The Complete Tolkien Companion

Gabilgathol ‘Great-fortress’ (Khuz.) – The original Dwarvish name for the city under the Blue Mountains known to Elves as BELEGOST.

Galabas – In the original (as opposed to translated) Hobbit tongue, Galabas was the name of an ancient Shire-village. The elements contained in the name are galab (‘game’) and bas (‘village’ or ‘farm’). This name has been translated from the Red Book as Gamwich. See also GAMGEE.

Galadhon – A Telerin Elf of the Elder Days; the son of Elmo and father of Celeborn. See LINES OF DESCENT.

Galadhrim ‘People-of-the-Trees’ (Sind.) – The Elves of Lothlórien; known as the Galadhrim to their northern kin because of their age-old practice of dwelling amid the branches of the great mellyrn (mallorn-trees) of their land. The chief settlement of the ‘Tree-people’ was Caras Galadhon, ‘City of the Trees’.

Galador – From 2004–2129 Third Age, the first Lord of Dol Amroth in Gondor. He was the son of a Númenorean mariner, Imrazôr of Belfalas and (it was said) the silvan elf-lady Mithrellas, who had been a companion of Nimrodel during the ill-fated crossing of the White Mountains (1980 Third Age). Having borne her husband two children, Mithrellas slipped away and was seen no more. It is this tale which is the origin of the legend of elven-blood in the lineage of the Princes of Dol Amroth.

Galadriel ‘Radiantly-garlanded [crowned]-maiden’ (Sind., from Q. Altariel) – One of the most royal princesses of the Noldor of Tirion; daughter and youngest child of Finarfin son of Finwë the King, and sister of Finrod, Orodreth, Angrod and Aegnor. For reasons of her own, unconnected with the theft of the Silmarils, Galadriel was a leader of those rebellious Noldor who forsook the Blessed Realm towards the end of the First Age. Alone of the children of Finarfin, Galadriel survived that ill-fated expedition. She afterwards repented and spent the two full Ages of her continuing exile aiding the cause of the Free Peoples against Evil. At the time of the War of the Ring she was the mightiest of the Eldar remaining in Middle-earth, and the oldest and bitterest foe of the Dark Lord.

The history of Galadriel has been confused by a number of late sources1 which furnish many details of her life which were hitherto unknown, but are in a number of cases difficult to reconcile with other known facts of Galadriel’s life. For example, far greater importance has been allocated to her in the tale of the rebellion of Fëanor than had previously been supposed – she is said to have been a bitter foe of Fëanor even in Eldamar and had actually fought against him at Alqualondë. Her desire to leave Aman for Middle-earth was independently conceived, in no degree rebellious in intent, and unhappily co-incidental with the far greater exodus of the vengeful Noldor, with whom she became entangled and so came under the same ban of Exile.2

Galadriel spent much of her early exile dwelling with Melian in Doriath; and from the Maia she learned much wisdom. Before the ending of the Age she wedded her cousin Celeborn of Doriath, a lord of Grey-elves and kinsman of Thingol Greycloak.3 When the Valar prohibited her return to Eldamar, Galadriel ‘replied proudly that she had no wish to do so’4. Early in the Second Age she and Celeborn journeyed to Harlindon, where they dwelt for many years. Sometime later they went eastwards to Eregion, a colony of High-elven craftsmen founded in 750 Second Age. For a while they lived with the Elven-smiths of that land,5 but eventually they passed further east across the Misty Mountains to Wilderland, where Celeborn made a realm among the Wood-elves of Laurelindórenan (Lothlórien).6 The Golden Wood became a secret place, hidden even from the knowledge of the other Elves; for while the Power that dwelt there could not be concealed, few indeed perceived its true source, or suspected that one of the mighty among the Noldor still lingered in Middle-earth.

In the event, the long years of sorrow and exile passed at last and, as a reward for all her work against Sauron, but above all for her rejection of the Ring when it came within her power, Galadriel was finally allowed to leave Middle-earth and return ‘West-over-Sea’. She took ship with the Ring-bearers in the last year of the Third Age.

See also NAMÁRIË.

Galathil – The grandson of Elmo of the Teleri and brother of Celeborn; he was the father of Nimloth, who wedded Dior, Thingol’s heir.

Galathilion ‘Radiant-Holy-Moons’ (Sind.) – The Grey-elves’ name for the White Tree of Tirion. This holiest symbol of the Calaquendi of Eldamar was itself a descendant of Telperion, the Silver Tree of the Valar. Eldest of Trees, which, together with Laurelin (the Golden Tree), had once illuminated the land of the Valar. Galathilion grew beneath the Mindon Eldaliéva (the Tower of Ingwë) in a high, open courtyard, but unlike Telperion, gave no light. Its immediate descendant was Celeborn of Eressëa.

Galbasi – In the original (as opposed to translated) Hobbit-tongue, Galbasi (later Galpsi) meant ‘One-from-[the-village-of-]Galabas’. As Galabas is itself translated as Gamwich, Galbasi has become the Hobbit-name Gammidgy, or Gamgee, in English translations of the Red Book.

Galdor – An Elf of the Grey Havens, sent as an emissary by Círdan the Shipwright to Rivendell, where he took part in the Council of Elrond (3018 Third Age).

Galdor the Tall – The elder son of Hador Lórindol of the Third House of the Edain, brother of Gundor and the maiden Gloredhel. He was the Heir of Hador, and when his father perished at the Battle of Sudden Flame, Galdor became Lord of Dor-lómin and Chieftain of the Third House. Earlier, he had wedded Hareth daughter of Halmir, Chieftain of the Haladin (the Second House of the Edain); shortly afterwards she had borne him the first of his two heroic sons, Húrin; and then, a year later, Huor. Thirteen years after the birth of Huor war again broke out in the north – the Battle of Sudden Flame – and the Men of Dor-lómin were driven from Ard-galen, though not from the fortress of Eithel Sirion, which they garrisoned on behalf of the Noldor of Mithrim. But in the defence of the tower Hador Lórindol fell at last, and Galdor his elder son then became Lord of Dor-lómin. But after a short time Morgoth again unleashed war. Hithlum was attacked; and Galdor was slain by an arrow: like his father, in a final defence of Eithel Sirion. He had ruled for barely seven years. He was succeeded in Dor-lómin by his elder son Húrin.

Galenas – The name given in Gondor to the flowering herb known to Hobbits as ‘Pipe-weed’; more properly, sweet galenas. In the South-kingdom this plant was esteemed only for the fragrance of its flowers, and its other properties were quite unknown.

Gálmód ‘Sour-natured’ – The father of Gríma Wormtongue, counsellor to King Théoden of Rohan.

Galpsi – A later form of the (original) Hobbit-name GALBASI.

Galvorn ‘Gleaming-black’ (Sind.) – A hard black alloy, devised in the Elder Days by the great Elven-smith EÖL. This ‘Dark-Elf’ had much to do in his time with the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains, and as a result had acquired great skills in the craft of metalwork. Though not perhaps the equal of Fëanor or the smiths of the Noldor, he became as skilled as any Dwarf. Strangely, all the metals Eöl devised or discovered were coloured black. Galvorn was stronger than iron yet at the same time far less brittle. Eöl is said to have made his own personal body-armour from this sombre metal.

Gamgee – A rustic family of Hobbits of the Shire, who came to prominence as a result of the War of the Ring. They were descended from Hamfast of Gamwich. Gamgee is a translation of the (original) Hobbit-name Galbasi or Galpsi.

Gamil Zirak – A master smith of the Dwarf-city of Nogrod in the First Age.

Gamling the Old – A Westfold-man of Rohan during the years of the War of the Ring. Though deemed too old to bear arms when Erkenbrand marched to the Crossings of Isen (March 2nd, 3019 Third Age), he was later obliged to do so after forces of Saruman defeated Erkenbrand and marched on Helm’s Deep, which he commanded until the arrival of the King.

Gammidge, Gammidgy – Translated (as opposed to original) Hobbit-names corresponding to Galbasi, Galpsi.

Gamwich – An ancient village of the Shire, home of Hamfast, founder of the GAMGEE family. See also GALABAS.

