inhabited tidal island and abbey of Mont Saint-Michel, France. The history of the kingdom is outlined in the appendices of the book. The same is seen, Shippey argues, in the comparison between the mead hall of Meduseld in Rohan, and the great hall of Minas Tirith in Gondor. They built a subterranean complex at Dunharrow, later known as the Paths of the Dead, which extended through the mountain-range from north to south. The capital, Minas Tirith, lay at the eastern end of the White Mountains, built around a shoulder of Mount Mindolluin. [8], The scholar of fantasy and children's literature Dimitra Fimi draws a parallel between the seafaring Numenoreans and the Vikings of the Norse world, noting that in The Lost Road and Other Writings, Tolkien describes their ship-burials,[T 40] matching those in Beowulf and the Prose Edda. 1.1. the Dome of Stars [61.5S, 9W] 1.2. the Houses of Healing [62S, 7.4W] 1.3. the Palace of Eldacar [61.2S, 11.2W] 1.4. the Osgiliath Culverts [62.7S, 8.8W] Recalling that Tolkien located Minas Tirith at the latitude of Florence, she states that "the most striking similarities" are with ancient Rome. [T 21], The regions of Anórien, with its capital Minas Anor, and Calenardhon, with fortresses at Isengard[T 19][T 22] and Helm's Deep, lie to the north of the White Mountains. The third volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, is largely concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring and with the restoration of the realm afterward. She writes that like the Normans, their founders the Numenoreans arrived "from across the sea", and that Prince Imrahil's armour with a "burnished vambrace" recalls late-medieval plate armour. As time went by, Gondor neglected the watch on Mordor. Both realms were in decline at the time of a final, all-out siege from the East; however, Minas Tirith survived the siege whereas Constantinople did not. [13], The Malvern Hills may have inspired Tolkien to create parts of the White Mountains. Despite his warnings that Sauron could easily afford to lose ten times Gondor's losses, and that those so far afield would find retreat perilous, Denethor insisted that Faramir defend th… The hobbits Frodo and Sam travelled through Ithilien, and were captured by Faramir, Boromir's brother, who held them at the hidden cave of Henneth Annûn, but aided them to continue their quest. [T 27][8], Denethor sent his son Boromir to Rivendell for advice as war loomed.