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Places in Middle-earth

Gulf of Lhûn

Type: Seas, Oceans, Bays

Region: Arnor/Eriador/Lindon

Other Names
Gulf of Lune
long firth of Lune

Location: The divide between the north and south regions of Lindon, stretching from the Great Sea to the mouth of the River Lhûn where the Grey Havens were built.

Description: "In the east, in Ossiriand, the walls of Ered Luin were broken, and a great gap was made in them towards the south, and a gulf of the sea flowed in. Into that gulf the River Lhûn fell by a new course, and it was called therefore the Gulf of Lhûn. That country had of old been named Lindon by the Noldor, and this name it bore thereafter…

"Upon the shores of the Gulf of Lhûn the Elves built their havens, and named them Mithlond; and there they held many ships, for the harbourage was good. From the Grey Havens the Eldar ever and anon set sail, fleeing from the darkness of the days of Earth; for by the mercy of the Valar the Firstborn could still follow the Straight Road and return, if they would, to their kindred in Tol Eressëa and Valinor beyond the encircling seas.

The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age

"It was six hundred years after the departure of the survivors of the Atani [Edain] over the sea to Númenor that a ship first came again out of the West to Middle-earth and passed up the Gulf of Lhûn. Its captain and mariners were welcomed by Gil-galad; and thus was begun the friendship and alliance of Númenor with the Eldar of Lindon. …"

Unfinished Tales, Part 2, Ch 2, Aldarion and Erendis, Note #3

"It will be seen on Map I that the distinction between the North and South Havens (here Forlorn and Harlorn for later Forlond and Harlond), situated in bays of the Gulf of Lune, and Mithlond, the Grey Havens, at the head of the gulf, was already present…"

The Treason of Isengard, HoME Vol 7, Ch 15, The First Map of the Lord of the Rings, Maps I and I

‘Beyond the Lhûn was Elvish country, green and quiet, where no Men went; but Dwarves dwelt, and still dwell, in the east side of the Blue Mountains, especially in those parts south of the Gulf of Lune, where they have mines that are still in use. …’

The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur

Etymology
LUG(2)- * lugni blue: Q lune; N lhun (Dor. luin pale, Dan. lygn). Cf. Lunoronti Blue Mountains, N Eredluin (also Lhunorodrim, Lhundirien Blue Towers) = Eredlindon Mountains of Lindon (= Ossiriand). …

The Lost Road and Other Writings, HoME Vol 5, Part 3, The Etymologies

Contributors: Lyllyn 9Jan05

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