Gandalf the Grey – One of the chief Istari or Wizards of Middle-earth, also known as Mithrandir, the ‘Grey Wanderer’, friend of all Free Peoples. The greatest opponent of the Dark Lord in the Third Age, Gandalf passed through fire, earth, water and death – and was afterwards reborn – in fulfilment of the destiny long appointed for him: to be the chief architect of Sauron’s Downfall.

To many Western folk, including the Hobbits, Gandalf was ‘just a Wizard’ – a vain, fussy old conjuror with a long beard and bushy eyebrows, whose chief asset was his uncommon skill with fireworks – while many great Men of the South regarded him as little better than a pest, a homeless vagabond, a meddler in affairs of state and a herald of ill-news. Yet the five Istari who came to Middle-earth during the early Third Age were, in actuality, messengers sent from Valinor to ‘contest the power of Sauron, and to unite all those who had the will to resist him’.7 They were themselves of Valinorean race, although they came to mortal lands in the shapes of aged Men; for they were MAIAR, in their beginnings Ainur of lesser – though still potent – degree than the Valar, whom they served. Yet while their powers were great, they were forbidden to reveal their true natures or to use their full strength in direct conflict with the Enemy. But the Mortal Lands of Middle-earth have always held great perils for Immortals, whether Elves or Valar or Maiar; they could be slain and they could be tempted and seduced away from their appointed tasks. At least one of the great Istari fell from grace in such a manner (see SARUMAN THE WHITE), in circumstances grievous to Gandalf – who, while less proud, was more wise and perceived the nature of the trap, thus avoiding it himself.

Of Gandalf’s great labours in Middle-earth, little can be recounted here; for none can have known the full story of the trials the Wizard undertook on behalf of the Free Peoples, from the time of his arrival at the Grey Havens (c. 1000), to the day of his departure at the very ending of the Third Age. It is known that he took many hideous risks. On two occasions he actually entered the dark stronghold of Dol Guldur in Southern Mirkwood: once, in the year 2063, when he first tried to ascertain the true identity of the Necromancer who ruled there, and again in 2850, when he finally discovered that the ‘Necromancer’ was indeed Sauron himself (already gathering the Rings of Power and seeking for the Ruling Ring). At a meeting of the White Council the following year Gandalf pressed urgently for an outright attack upon Dol Guldur but was overruled by his brother-wizard Saruman the White. Yet Gandalf, though frustrated by Saruman, had by chance a further card to play. For, on his last entry into Sauron’s fortress, he had come across the dying Dwarf Thráin II, son of Thrór, who had survived torment for just long enough to give the Wizard the key of the secret door into Erebor and the map which accompanied it. Some years later Gandalf unexpectedly encountered Thráin’s Heir, Thorin Oakenshield; together, they hatched a scheme for the recapture of the Lonely Mountain and the baulking of any plans Sauron might have for the Dragon Smaug. Thorin’s expedition (and Gandalf’s scheme) succeeded, the Dragon which guarded the Mountain was slain, and a great threat to the lands of the East was removed.

In the year 3001 Third Age, when he appeared at Bilbo Baggins’ Farewell Party, the old Wizard was already worried about the golden ring which Bilbo had picked up on his travels. Suspicion hardened into fear, and Gandalf later searched urgently for Gollum but was unable to find him, even with the help of Aragorn, Ranger of Eriador. Not until seventeen years later did the Wizard at last learn the truth concerning the ring – and by this time the ‘heirloom’ was in the possession of a new owner, Frodo Baggins.

The plan which Gandalf and Frodo made for the disposal of the Ring – and the events which later took place – are all carefully detailed in Frodo’s own narrative and require no restatement here. The Wizard was the leading force behind the success of Frodo’s mission. For although he did not himself enter Mordor, by his unceasing efforts Gandalf rallied the Free Peoples for long enough to give the Ring-bearer his only chance. The heroism was Frodo’s (and Samwise’s), but the strategy was Gandalf’s; and by bringing to bear every last ounce of his will and determination, the Wizard successfully countered every move that the Dark Lord made. In this way Sauron’s plans were defeated and his schemes were brought to nothing. On March 25th, 3019 Third Age, the Ring-bearer completed his quest and Sauron of Mordor was overthrown for ever – and Gandalf’s long labours in Middle-earth came at last to their conclusion. Two years later he returned across the Sea.

Note: Gandalf (‘Elf-of-the-staff’) is the name by which the Wizard was known to Northern Men. To the Elves (and the Dúnedain) he was Mithrandir, ‘Grey-wanderer’; to the Dwarves, Tharkûn; and, in his youth ‘in the West that is forgotten’, Olórin.

Gap of Rohan – The open plain (fifty miles wide at its narrowest), which provided the only sizeable break in the massive chain of mountain-ranges stretching from the Northern Waste to Cape Andrast in the south. Of immense strategic importance, the Gap was guarded by the fortress of Isengard, and by the tower of Aglarond (the Hornburg).

Gardner of the Hill – A prominent Shire-family of Hobbits, descended from Samwise Gamgee (through his son Frodo Gardner).

Gate of Kings – The pillars of the ARGONATH.

Gates of Sirion – The great arched caverns in the south side of the Andram, through which the great river Sirion flowed out again into the sunlight, having for the last ten miles or so followed its course underground.

Gates of Summer – A festival of the High-elves of Gondolin: a celebration of the first day of the season lairë (Sind. laer), ‘summer’.

Gaurwaith ‘Wolf-men’ (Sind.) – The outlaw band joined by Túrin after his flight from Doriath.

Gelion – The longest river in East Beleriand; twice as long as the Sirion, though less wide a stream. The Gelion had two sources in the north, rising from the areas of mountainous terrain upon either side of Maglor’s Gap. The joined stream flowed south for a hundred and fifty leagues before bending west for the Sea. No less than seven tributaries fed the Gelion during this journey, the Seven Rivers of the Land of Ossir: Ascar, Thalos, Legolin, Brilthor, Duilwen and Adurant (the most southerly). It was fordable in only one place: Sarn Athrad, where the ancient Dwarf road from the Blue Mountains crossed westward from Thargelion into Beleriand proper.

Gelmir – A Grey-elven personal name which occurs twice in existing records of the First Age. In both cases it is borne by an Elf of the House of Finarfin: in the first instance by the son of Guilin of Nargothrond, who was cruelly put to death – at Morgoth’s command – outside the walls of Eithel Sirion, as a torment and a challenge to the defenders of the fortress (of whom one was Gelmir’s brother Gwindor); and in the second by an Elf of the people of Angrod, who came to Nargothrond, then ruled by Angrod’s elder brother Orodreth, to convey a message of warning from Círdan of the Havens, with whom this Elf then dwelt. This took place shortly before the sack of Nargothrond.

Gerontius Took ‘The Old Took’ – The twenty-sixth Shire-thain and the second longest-lived of all Hobbits (his great age of 130 years being exceeded only by Bilbo Baggins).

Gethron – A man of Dor-lómin; an aged retainer sent with the boy Túrin to Doriath by his mother Morwen to keep him safe and act as a guardian. He later returned to Dor-lómin.

Ghân-buri-Ghân – The old chieftain of the Wild Men of Druadan Forest at the time of the War of the Ring. In gratitude for aid rendered to Gondor during the War, King Elessar gave the Forest to the Wild Men in perpetuity.

Gift of Men – See DOOM OF MEN.

Gil, Giliath ‘Spark’ (Sind.) – A Grey-elven term for ‘[the glittering appearance of a] star’. The Quenya equivalent was tinwë. See also ÊL, ÊLIN, ÊLENATH.

Gildor ‘Star-land’ (Sind.) – One of the twelve companions of BARAHIR of the Edain; he was slain on Dorthonion, by treachery.

Gildor Inglorion – A High-elf of the House of Finarfin; during the Third Age the leader of a Wandering Company of his Kindred, who dwelled mainly in Rivendell and made occasional pilgrimages to the Tower Hills for the purpose of gazing into the palantír which was kept there. At the end of the Age he passed over Sea with the Keepers of the Three Rings.

Gil-estel ‘Star of Hope’ (Sind.) – A Grey-elven name for the Evening Star.

