The Blue Mountains, or Ered Luin, also known as Ered Lindon, was a mountain range situated in the far west of Eriador.
History[]
Early Arda[]
The Blue Mountains arose sometime after the tumultuous chaos caused by Melkor's destruction of the Two Lamps that destroyed the perfect symmetry of Arda. In these early days, the Blue Mountains were located between the newly formed great sea of Belegaer and the newly formed Sea of Helcar. The Blue Mountains were connected to the Iron Mountains to the north and the Red Mountains in the east which formed one great mountain range chain known by different names. The Grey Mountains were to its south separated by a great gap.[1]
Elder Days[]
During the Years of the Trees and the Long Night, the Blue Mountains was an unbroken line separating Eriador from Beleriand. Seven rivers arose in it on the western side, and the land these rivers flowed through was known as Ossiriand, the land of seven rivers. Dwarves migrated here from their awakening point and delved the cities of Belegost and Nogrod and made contact and alliance with the Sindar of Thingol.[2]
Second Age[]
The mountain range was broken during the War of Wrath of the Valar against Morgoth, and at the middle of the range the sea broke through, creating a great gap where was set the Gulf of Lune where the river Lune flowed into the sea. In the middle of the gap, where the Lune met the sea, the Grey Havens of Mithlond were built. The remnant of Ossiriand that had survived the war became known as Lindon, where the kingdom of Gil-galad was located. After this date the mountains were also known as Ered Lindon.
Location of the Blue Mountains in Middle-earth
Third Age and beyond[]
During the Third Age, its forests, besides that of Mirkwood, were the largest in Middle-earth. After the fall of the north-kingdom the last King of Arthedain, Arvedui fled to the Blue Mountains and hid from the servants of the Witch-king of Angmar in abandoned Dwarf mines until eventually compelled to leave by hunger.
In the latter part of the Third Age, the Dwarves settled the Blue Mountains again when Thráin II, his son Thorin and the Dwarven survivors of the Sack of Erebor moved from Dunland and delved a prosperous settlement there.[3] After the War of the Ring and the defeat of Sauron, Elves continued to travel west to Lindon through the gap in the mountains by way of the Gulf of Lune, from where they eventually set sail on the Straight Road to the Undying Lands of Aman.[4] Dwarves continued to mine the Blue Mountains into the Fourth Age.
Inhabitants[]
Dwarves[]
While Morgoth was imprisoned in Mandos, and Middle-earth still lay under starlight, the first Dwarves came west over the Blue Mountains that bordered Beleriand. The origins of these Dwarves are unclear, but they seem to have arisen from two of the Fathers of their race, placed beneath the Mountains by their maker Aulë. These two Fathers gave rise to two clans, each of which had made a great city in the eastern side of the Blue Mountains. In the Dwarf-tongue these cities were known as Gabilgathol and Tumunzahar, but history remembers them by their Elvish names: Belegost and Nogrod.
Underground Dwarf homes in the Blue Mountains, as seen in The Lord of the Rings Online.
From their mountain-cities, the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains came down into Beleriand to trade with the Elves. They played a great part in the making of Thingol's halls at Menegroth, and later aided in the delving of Nargothrond beside Narog. In Nogrod during this period, the master craftsman Telchar forged weapons and armour that would be famed through Middle-earth's history, including Narsil, the sword that would be broken and reforged for Aragorn far in the future.
After Morgoth's return to Middle-earth, the Dwarves were loosely allied with the Elves in the Wars of Beleriand that followed. They fought in the Nírnaeth Arnoediad, where Azaghâl of Belegost drove Glaurung from the field, but was himself slain. After the Nírnaeth, relations between the Elves and Dwarves cooled: Dwarves of Nogrod slew Thingol and stole the Nauglamír, and after this time enmity and mistrust grew between the two peoples.
At the end of the First Age, the War of Wrath caused the destruction of much of Beleriand and its neighbouring lands. The Dwarves of the Blue Mountains did not escape: Nogrod and Belegost were destroyed by the inrushing Sea, and their people fled eastwards. Many came to Khazad-dûm and joined with the Longbeards there, but the time of the first Dwarves of the Blue Mountains had come to the end.
