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Places in Middle-earth

Celos

Type: Rivers & Lakes

Region: Gondor

Meaning: freshet, water falling out swiftly from a rocky stream

Location: One of the five rivers of Lebennin, flowing southeast from the White Mountains to the River Sirith.

Description:

Map of Lebennin.
Lebennin and its environs, showing the River Celos.
Celos One of the rivers of Lebennin in Gondor; tributary of the Sirith.

Unfinished Tales, Index

Lebennin 'Five Rivers' (those being Erui, Sirith, Celos, Serni, and Gilrain), land between Ered Nimrais and Ethir Anduin....

Unfinished Tales, Index

Silver flow the streams from Celos to Erui
In the green fields of Lebennin!

From Silver flow the streams from Celos to Erui
The Return of the King, LoTR Book 5, Ch 9, The Last Debate


Etymology
The name must be derived from the root kelu- "flow out swiftly", formed with an ending -sse, -ssa, seen in Quenya kelussë "freshet, water falling out swiftly from a rocky spring".

Unfinished Tales, Index


Notes
In at least one earlier, black and red version of the Map of Middle-earth from The Lord of the Rings, the names of the rivers Celos and Sirith are switched. The similar Map of Gondor, however, shows them in the correct order, and the map above has been corrected. The Celos is, in fact, to the west (left) of the Sirith, closer to the Gilrain/Serni system, as confirmed by the following passage:

The Gilrain came swiftly down from the mountains as did the other rivers of that region; but as it reached the end of the outlier of Ered Nimrais that separated it from the Celos... it ran into a wide shallow depression.

Unfinished Tales, Part 2, Ch 4, The History of Galadriel and Celeborn: Amroth and Nimrodel

Contributors:
Elena Tiriel 12Dec04, 31Aug10

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