Gil-galad ‘Spark-of-bright-light’ (Sind.) – The last of all the High-elven kings in Middle-earth; son of Fingon, son of Fingolfin, son of Finwë of the Noldor. He was born before the Dagor Bragollach, in Mithrim, but after that disastrous campaign his father, perceiving that Mithrim had now become a frontier of war, sent his young son Ereinion (‘Scion-of-Kings’, as he was named at birth) to dwell with Círdan the Shipwright at the Havens of the Falas. Twenty years later the young prince was among the few Elves who escaped the sack of the Havens, and together with Círdan and a few others came to the Isle of Balar, where he dwelt until the end of the Age.

He was already Heir to the new High King (Fingon’s younger brother Turgon of Gondolin), for his father Fingon had been slain in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad – of which the sacking of the Havens of the Falas had been but an aftermath. Thirty-eight years later, Gondolin fell, and Turgon was slain, and Ereinion was then proclaimed High King of the Noldor. It was now that he began to be called Gil-galad, in reference to his stellar appearance when arrayed for war with his spear Aiglos and his silver shield studded with stars. But he remained in Balar, for the Noldor were now few, and for the most part in hiding. Only on the coasts, in hidden refuges, were there any Elves, Noldor or Sindar, for him to rule.

At the beginning of the Second Age Gil-galad gathered most of the Noldor under his rule in Forlindon (‘North-Lindon’), west of the Blue Mountains; while Harlindon (the southern cape and its adjoining lands) was ruled by Celeborn of the Grey-elves. But after a while Celeborn departed for distant lands and the remaining Grey-elves of Harlindon joined Gil-galad north of the Gulf of Lune. The first few hundred years of his reign were peaceful, for the Dark Power of the North had been overthrown; but by the sixth century, Sauron, servant of Morgoth in the First Age, was awake again and plotting the overthrow of the Free Peoples – though he chose at this time to display a mask of friendship. For in those days Sauron was not yet evil to look upon, and his true nature was not universally realised; and when he later began his rapid ascent to power in Middle-earth, only Gil-galad’s people were undeceived by his overtures. Sauron nevertheless succeeded in gaining the confidence of the Elven-smiths of Eregion – and in due course betrayed them, as Gil-galad had feared.

War followed. In 1695 Second Age the new Dark Lord, having conquered the Southlands, invaded Eriador with a great host of Orcs. Gil-galad, although fighting desperately to stem the tide, nevertheless contrived to send reinforcements to the besieged Elven-smiths of Eregion, and for a while they held out. But in 1697 Eregion fell and the survivors retreated northwards. Two years later, all Eriador had fallen to the Enemy and Gil-galad was hemmed in behind the Lhûn. But before the Elves of Lindon could be swept away in a final assault, aid arrived from an unexpected quarter: Tar-Minastir, eleventh King of Númenor, sent a great naval force to Lindon. Sauron was defeated in battle and driven out of the Westlands. In this way the Men of Númenor renewed their ancient alliance with the Eldar of Middle-earth – but gained the hatred of Sauron the Great, who never forgot his defeat. Before the Age had passed he was to take terrible revenge for this (and later) reverses, and Númenor was drowned beneath the Sea.

But a remnant of the Númenoreans survived and returned to Middle-earth, where they established the Realms in Exile. Then Sauron made war upon them once more, for their South-kingdom marched with his own borders, and he feared lest they grow too powerful. In their last need the Men of Westernesse made alliance once more with the Eldar of Lindon, and in the year 3431 Second Age, the Hosts of Elendil and Gil-galad were mustered in Eriador.

So began the War of the Last Alliance, in which after many battles, Sauron’s first realm was pulled down in ruin. But Gil-galad, last High-elven King of mortal lands, also passed away in that War, falling in single combat with Sauron himself. Yet his realm had been soundly established and staunchly defended, and the foundations laid by him proved sure enough to withstand his own passing. Thus Lindon was maintained throughout the turmoils of the Third Age, being in the end the longest to endure of all Eldarin realms of Middle-earth. It was finally deserted some time in the Fourth Age.

Note: Gil-galad was the original Keeper of the Elven-ring Vilya, most powerful of the Three. Before his death he passed on this Ring to Elrond of Rivendell, who then became chief of the Eldar in Middle-earth.

See also HIGH KINGS (OF THE NOLDOR).

Gilmith – The sister of Galador, first Lord of Dol Amroth.

Gilraen the Fair – The daughter of Dirhael of the Dúnedain, wife of Arathorn II, fifteenth Chieftain, and the mother of Aragorn II.

Gilrain (also spelled Gilraen) – A river in Lebennin (a southern province of Gondor), which flowed south from the White Mountains to find the Bay of Belfalas north of the Ethir Anduin. The Serni flowed into it some miles above the river-mouth.

Gimilkhâd – The younger of the two sons of the twenty-second King of Númenor, AR-GIMILZÔR. He was his father’s favourite, and after Gimilzôr’s death led that faction of the rebel Númenoreans called ‘King’s Men’ – these were bitterly opposed to the repentance of Gimilkhâd’s elder brother, the king Tar-Palantír, formerly known as Inziladûn. (Gimilkhâd’s own son was Pharazôn, destined to usurp the Sceptre on the death of Palantír and afterwards to lead the Númenoreans into the abyss.) Gimilkhâd lived only 198 years, remarkably few for one of the royal Dúnedain.

Gimilzagar – The second son of Tar-Calmacil, born 2630 Second Age.

Gimilzôr (Ar-Gimilzôr) – From 3102–77 Second Age, the twenty-third King of Númenor and the fourth to take a royal title in the Númenorean (Adûnaic) tongue. His rightful Quenya title was Tar-Telemnar. He was a relentless persecutor of the Faithful and those who still adhered to the Eldar – whom he prohibited from Númenor. His sons were: Inziladûn, who repented of his father’s policies and reverted, when King, to the High-elven name Tar-Palantír (‘the Farsighted’) in token of this; and GIMILKHÂD, who followed his father.

Gimli Elf-friend – The son of Glóin of Erebor, descended from Borin, son of Náin II, of Durin’s Line. His father was the brother of Óin; and both Óin and Glóin were part of Thorin Oakenshield’s expedition to Erebor in 2941 Third Age, together with eleven other Dwarves, a Wizard and a Hobbit. After the fall of the Dragon Smaug, the re-established Kingdom under the Mountain prospered greatly and Glóin became a Dwarf of great importance. In the year 3018 Third Age, he was therefore sent as an emissary to Elrond. To accompany him on the journey, Glóin took his son Gimli; and as a result, the younger Dwarf became enrolled in the Fellowship of the Ring, to represent his kinfolk in the enterprise.

Gimli’s notable deeds during the War of the Ring are, of course, well documented elsewhere and need no repetition here. However the unusual regard in which he was held by Elves is worthy of special remark, for Elves were not as a rule over-friendly towards Dwarves. While travelling with the Company of the Ring, Gimli became a firm comrade of Legolas, the son of King Thranduil of the Wood-elves of Mirkwood; and while in Lothlórien, the Dwarf also conceived a great love for the Lady Galadriel, afterwards taking on the mantle of her champion. It seems certain that Galadriel was herself deeply moved by the Dwarf’s devotion.

Gimli was named ‘Lockbearer’ and ‘Elf-friend’, and survived the War to become Lord of the Glittering Caves of Aglarond. In the last year of his life he sailed across the Sea with Legolas, the only Dwarf ever to do so.

Ginglith – One of the lesser rivers of West Beleriand; it was a tributary of the Narog, rising some leagues south of the mountain-wall of Nevrast, and flowing south and then east for perhaps twenty-five leagues before joining the greater stream.

Girdle of Melian – The name given in Grey-elven lore to the defensive circle of enchantment set about the borders of Doriath by the spouse of the Lord of Doriath, Melian of the Maiar. It was removed when she herself withdrew from Middle-earth after the murder of her husband.

Girdley Island – An island in the Baranduin, north of the Bridge of Stonebows, on the eastern border of the Shire.

Girion – The last King of Dale before the Dragon Smaug came flaming out of the north in 2770 Third Age, dispossessing the Dwarves of Erebor and destroying the lands round about. Girion was slain but his heirs escaped to continue his line. Bard the Bowman of Esgaroth was of that descent.

Girithron (Sind.) – The twelfth month of the year as recorded by the Dúnedain. The Quenya name was Ringarë.

Giver of Freedom – A reverential name for Melkor, used by degenerate Númenoreans (at the instigation of Sauron).