Dwarf warrior of Blue Mountains
As the millennia passed, the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm that had welcomed the refugees from Nogrod and Belegost were themselves driven from their home, and wandered widely in Middle-earth. More than six thousand years after the old citadels of the Dwarves had been lost, these wandering Dwarves of Durins' Folk, under King Thráin II, returned to the Ered Luin. The seat of their Kings only remained there for a generation - Thráin's son Thorin II set out to recover the Lonely Mountain in the distant east - but for many years after the hammers of the Dwarves rang again among the Blue Mountains, as they had in ancient days.
Elves[]
It is shown in several maps made of Middle-earth that vast ancient forests flanked both sides of the Blue Mountains, even after the gargantuan felling of Eriador's great forests by the men of Númenor with their incessant appetite for lumber. These forests, alongside the fertile coastal plain, would prove to be draws for Elven migration and habitation.
It is stated at the very beginning of The Hobbit that the High Elves lived within the vales and forests of the Blue Mountains, presumably sharing the land with the Dwarves. To this number would be added Sindar, Wood-elves, and maybe even a few Avari.
The influx of new Elven settlers soared during the Second Age with the arrival of the Ñoldorin High King Gil-galad and the founding of the realm of Lindon.[5][6] After the fall of Gil-galad the Elven population of the region dwindled rapidly during the Third Age.[7][8]
Etymology[]
Ered Luin is Sindarin, formed of the words ered ('mountains') and luin ('blue').
In adaptations[]
Video games[]
A Dwarven settlement in the Blue Mountains, as seen in The Lord of the Rings Online
Central Ered Luin is amongst the regions fleshed out in The Lord of the Rings Online. Significant areas surrounding Dwarven and Elven settlements are available for exploration and adventuring. The Blue Mountains are only in the campaign in The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II but may not in a skirmish.
Films[]
In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, It also became the new home for many of Durin's Folk who were exiled from their halls in Erebor by Smaug the Dragon who had driven them out. After the Battle of Moria, Thorin established his throne in the Southern range beyond the Shire and many of the wandering Longbeards joined him in his halls and they became prosperous in a fashion. Some local Dwarves joined their ranks, and Bombur, Bofur and Bifur hailed from these. Erebor was retaken from Smaug by Thorin and company in T.A. 2941, and it can be assumed most if not all of Durin's folk relocated there.
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Blou Berge |
| Amharic | ሰማያዊ ተራሮች |
| Albanian | Blu Malet |
| Arabic | الجبال الزرقاء |
| Armenian | Կապույտ լեռներ |
| Assamese | নীলা পৰ্বতমালা |
| Asturian | Montañes Azules |
| Azerbaijani | Mavi Dağlar |
| Basque | Mendi Urdinak |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Блакітныя горы |
| Bengali | ব্লু পর্বতমালা |
| Breton | Menezioù Glas |
| Bosnian | Plava Planine |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Сините планини |
| Cambodian | ភ្នំខៀវ |
| Catalan | Muntanyes Blaves |
| Cebuano | Asul nga mga Bukid |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 藍色山脈 |
| Cornish | Blou Menydhyow |
| Corsican | Muntagne Blu |
| Croatian | Modro gorje |
| Czech | Modré hory |
| Danish | De Blå Bjerge |
| Dari | کوه های آبی |
| Dogri | नीले पहाड़ |
| Dutch | Blauwe Bergen |
| Esperanto | Bluaj Montoj |
| Estonian | Sinimäed |
| Faroese | Bláurfjøll |
| Filipino | Asul na bundok |
| Finnish | Sinivuoret |
| French | Montagnes Bleues |
| Frisian | Blauwe Bergen (Western) |
| Galician | Montañas Azuis |
| Georgian | ცისფერი მთები |
| German | Blaue Berge |
| Greek | Μπλε Βουνά |
| Gujarati | બ્લુ પર્વતો |
