Places in Middle-earth
Weather Hills
Type: Mountains, Hills, Promontories
Region: Arnor/Eriador/Lindon
Location: A line of fortified hills northeast of Bree-land and the Midgewater Marshes; the ancient boundary between Arthedain and Rhudaur; the Great East Road loops around the southernmost hill, Weathertop, upon which sits the Tower of Amon Sûl.
Description:
They had not gone far on the fifth day when they left the last straggling pools ... of the marshes behind them. The land before them began steadily to rise again. Away in the distance eastward they could now see a line of hills. The highest of them was at the right of the line and a little separated from the others. It had a conical top, slightly flattened at the summit.
'That is Weathertop,' said Strider. 'The Old Road, which we have left far away on our right, runs to the south of it and passes not far from its foot.' ...
'I think the best thing is to go as straight eastward from here as we can, to make for the line of hills, not for Weathertop. There we can strike a path ... that runs at their feet; it will bring us to Weathertop from the north and less openly.'The Fellowship of the Ring, LoTR Book 1, Ch 11, A Knife in the Dark
Ahead there loomed now against the dusky sky the bleak and treeless backs of the hills.The Fellowship of the Ring, LoTR Book 1, Ch 11, A Knife in the Dark
The hills drew nearer. They made an undulating ridge, often rising almost to a thousand feet, and here and there falling again to low clefts or passes leading into the eastern land beyond. Along the crest of the ridge the hobbits could see what looked to be the remains of green-grown walls and dikes, and in the clefts there still stood the ruins of old works of stone. By night they had reached the feet of the westward slopes, and there they camped. ... [They] were six days out from Bree.
In the morning they found..., a track plain to see. They turned right and followed it southwards. It ran cunningly, taking a line that seemed chosen so as to keep as much hidden as possible from the view, both of the hill-tops above and of the flats to the west. It dived into dells, and hugged steep banks; and where it passed over flatter and more open ground on either side of it there were lines of large boulders and hewn stones that screened the travellers almost like a hedge. ...
'The Men of the West did not live here; though in their latter days they defended the hills for a while against the evil that came out of Angmar. This path was made to serve the forts along the walls. But long before, in the first days of the North Kingdom, they built a great watch-tower on Weathertop, Amon Sûl they called it. It was burned and broken, and nothing remains of it now but a tumbled ring, like a rough crown on the old hill's head. Yet once it was tall and fair. It is told that Elendil stood there watching for the coming of Gil-galad out of the West, in the days of the Last Alliance.'The Fellowship of the Ring, LoTR Book 1, Ch 11, A Knife in the Dark
'On the north side of the Road beyond the hills the country is bare and flat for miles.' ...
Rangers passed at times beyond the hills, but they were few and did not stay.The Fellowship of the Ring, LoTR Book 1, Ch 11, A Knife in the Dark
After Eärendur, owing to dissensions among his sons their realm was divided into three: Arthedain, Rhudaur, and Cardolan. Arthedain was in the North-west and included the land between Brandywine and Lune, and also the land north of the Great Road as far as the Weather Hills. Rhudaur was in the North-east and lay between the Ettenmoors, the Weather Hills, and the Misty Mountains, but included also the Angle between the Hoarwell and the Loudwater. Cardolan was in the South, its bounds being the Brandywine, the Greyflood, and the Great Road.The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur: The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain
All the kingdoms met at Weathertop, and the desire to obtain that frontier fortress ... caused further enmity between the realms....The Atlas of Middle-earth, Revised Edition, by Karen Wynn Fonstad, Section 3, The Third Age: Kingdoms of the Dúnedain
There was often strife between the kingdoms.... The chief matter of debate was the possession of the Weather Hills and the land westward towards Bree. Both Rhudaur and Cardolan desired to possess Amon Sûl (Weathertop), which stood on the borders of their realms; for the Tower of Amon Sûl held the chief Palantír of the North, and the other two were both in the keeping of Arthedain.The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur: The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain
In the days of Argeleb son of Malvegil, since no descendants of Isildur remained in the other kingdoms, the kings of Arthedain again claimedArnor. The claim was resisted by Rhudaur. ... Argeleb therefore fortified the Weather Hills; but he was slain in battle with Rhudaur and Angmar. Arveleg son of Argeleb, with the help of Cardolan and Lindon, drove back his enemies from the Hills; and for many years Arthedain and Cardolan held in force a frontier along the Weather Hills, the Great Road, and the lower Hoarwell. ...
A great host came out of Angmar in 1409, and crossing the river entered Cardolan and surrounded Weathertop. The Dúnedain were defeated and Arveleg was slain. The Tower of Amon Sûl was burned and razed; but the palantír was saved and carried back in retreat to Fornost.The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur: The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain
Contributors: Elena Tiriel 6Jul06, 14Jul06