Gladden – A translation of Sîr Ninglor (Sind.) One of the main rivers of northern Wilderland. It flowed into the Anduin from a high pass in the Misty Mountains, one hundred miles north of the Dimrill Dale.

Gladden Fields – A rendering into Common Speech of the Grey-elven-name Loeg Ningloron (‘Pools-of-golden-water-flowers’); the wet green lands about the mouth of the river Gladden, where this ran into the Anduin. Here many flowers grew, among them iris (gladden). See also BATTLE OF THE GLADDEN FIELDS.

Glœmscrafu ‘Caves of Radiance’ – The name in Rohan for the Glittering Caves of Aglarond.

Glamdring and Orcrist – A matching pair of Elf-swords made by the Noldor during the War of the Jewels in the First Age. At that time, Glamdring (‘Hammer-of-Foes’) was borne by Turgon, King of the High-elven city of Gondolin. But both Turgon’s sword and its mate Orcrist (‘Cleaver-of-Goblins’) fell to the armies of Morgoth the Enemy. Both swords remained hidden for almost two full Ages, until they found their way into a Troll’s hoard, from which they were afterwards rescued by Thorin Oakenshield and Gandalf the Grey. Thorin claimed Orcrist for his own; and when the Dwarf fell at the Battle of Five Armies (2941 Third Age), the sword was laid in his tomb. Gandalf bore Glamdring throughout the War of the Ring.

Glamhoth ‘Yelling-horde’ (Sind.) – A name for ORCS.

Glanduin – A river which flowed north of Dunland to find the Greyflood (Mitheithel) above Tharbad. Where it flowed through a region of fens and meres, peopled by many swans, it was called Nîn-in-Eilph, ‘swan-fleet’.

Glanhir – The name given in Gondor to the MERING STREAM.

Glaurung – The greatest Dragon of the First Age, and the first, though perhaps not the largest, of those beasts specially to be bred for warfare by Morgoth. He was the forefather of the Urulóki, the Fire-dragons, but unlike some of his descendants did not possess the power of flight. Even so, throughout his long career Glaurung wrought great woe among Morgoth’s enemies, and in so doing served his Master well.

Glaurung first went to war two hundred years before the Dagor Bragollach, when he was still (relatively) young, and therefore both inexperienced and over-confident. In that battle, the assault of the Fire-drake was ignominiously beaten off, by Fingon of the Elves. Morgoth is said to have been angered at this insubordination on the part of the Worm, for he had intended to hold this weapon in reserve until the time should become ripe – and yet forewarned as they now were, the Elves proved quite unable, in the two centuries which passed before Glaurung was next unleashed upon them, to contrive means to deal with beasts of this sort. And in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad the Worm of Morgoth (as they called him) wrought havoc, slaying many Men and Elves before (on the latter occasion) being driven off the battlefield by a gallant host of armoured Dwarves from Belegost. Because of their comprehensive body-armour the Dwarves were able to withstand the heat and flame, and attack Glaurung from close quarters; but their king, Azaghâl, was mortally wounded and the Dwarves fought no other foes that day.

But it was in the years which followed the Nirnaeth that Glaurung wrought his greatest evils. The creature played a leading part in the fulfilment of the grim destinies of the Children of Húrin: Túrin and Nienor. His bewitchments and machinations ensured that the family was never to be re-united; and he took away the power of memory from Nienor, so that she, unknowing, later came to wed her own brother: with terrible consequences for them both. The Dragon had already played the leading part in the sack of Nargothrond, and afterwards took what remained of the kingdom founded by Finrod as his share of the profits (Dragon-fashion, he turned upon his allies when the time came and seized the entire hoard for his own). Glaurung was later slain, by Túrin wielding the Black Sword Gurthang (Anglachel), at Cabed-en-Aras.

Glede – A hot coal or burning ember.

Gléowine ‘Joy-lover’ – The royal minstrel of King Théoden of Rohan. His last song was dedicated to the glorious death of the King upon the Fields of Pelennor.

Glingal – The name given by King Turgon of Gondolin to the Image or replica of the Golden Tree of Valinor, Laurelin, that he wrought to grace his halls in exile. Its sister-tree (also an image, of the Silver Tree Telperion), was Belthil.

Glirhuin – One of the Edain of the Second House (the Haladin of Brethil); he is said to have made a song prophesying inviolability for the ‘Stone of the Hapless’ – the name in Brethil for the grim monument above the Cabed Naeramarth, which marked the burial of Túrin Turambar, and of Morwen his mother; and the last known whereabouts of Nienor his sister. See also TOL MORWEN.

Glithui – One of the tributaries of the river Teiglin; it flowed down from the Ered Wethrin.

Glittering Caves – See AGLAROND.

Glóin – From 2289–2385 Third Age, the King of the Dwarf-colony in the Grey Mountains. He was the son of Thorin I of Durin’s Line.

Glóin son of Groin – A Dwarf of Durin’s Line and one of the members of Thorin Oakenshield’s renowned expedition to Erebor. As a result of the success of that undertaking, Glóin became wealthy and important in his own right; and, together with his son Gimli, was sent as an emissary to Rivendell, where he represented the King under the Mountain at the Council of Elrond (3018 Third Age).

Gloredhel – The daughter of Hador Lórindol, Lord of Dor-lómin, and sister of the brethren Húrin and Huor. She wedded Haldir of the Haladin – her eldest brother Galdor simultaneously wedded Hareth the sister of Haldir, thus doubling the link between the Second and Third Houses of the Edain. Gloredhel later bore Haldir a son: Handir, whose own son was Brandir the Lame (destined to be slain in Brethil by Túrin Turambar, a grand-nephew of Gloredhel of Dor-lómin and his own second cousin).

Glorfindel ‘Golden-haired’ (Q.) – In the narrative of Frodo Baggins, written at the end of the Third Age, this name is borne by an Elf-lord of Rivendell, golden-haired, mighty among Elrond’s counsellors, and leader of the host of Imladris. It is he who meets and assists the Ring-bearer and his companions on the East Road. Afterwards, this Elf is said (by Gandalf, who ought to have known) to come ‘of a house of princes’. Glorfindel of Imladris is clearly one of the mighty among the surviving Noldor of Middle-earth. It was he who was responsible for the defence of Rivendell during the years while Arthedain declined, and who led a force to the Battle of Fornost, when his timely appearance completed the rout of Angmar begun by the cavalry of Gondor.

Herein lies a puzzle. In records of the First Age, the name Glorfindel is also borne by a golden-haired prince of the Noldor, who is prominent throughout the last days of Gondolin and makes possible, by his own heroism, the escape, from the doomed city, of Tuor, Idril his wife, and Eärendil their son. This earlier Glorfindel is identified as a lieutenant of Turgon king of Gondolin, and said to have been the chief or leader of the House of the Golden Flower – presumably a noble family of the Gondolindrim. This great warrior fought at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and was a comrade of Ecthelion. Both were the chief servants of the king, Turgon.

Thus far the two identities, two full Ages apart though they be, can nevertheless be reconciled in one (long-lived) personality. It is therefore highly inconvenient to discover, as we do, that the earlier Glorfindel (of Gondolin) is quite definitely said to have perished in mortal combat with a Balrog, and to have been buried under a cairn in the Encircling Mountains.

One of two possible solutions to the riddle is that Glorfindel of Gondolin indeed perished in battle as reported, but was afterwards re-born in Middle-earth. If so, this is only the second instance when any of the Eldar are ever known to have done so, for the spirits of their dead pass West as far as the Halls of Mandos: later, and by the consent of Mandos, to be re-born – but in Valinor, not Middle-earth. Only Lúthien of Doriath lived out a second lifespan in mortal lands, so far as records tell. The other, which is supported by some authority,8 is that Glorfindel, having perished in Gondolin, went to Mandos but was released early, since his sins – compared to those of the other Noldor – were trifling, and his redemption total. He dwelled in Valinor for half an Age before returning to Middle-earth with the leave of the Valar to help Gil-Galad and Elrond in their growing danger (the rise of Sauron to power). This matter may never be fully resolved.

Glornan ‘Valley of light’ (Sind.) – An early Grey-elven name for the Golden Wood.

Goatleaf – A Bree-family of ‘Big People’.

Goblins – A translation of the Grey-elven yrch (sing. orch). See ORCS.

Golasgil – The lord of Anfalas (in Gondor) at the time of the War of the Ring.

