Weathertop



In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Weathertop (Sindarin Amon Sûl, "Hill of Wind") is a significant hill in the Eriador region of Middle-earth, the southernmost and highest summit of the Weather Hills.

Weathertop overlooks the Great East Road east of Bree, about midway between the Shire and Rivendell. The hill rises a thousand feet above the level lands round about, and was the site of a watchtower in the days of Arnor. The watchtower and fortifications were burned and destroyed in T.A. 1409, but the top is still flat and surrounded by a ring of stones. A path leads from the top northward, connecting to the other fortresses of the Weather Hills. The tower originally held one of the seven Palantíri.

Weathertop is not mentioned in The Hobbit, but is a scene of action in The Lord of the Rings. After fleeing from Bree, Strider and the hobbits avoid the main road and approach Weathertop from the north. At the top they discover a cairn with a message from Gandalf, and see the Ringwraiths approaching in the distance along the road. That night, the Ringwraiths attack their camp in a dell below the summit, stabbing Frodo with a Morgul blade, but then being driven off by the others.