| Haitian Creole | Mòn Ble |
| Hebrew | (Blue Mountains) ההרים הכחולים
(Ered Lindon) ארד לינדון |
| Hindi | ब्लू पर्वत |
| Hmong | Xiav Toj siab |
| Hungarian | Kék-hegység |
| Icelandic | Bláfjöll |
| Indonesian | Pegunungan Biru |
| Irish Gaelic | Sléibhte Gorm |
| Italian | Monti Azzurri |
| Japanese | ブルー・マウンテンズ |
| Javanese | Biru Gunung |
| Kannada | ನೀಲಿ ಪರ್ವತಗಳು |
| Kazakh | Көгілдір таулар (Cyrillic) Kögildir tawlar (Latin) |
| Konkani | निळे पर्वत |
| Korean | 청색산맥 |
| Kurdish | شاخی شین (Sorani) Çiyayên Şîn (Kurmanji) |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Көк тоолор |
| Laotian | ພູເຂົາສີຟ້າ |
| Latin | Caeruleus Montes |
| Latvian | Zilie Kalni |
| Lithuanian | Mėlynieji Kalnai |
| Luxembourgish | Blo Bierger |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Сината Планина |
| Malagasy | Manga Tendrombohitra |
| Malayalam | നീല മലനിരകൾ |
| Malaysian | Gunung Biru |
| Maltese | Muntanji Blu |
| Marathi | निळा पर्वत |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | хөх уулсын |
| Nāhuatl | Texohtic Tepetl |
| Navajo | Dootłʼizh Dził |
| Norwegian | Blåfjellene |
| Occitan | Monts Blaus |
| Old English | Bleoh Beorgas |
| Pashto | زنگالي غرونو |
| Persian | کوه های آبی |
| Polish | Góry Błękitne |
| Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal) | Montanhas Azuis |
| Punjabi | ਬਲੂ ਪਹਾੜ |
| Romanian | Munții Albaștri |
| Romansh | Muntognas Blau |
| Russian | Синие горы |
| Samoan | Mauga lanu moana |
| Sanskrit | नीलपर्वताः |
| Sardinian | Montagnas Azules |
| Scottish Gaelic | Gorm Beanntan |
| Serbian | Плаве планине (Cyrillic) Plave planine (Latin) |
| Sicilian | Muntagni Blu |
| Sindhi | نيرو جبلن |
| Sinhalese | නිල් කඳු |
| Slovak | Modré Vrchy |
| Slovenian | Modra Gore |
| Somali | Baluug Buuraha |
| Spanish (Spain and Latin America) | Montañas Azules |
| Sundanese | Paul Pagunungan |
| Swahili | Buluu Milima |
| Swedish | Blå Bergen |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Кабуд кӯҳҳои |
| Tamil | நீல மலைகள் |
| Tatar | Зәңгәр таулар |
| Telugu | బ్లూ మౌంటైన్స్ |
| Thai | เทือกเขาบลู (Blue Mountains) เอเร็ดลูอิน (Ered Luin) |
| Turkish | Mavi Dağlar |
| Turkmen | Gök Daglar |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Блу Маунтінс |
| Urdu | دی بلیو ماؤنٹینز |
| Uyghur | كۆك تاغلار |
| Uzbek | Кўк Тоғлар (Cyrillic) Ko'k Tog'lar (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Dãy núi Blue |
| Welsh | Mynyddoedd Glas |
| Yiddish | בלו בערג |
| Yoruba | Bulu Òkè |
| Mountain Ranges of Arda |
|---|
|
Ash Mountains |
Blue Mountains |
Echoriad |
Ephel Dúath |
Ered Gorgoroth |
Ered Lómin |
Ered Wethrin |
Grey Mountains (north) |
Grey Mountains (south) |
Iron Hills |
Iron Mountains | |
| Dwarven realms of Middle-earth throughout the Ages | |
|---|---|
| Years of the Trees and First Age: | Amon Rûdh | Belegost | Khazad-dûm | Mount Gundabad | Nogrod | Narukuthûn | Blue Mountains |
| Second Age: | Khazad-dûm | Belegost | Nogrod | Mount Gundabad | Blue Mountains | Iron Hills |
| Third Age: | Grey Mountains | Iron Hills | Khazad-dûm | Lonely Mountain | Blue Mountains | Dunland |
| Fourth Age: | Glittering Caves | Khazad-dûm | Lonely Mountain | Blue Mountains | Iron Hills |
References[]
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, The First Age, The Elder Days, "Introduction"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter X: "Of the Sindar"
- ↑ Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, Part Three: The Third Age, III: "The Quest of Erebor"
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings, "The Road Home"
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, Thematic Maps, "Population"
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Second Age, "Refugee Relocation"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, Chapter III: "Three is Company"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Chapter IX: "The Grey Havens"