Goldberry – A naiad or Water-sprite of the Old Forest; the bride of Tom Bombadil and daughter of the ‘River-woman’ of Withywindle.

The Golden Perch – The chief inn of the village of Stock in the East-farthing of the Shire. Its beer was renowned.

Golden Wood – The name given by Men to the forest of Lothlórien.

Goldilocks Took – The sixth child and second daughter of Samwise Gamgee. She wedded Faramir, son of Peregrin Took, in 1463 Shire Reckoning (Year 42 Fourth Age), thus linking the two most important families in the Shire.

Goldwine – From 3680–99 Third Age the sixth King of Rohan.

Golfimbul – An Orc-chieftain, leader of the Goblins of Mount Gram (the location of which is not known, though it may have been near Gundabad in the Misty Mountains). Golfimbul led a raid deep into western Eriador in 2747 Third Age, during the course of which he was slain by the Hobbit Bandobras ‘Bullroarer’ Took, in what later became known as the Battle of Greenfields.

Gollum – See SMÉAGOL-GOLLUM.

Golodhrim ‘The Wise’ – The Sindarin equivalent of the Quenya word Noldor; the collective term in use among the Grey-elves for the High-elves of the West who came back to Middle-earth during the Elder Days. The singular form was Golodh (normal pl. Gelydh).

Golug – An Orkish term for one of the Noldor.

Gondolin ‘Hidden Rock’ (Sind.) – A punning mutation or rendering of the original Q. Ondolindë, ‘Stone-song’. The most beautiful, most renowned and longest to endure of all the Noldorin city-kingdoms founded in Middle-earth during the First Age. Completed in the second century of the exile of the Noldor by Turgon son of Fingolfin the High King, it stood in splendour and secrecy for a further four hundred years, the last hope of the Noldor in mortal lands; but fell at last, through treachery, and was destroyed, never to rise again. The fall of Gondolin marked the final victory of Morgoth in the War of the Great Jewels; but its memory lived on, beyond that dark time, into the New Age.

Long before Elves awoke in Cuiviénen, in an age of the World forgotten by all save the Valar, a deep lake filled a valley in the Encircling Mountains in the north of Beleriand. The valley, which was circular, may originally have been formed by volcanic action, for there was a tall hill rising from its exact centre, an island in the enclosing lake, steep and precipitous. This valley afterwards became known as Tumladen, and the hill amidmost as Amon Gwareth – though by this time the lake had vanished, drained away through channels long dried up, and all that remained was the vale, green and fair, and the steep hill of Amon Gwareth. It was Turgon of the Noldor who gave them these names, for no Elf before him ever walked in Tumladen or climbed the precipitous sides of the hill. Indeed Turgon himself could not have come there had it not been for the assistance of outside agency; for there was only one entrance to Tumladen through the Encircling Mountains, and that remained long hidden. For precisely this reason Turgon, who was utterly convinced of the need to prepare a well-thought-out ‘last refuge’ against foretold disaster, determined to build such a refuge in this hidden valley; yet as he also wished to dwell in a fair place, as much like faraway Tirion as he could contrive, he planned carefully and built with love. Fifty years after the first stone had been laid, at the beginning of his second century of exile, Turgon and his people secretly quitted Nevrast, where they had been living since the return to Middle-earth, and vanished into the mountains. From that day forward few Elves ever passed the outer doors (until the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, which then lay more than three and a half centuries in the future). Gondolin became the ‘Hidden City’, its whereabouts unknown even by its allies. But within the impassable mountain-perimeter all that was fair in Elven-culture was preserved, consciously, and with reverence.

In time the city was made stronger and fairer than any other city that has ever been in Middle-earth, for Turgon never ceased to add to its strength, and its beauty. High towers were built, and mighty walls; yet the towers were slender pinnacles of grace and proportion; and the walls shone in the sunlight.9

Centuries passed, the years of the Siege of Angband, by which Morgoth’s movements were to some extent proscribed – although little else could be done, in all that time, to discomfit or damage him. Meanwhile the two most powerful Eldarin city-kingdoms – Nargothrond and Gondolin – lay far behind the Siege lines, enjoying an era of peace and splendour. But no one had foreseen the appalling speed with which the Siege would eventually be overthrown, nor the permanent confusion this defeat would wreak among the Eldar and their allies. Kingdom became sundered from kingdom during that perilous time, and though the north-west held out for a further fifteen years, the tide had now turned irrevocably against the Eldar. The last of all offensives to be mounted by them against Morgoth – to which Turgon brought the host of Gondolin, thus appearing among his allies and kin for the first time in over three hundred and fifty years – led only to the catastrophe of the Nirnaeth, in which the Eldar were overthrown for ever. Only the Gondolindrim held together as a body; they cut their way to safety, aided by the self-sacrificing heroism of the Men of Dor-lómin, led by Húrin and Huor. This was the first and only time the host of Gondolin went to war; henceforward war would come to them.

In the case of Nargothrond, it was pride which led to the Elves’ undoing; but with Gondolin, it was treachery. Yet for some time Morgoth had guessed that Gondolin lay somewhere in the mountains to the west of Dorthonion, for this had been (unwittingly) revealed to him by Húrin of the Edain.

The sack of Gondolin came on the eve of the festival known as the Gates of Summer (the last day of tuilë); and it was brutal and annihilating, for Morgoth had long desired to strike this blow, and as he had no other foes left in Middle-earth was as a result able to use as much force as he wished. No fortress could have withstood such an onslaught. Turgon fell, and Ecthelion was slain by, and himself slew, the mightiest of the Balrogs. But Tuor of the Edain killed Maeglin the Traitor, and then fled the city, together with his wife Idril, the daughter of Turgon, and their son Eärendil. Behind them, Dragons set the city aflame, so that the sky over Tumladen was filled with the greatest burning it had known since the far-off days of the valley’s making.

But the Line of Gondolin lived on, in Idril and Eärendil, and so in Elrond and Elros and all who came after. And even by its fall Turgon’s city played a part in the final overthrow of Morgoth. For if Eärendil had not been carried in flight to the sea-lands, he might never have grown up beside the sea, never have become a mariner. He might never have made his historic voyage out of Middle-earth. Yet the idea of sending messengers into the West, to beg the forgiveness and aid of the Valar, was not in origin Eärendil’s; for Turgon his grandfather had long held the belief that the only hope of the Noldor lay in the West, and this hope was fostered in his descendants also. Turgon was a pious ruler; and Gondolin had been intended to be a mirror in Middle-earth of Tirion the Fair (there were even Images of the Two Trees standing, or seeming to stand, in Turgon’s halls). Perhaps for these reasons Gondolin was allowed to outlast all other Elven-cities of Middle-earth in the Elder Days. But it fell at last, and its fall was all the more terrible for being postponed.

Gondolindrim – The Elves of the city of Gondolin; Noldor of the House of Fingolfin, subjects of Turgon Fingolfin’s son.

Gondor ‘Stone-land’ (Sind.) – The South-kingdom of the Dúnedain in Middle-earth; one of the two Realms in Exile founded by Elendil the Tall after the Downfall of Númenor; and for many centuries the most powerful Kingdom anywhere in western Middle-earth. Unlike its northern sister-realm of ARNOR, the South kingdom survived the turmoils of the Third Age and held out against increasing odds until, with victory of the War of the Ring, Gondor was finally reunited with the North-kingdom, and the High-kingship of both Realms was established once more.

At the founding of the realm, in 3320 Second Age, Gondor included most of the lands about the feet of the White Mountains, save only for the far western dales beyond the river Lefnui. Her chief provinces were the royal fiefs of Ithilien and Anórien, and her rule extended as far as the coastal regions of Anfalas and Belfalas. Her greatest cities were Minas Anor, Tower of the Sun, on the eastern shoulders of the White Mountains; Minas Ithil, Tower of the Moon, in the western vales of the Ephel Dúath; and Osgiliath, Citadel of the Stars, which lay in between, upon either side of the Great River. Elendil himself was the High-king of both Arnor and Gondor, but the South-rule he committed to his sons Isildur and Anárion; they dwelled in Minas Ithil and Minas Anor, and the Realm was administered from Osgiliath, where also was kept the chief palantír of Gondor.

