Places in Middle-earth
Firien-dale
Type: Valleys, Caves, Tunnels
Region: Rohan
Meaning: mountain dale
Location: A deep cleft separating the Halifirien hill from its spur of the White Mountains; the source of the Mering Stream.
Description: The Halifirien ... appeared to stand up alone out of a great wood; for behind it there was a deep cleft, the dark Firien-dale, in the long northward spur of Ered Nimrais, of which it was the highest point. Out of the cleft it rose like a sheer wall, but its outer slopes, especially northwards, were long and nowhere steep, and trees grew upon them almost to its summit. As they descended the trees became ever more dense, especially along the Mering Stream (which rose in the cleft) and northwards out into the plain....
Unfinished Tales, Part 3, Ch 2, Cirion and Eorl and the Friendship of Gondor and Rohan: Cirion and Eorl
Etymology
[Halifirien] is a modernized spelling for Anglo-Saxon hálig-firgen; similarly Firien-dale for firgen-dæl, Firien Wood for firgen-wudu. [Author's note.] - The g in the Anglo-Saxon word firgen "mountain" came to be pronounced as a modern y.
Unfinished Tales, Part 3, Ch 2, Cirion and Eorl and the Friendship of Gondor and Rohan: Notes, Note 33
Contributors: Elena Tiriel 25Jan05