In those days Sauron the Great was believed to have perished in the ruin of Númenor, and so the survivors of that same disaster did not hesitate to build their South-kingdom upon the very borders of his ancient Realm. But he, too, had survived. He returned in secret to Mordor, and, after little more than a hundred years, declared himself once more, and made war upon the Dúnedain: for he feared and hated the Númenoreans and their works. But Sauron struck too late (or too soon), and with too little strength for his purpose; he underestimated his foes and so was defeated in battle when the Last Alliance forged against him proved too strong for his power to withstand; he was driven back to the Barad-dûr and later overthrown altogether.

For many years the South-kingdom grew steadily more powerful and splendid, until, by the eleventh century of the Third Age, its sway extended as far as the Greyflood and the Sea of Rhûn, and lesser states paid tribute. But this early period of intense activity was followed by an epoch of ostentation and luxury, in which most of the gains made by the ‘Ship-kings’ were allowed to slip away. Nevertheless, Gondor was slow in decline, and it was not until the middle years of the Age that assaults upon her frontiers began again in earnest. These came mainly from the East and South, and were often only driven back at great cost in toil and lives. More ominously, the Line of Anárion (the hereditary ruling dynasty of Gondor) now began to wither, and at last one of the Kings took to wife a woman of a lesser (but sturdier) race. This act later precipitated the civil war of Gondor, the Kin-strife, which destroyed much that was fair in the South Kingdom, and further sapped the dwindling strength of the Dúnedain. And although Gondor managed to resist her foes for many years, the Line of Anárion had altogether failed by the beginning of the third millennium.

The Dúnedain of the South were then ruled by their Stewards, a family of high Númenorean race who remained true to their trust and never claimed the Crown for themselves throughout the thousand years they ruled in place of the Kings. And led by the Ruling Stewards, the Dúnedain regained some of their power, though they were never again able to prevent war from gathering on their borders. A protective system of alliances and defensible frontiers was established piecemeal, and in the end proved flexible enough to withstand the return to power of Sauron the Great – and his last attempt to drive the Dúnedain into the Sea.

During the War of the Ring, though all seemed lost for a while, the events of the time ultimately produced the means by which Gondor was not only delivered from peril but reunited at last with her ancient sister-realm of Arnor, long sundered from her. In that same war the Dark Lord was cast down for ever and a great threat removed from the Free Peoples of Middle-earth. The Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor lived on in the Fourth Age, last memory in Middle-earth of vanished Númenor; and the banner of Elendil flew again from the Tower of the Sun at the feet of the White Mountains.

Gonnhirrim ‘Stone-masters’ (Sind.) – A name bestowed upon the race of Dwarves by the Elves of Beleriand. The more usual terms were Noegyth, Naugrim and Nogothrim, ‘Stunted People’ (doubtless the Dwarves themselves preferred Gonnhirrim).

Goodchild – A family of Shire-hobbits related to the Gamgees. The mother of Samwise (and wife of Hamfast) was Bell Goodchild.

Gorbadoc ‘Broadbelt’ Brandybuck – From 2910–63 Third Age (1310–63 Shire Reckoning), the Master of Buckland. He was the grandfather of Frodo Baggins (and great-grandfather of Meriadoc Brandybuck).

Gorbag – An Orc-sergeant in the garrison of Minas Morgul.

Gorgoroth ‘Dreadful Horror’ (Sind.) – A word in the Grey-elven tongue, used for two different locations, distinct in time and space. The first and earlier usage is Ered Gorgoroth, the ‘Mountains of Terror’ which were the southernmost edge of the Dorthonion plateau, where the Great Spider Ungoliant came after the poisoning of the Trees and ever after made a place of abhorrence and fear.

The second instance is in the name of the ‘Haunted Plain’ of Mordor; the great plateau which occupied the north-western area of that country, a desolate, arid land, pocked with craters and fuming pits and riven with many deep crevasses. In the centre of the plain rose the smouldering cone of the volcano Orodruin.

Gorgûn ‘Orcs’ – One of the few words recorded in the aboriginal speech of the Wild Men of Druadan Forest (see WOSES).

Gorhendad Oldbuck – The founder of the Buckland. The Oldbuck family had long been prominent in the Shire when, in about 2340 Third Age (740 Shire Reckoning), they re-crossed the Brandywine eastwards and settled the strip of land between the river and the Old Forest. Gorhendad began the excavation of the Hill of Buckland, when he named Brandy Hall; at the same time he changed the family name to Brandybuck. He was later accounted the first Master of Buckland.

Gorlim the Unhappy – One of the twelve brave companions of BARAHIR of the Edain in the last defence of Dorthonion. Gorlim was unhappy – fatally so – because of the loss of his wife Eilinel, whom he believed a prisoner. He was captured by means of a cunning trick, and becoming the victim of one of the cruellest of all betrayals, was himself forced to betray Barahir and his companions. Then Gorlim was put to death. And in the ensuing attack upon their encampment, eleven of the twelve men were killed. Eilinel had been dead for nearly four years.

Gorthaur ‘The Cruel’ (Sind.) – The Grey-elves’ name (in the First Age) for SAURON THE GREAT.

Gorthol ‘Dread Helm’ (Sind.) – One of the many noms-de-guerre assumed during his life by the warrior TÚRIN TURAMBAR. It refers to the DRAGON-HELM (OF DOR-LÓMIN), which Túrin wore in battle early in his career.

Gothmog – See BALROG.

Gram – From 2718–41 Third Age, the eighth King of Rohan. He was the father of Helm Hammerhand.

Great Armament – The name given to that assemblage of arms commanded by Ar-Pharazôn the Golden, last King of Númenor, for his assault upon Valinor and the Undying Lands. It was so great that it took nine years to assemble, from 3310–19 Second Age.

Great Battle – The second Battle of the Powers; the attack upon Morgoth made at the end of the First Age by the Host of the Valar. Like Utumno of an earlier age, Angband was annihilated and Morgoth was cast out – this time for ever.

Great Bridge – The Shire-hobbits’ name for the Bridge of Stonebows, more commonly known as the Brandywine Bridge. (It had, in fact, been built by the Dúnedain of the North-kingdom long before the founding of the Shire.)

Great Darkness – The term used by the Elves to mean the immense period of time between the overthrowing (by Melkor) of the Lamps of the Valar, Illuin and Ormal, and the Rising of the Moon and Sun towards the end of the First Age. Throughout this period darkness, broken only by starlight, reigned over Middle-earth, and Melkor’s rule – the spiritual Great Darkness – was uncontested by the Valar.

Great East Road – One of the major highways of Eriador. It linked Lindon and the Grey Havens with Rivendell and the Misty Mountains, passing through the middle of the Shire and Bree. In the late Third Age the East Road was used mainly by Dwarves, who had mines in the Blue Mountains which were still in use.

Great Echo – A translation of the Sindarin name Lammoth.

Great Enemy – Morgoth.

Greater Gelion – The more easterly of the two source-streams of the river Gelion in East Beleriand. The Greater Gelion itself had two sources, on Mount Rerir and from Lake Helevorn.

Great Goblin – An Orc-chieftain who led the tribe which infested the high pass chosen by Thorin Oakenshield’s expedition when they crossed from Eriador into Wilderland (in 2941 Third Age). His followers imprisoned the Dwarves and the Hobbit Bilbo, but their leader was slain by Gandalf the Grey.

Great Gulf – The name given in Eldarin tradition to the huge expanse of water created in the south of Middle-earth during the Eldest Days by powerful seismic forces, which the Elves attributed to the agency of the Valar. In fact the Gulf was created by the earth-movements brought about by the Battle of the Powers in the North.

Great Jewels – The silmarilli created by Fëanor of Eldamar in the First Age. Their theft, by Morgoth, brought about the Exile of the Noldor and the long wars which ravaged Middle-earth.

Great Journey – The original Westward migration of the ELDAR. Far back in the Elder Days the Three Kindreds were summoned by the Valar (Guardians of the World) to journey from their homeland in the East across the western lands of Middle-earth to the shores of the Sea. From there, two of the Kindreds set out on the further journey across the Sea to the Undying Lands.

Great Lake – The lake in the centre of the World, as Arda was first shaped by the Valar. In the centre of the Lake stood the Isle of Almaren, their first home in Arda. Both Island and Lake – and much more besides – were destroyed by the renegade Vala Melkor, in the course of his second attack upon the Powers.

Great Lands – Middle-earth.

Great Music – The name given in the traditions and beliefs of the Eldar to that which took place before the Creation: the weaving of all possible sub-themes of Existence around a pre-ordained yet infinitely flexible Theme already chosen by Ilúvatar (God). This development of existential possibilities, analagous (in the legend) to musicians or choristers freely improvising within a fixed compositional mode – while all the time serving only the direct will of the Composer – was performed, or achieved, say the Elves, by the Ainur, the Holy Ones of God. When the Great Song (as it is also called) was complete for that time, two separate major Themes having been introduced and traced to their endings, God spoke; and the vision was made manifest. And then, according to the tradition, the Ainur who had taken part left the dwelling of Ilúvatar and went down into the newly created world (Arda), each to labour in making manifest his or her individual contribution to the Music. Among them was Melkor, who from the first had attempted to dominate all other contributions; now he, too, went down into the world and laboured towards the fulfilment of his disharmonious counterpoint.

Great Ones – The AINUR.

Great Place of the Tooks – The chief household of Great Smials.

Great Plague – In 1636 Third Age, a foul plague came out of the East and South and ravaged the Westlands of Middle-earth. Osgiliath in Gondor was particularly hard-hit. King Telemnar and all his children were struck down, and even the White Tree of Minas Anor perished (although a fortuitously preserved seedling continued the Line of Nimloth).

It was at this time that the Men of Gondor were forced to abandon their long watch on the neighbouring borders of Mordor. From Gondor the plague then spread north-west to Eriador, where it devastated Cardolan and Minhiriath, and also caused great suffering in the Shire.

Great Rider – OROMË THE GREAT.

Great Rings – The Rings of Power: the Nine Mortal-rings, the Seven Dwarf-rings and the Three Elven-rings – plus the Ruling Ring of Sauron. Other rings of various properties were made by the Noldor of Eregion, but these were ‘only essays in the craft before it was full-grown, and to the Elven-smiths they were but trifles’.10

Great Sea – A translation of the Sindarin name Belegaer; the Western Seas, which lay between Middle-earth and the far-off shores of the Undying Lands.

Great Smials – The chief burrowing-place or dwelling of the preeminent Took Family, in the Green Hills of Tuckborough. They were commenced in 2683 Third Age (1083 Shire Reckoning) by Thain Isengrim II.

Great Song – The GREAT MUSIC.

Great Water-The Sea.

Great West Road – The main highway between Rohan and Gondor, running from Edoras in the north-west to Minas Tirith in the south.

The Green Dragon – The leading inn of the village of Bywater in the Shire. It was patronised by Hobbits from Hobbiton and Bywater.

Green-elves – A translation of the Quenya name Laiquendi; the name given by the exiled Noldor to the silvan Elves of Ossiriand, most rustic and wary of all the Eldar of Beleriand. These wore green, shot with bows, and lived exclusively in the forests; and were by comparison with the Noldor – and even the Sindar – primitive in their culture, not knowing even the uses of iron.

Yet for all this they were valiant, and, moreover, they were not Avari, but akin from afar to the Noldor, and closer still to the Sindar (Grey-elves). The Laiquendi were of Telerin race, as were the Sindar of Beleriand, being an offshoot of the NANDOR. The latter represented the first Sundering of the Eldar, for they were in origin the hindmost portion of the Teleri – themselves Hindmost of the Three Kindreds on the Great Journey – who had baulked at crossing the Misty Mountains into Eriador, and instead, led by a certain Lenwë, had turned back into the forests of Wilderland, to wander unrecorded paths for many centuries. They became the foremost of all Woodland peoples, and by far the most woodcrafty of all the Eldar; but they still spoke their Eldarin language, though this changed greatly as the years waned. But as the Ages wore away of Melkor’s imprisonment in faraway Valinor, evil things awoke once more in Middle-earth; and the forests of the Nandor grew dangerous. Then the vanguard, who by now had wandered further west, south of the dreaded Misty Mountains and so north into Eriador, turned their faces still westward, and, led now by their chief Denethor, the son of Lenwë, eventually came over the last mountain-range between them and the Sea and so entered Beleriand. In Ossiriand, the easternmost part of that ancient region, they then dwelt, with the permission of Thingol the King, and Denethor was their lord.

But war was on their heels. And although the newcomers fought for Thingol in the First Battle of Beleriand, Denethor was slain in that fight, upon the hill of Amon Ereb; and they were reduced in number; whereupon they withdrew into their green and secret country beyond Gelion, and suffered no strangers to enter, save those from Doriath, whom they still held in friendship. They took little part in the wars which followed, and when Beleriand was drowned and broken at the end of the First Age a remnant of Ossiriand was spared: it was named Harlindon. But what became of the Green-elves no records tell. They were accounted, together with the Nandor, among the Moriquendi, which means they are thought never to have completed the Great Journey into the West.

Greenfields – A part of the Northfarthing of the Shire where, in 2747 Third Age (1147 Shire Reckoning), a band of Orcs was defeated by Bandobras ‘Bullroarer’ Took.

Greenhand – A family of Shire-hobbits descended from Holman the Greenhanded of Hobbiton, through his son Halfred. They later removed from Hobbiton and founded their own settlement of Greenholm. Fastred, who wedded Elanor Gamgee in the early Fourth Age, was of this kin.

Greenholm – See preceding entry.

Green Isle – A translation of the Grey-elven name TOL GALEN.

Green Mound – See EZELLOHAR.

Greenway – The name given during the later years of the Third Age for the old North Road, where it ran through desolate regions of Eriador. It was so called in the village of Bree because this ancient highway was thickly grass-grown from lack of use.

Greenwood the Great – A translation of Eryn Galen (Sind.) The mightiest forest remaining in western Middle-earth in the Third Age. It was over four hundred miles from north to south and two hundred miles across at its widest point, where the old Forest Road threaded a path from Wilderland to the River Running. In the north-east dwelt Wood-elves of Thranduil’s realm; in the southwest lived scattered settlements of woodmen.

Towards the end of the first millennium of the Third Age, Greenwood began to acquire an evil reputation: fell beasts stalked the gloom under the closely packed trees, and the trees themselves began to rot and wither and strive one against the other. It was not known until later that the evil came from the fortress of Dol Guldur in the far south-western reach. Greenwood then became known as Taur e-Ndaedelos (‘Forest of Great Fear’), translated as Mirkwood. At the turn of the Fourth Age it was renamed Eryn Lasgalen, ‘Wood of Green Leaves’.

Grey Company – A company of thirty Rangers of the North who rode south to Aragorn’s aid during the War of the Ring. They were led by Halbarad and also included Elladan and Elrohir, the sons of Elrond.

Grey-elves – The SINDAR.

Greyflood – The river GWATHLÓ, as it was known to Men of Eriador. Properly speaking, the Greyflood was the name of the conjoined Mitheithel (Hoarwell) and Glanduin (Swanfleet), below Tharbad.

Grey Havens – A translation of the Sindarin name Mithlond, being the name of the harbour and city founded by the Falathrim in Year I Second Age, as the chief haven of the Eldar in Middle-earth.

Mithlond lay near the mouth of the river Lhûn (Lune) where this emptied into the Gulf of the same name. First and only Lord of the Havens was Círdan the Shipwright of the Falathrim, formerly Lord of Eglarest in West Beleriand.

Greylin ‘Noisy-torrent’ – The name given by the Men of Éothéod to the short river that flowed south from the Grey Mountains.

Greymantle – A translation of the Quenya name Singollo (orig. Sindacollo); its Sindarin form is Thingol. It was the surname or appellation of Elwë, Lord of the Teleri (jointly with his brother Olwë) on the Great Journey from Cuiviénen to Beleriand, who afterwards became King of Beleriand and Doriath; and was more usually translated ‘Grey-cloak’.

Grey Mountains – A translation of the Grey-elven name Ered Mithrin; a far northern range, running east from the Misty Mountains to the Withered Heath. The Grey Mountains were notoriously infested with Dragons.

Grey Wood – The south-eastern reach of the Forest of Druadan.

Gríma ‘Mask’ – See WORMTONGUE.

Grimbeorn – The son of Beorn and the Chieftain of the Beorning folk, who maintained the high pass over the Misty Mountains and the Ford of Carrock in the latter days of the Third Age.

Grimbold – A Marshal of Westfold in Rohan at the time of the War of the Ring. He fought in both battles of the Fords of Isen,11 where he held the dying King’s heir Théodred in his arms, and later commanded the left wing of the Rohirrim in their great onset against the besiegers of Gondor. He fell in that battle, far from his home in Grimslade, and was laid to rest in the ‘Mounds of Mundburg’.

Grinding Ice – The HELCARAXË.

Grindwall – A small hythe (harbour) on the north bank of the river Withywindle, outside the protection of the High Hay. It was guarded by a grind or fence which extended into the river.

Grishnákh – The leader of those Orcs of Mordor who collaborated with the Uruk-hai of Saruman (led by Uglúk) in the attack upon the Fellowship near Parth Galen on February 26th, 3019 Third Age. He was described as ‘a short crook-legged creature, very broad and with long arms that hung almost to the ground.’12

Grithnir – A man of Dor-lómin; an aged retainer sent with the boy Túrin to Doriath by his mother Morwen to keep him safe and act as a guardian. He died of old age and sickness while still in Doriath.

Gróin – A Dwarf of the House of Durin; the brother of Fundin and the father of Óin and Glóin.

Grond – The Mace of Morgoth, also known as the ‘Hammer of the Underworld’. The name was later given to the great battering-ram which broke the gates of Minas Tirith during the siege of Gondor. This ram was ‘a hundred feet in length, swinging on mighty chains. Long had it been forging in the dark smithies of Mordor, and its hideous head, founded of black steel, was shaped in the likeness of a ravening wolf; on it spells of ruin lay.’13

Grór – A Dwarf of Durin’s Line; the youngest son of Dáin I and the grandfather of Dáin (II) Ironfoot. It was Grór who founded the Dwarf-realm in the Iron Hills (2590 Third Age).

Grubb – A family of Shire-hobbits related to the Bagginses through Laura Grubb, who wedded Mungo Baggins, Bilbo’s grandfather.

Guarded Plain – A translation of the Sindarin name Talath Dirnen; the expanse of deserted land – chiefly heath and moor – which lay between the rivers Narog and Teiglin, to the north of the Realm of Nargothrond, whose northern march it was. Talath Dirnen was guarded by the Elves of Nargothrond.

Guarded Realm – Valinor.

Guard of the Citadel – The elite men-at-arms who were appointed to guard the Citadel of Minas Tirith and the Court of the Fountain. They were robed in back, and their mithril helms were of strange shape, high-crowned, with long cheek-guards close-fitting to the face. Upon the black surcoat was embroidered a tree beneath a silver crown and many-pointed stars; the livery of the heirs of Elendil.

(The) Guests – A name for the (short-lived) race of Men, bestowed by the (ageless) Elves.

Guild of Venturers – A guild formed in Númenor by Prince Anardil (later Tar-Aldarion the ‘Great Captain’), with the object of exploring Middle-earth. It attracted the most venturesome young men in the Kingdom; its guildhouse was aboard Anardil’s floating palace, the great ship Eämbar moored at Tol Uinen in the Bay of Rómenna. The Venturers were devotees of the Maia Uinen, Lady of the Seas – who in those days favoured their voyages – and were called, in Númenor, Uinendili, the lovers of Uinen.

Guild of Weaponsmiths – A guild formed in Númenor of those who had skill with metals, for the preservation of various crafts developed in the First Age but no longer needed except for ceremonial purposes (in early days, before the expeditions to Middle-earth).

Guilin – An Elf-lord of Nargothrond, of the kindred of Finarfin, remembered as the father of the brothers Gelmir and Gwindor, one of whom was tortured to death during the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the other of whom was taken alive in the battle and enthralled for many years in the pits of Angband. Guilin’s fate is not known.

Gulf of Lune – The great firth which separated North and South Lindon. It was created by the drowning of Beleriand in the First Age, and lay over what had once been the Dwarf-cities of the Blue Mountains.

Gundabad – Mount Gundabad, which stood at the meeting-point of the Ered Mithrin and the Misty Mountains. Traditionally the location of the chief Orc-stronghold of the North, it was sacked by the Dwarves during the War of the Dwarves and Orcs (2793–99 Third Age).

Gundor – One of the Edain of the Third House; younger brother of GALDOR THE TALL of Dor-lómin, and second son of Hador Lórindol. Gundor was slain, together with his father Hador, in a last defence of the tower of Eithel Sirion on the borders of Ard-galen, during the Dagor Bragollach. He did not wed, and left no sons to follow him.

Gurthang ‘Death-iron’ (Sind.) – The name given by the warrior Túrin Turambar to the black sword formerly known as ANGLACHEL, after it had been reforged in Nargothrond. The black sword had formerly belonged to the Elf-warrior Beleg Cúthalion, but in Túrin’s hands it had taken Beleg’s life by ‘accident’. Gurthang was to drink many more lives before, at the end, claiming Túrin’s own. It was an accursed sword and thus matched its master perfectly.

Guthláf – The Herald and banner-bearer of Théoden King of the Mark during the War of the Ring. He fell defending the King in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

Guthwinë ‘Battle-friend’ – The sword of Éomer, Third Marshal (later King) of the Mark.

Gwaeron ‘Windy’ (Sind.) – The name, used only by the Dúnedain, for the third month of Kings’ Reckoning (and the twelfth of the New Reckoning). In its Quenya form, this month was known as Súlimë.

Gwaihir the Windlord – Lord of the Great Eagles of the Misty Mountains, a descendant of Thorondir. He became a friend of Gandalf the Grey when the Wizard healed him of a poisoned wound (probably caused by an orc-arrow). Several times in the closing years of the Third Age, Gwaihir repaid this debt: during the War of the Ring the Eagles, led by Gwaihir and his brother Landroval, assisted Gandalf and the Free Peoples many times.

Gwaith-i-Mirdain ‘People of the Jewel-smiths’ (Sind.) – The folk of Celebrimbor, Noldorin craftsmen who peopled the realm of EREGION in the Second Age. After the ending of the First Age these were the most skilful Elven-craftsmen anywhere in mortal lands; Celebrimbor their lord was the grandson of Fëanor. The summit of their craft was the making of the Rings of Power.

Gwathîr – See following entry.

Gwathló ‘Shadow-fen-river’ (Sind., from earlier Gwathir ‘Shadowflood’) – The river Greyflood in Eriador, so called because when first explored by Númenorean mariners the mighty woods of Enedhwaith and Minhiriath came right down to the river’s edge. Following the tree-shaded river upstream they came after many days to a region of fenland (where later Tharbad was built) and, thinking that this was the source of the river, named it accordingly (Agathurush, Adûn.). In fact it was fed by many other tributary rivers before it reached this far south.

Gwindor of Nargothrond – A prince of the Noldor, and a prominent war-leader of the city of Nargothrond; the brother of GELMIR and the elder son of Guilin. He was captured during the Nirnaeth Arnoediad – his brother Gelmir, captured twenty years before, had been cruelly executed before his eyes, as a (successful) provocation – and for fourteen years was enslaved in Angband. So broken was he by this treatment that he became physically withered, like an aged Man. Nevertheless his spirit remained unquenchable: he contrived to escape from Angband, and after lonely wandering came into Dorthonion where he fell in with Beleg Cúthalion – and indeed helped Beleg effect the rescue of Túrin Turambar, who had recently been captured by Orcs.

Afterwards Gwindor took Túrin with him to Nargothrond, where his companion was soon to win great honour and renown as war-leader: a position Gwindor himself had once held. To increase Gwindor’s bitterness, his former beloved, the Elf-maiden Finduilas daughter of Orodreth, now gave her heart to Túrin the Man; yet Gwindor, though he feared the worst, did not openly oppose the match. In the event, Nargothrond was destined to fall before aught else could occur; and Gwindor fought his last battle on the field of Tumladen. There he perished, in the arms of Túrin. Finduilas died shortly afterwards, a captive of Orcs. But Túrin escaped, for he was the bearer of the Curse upon the Children of Húrin, a curse which fell, not on him, but on all those he loved.

Gwirith – The Sindarin name, used only by the Dúnedain, for the fourth month of the Kings’ Reckoning (and the first of the New Reckoning). The Quenya or High-elven name for this month was Viressë.