The Causeway Forts,[1] also known as the Guard-towers[2] and Bered Ondrath,[3] were a twin-towered fortification with battlements on each side of the north-eastern[4] gate of the Rammas Echor, from which the Causeway ran over the flat land to the city of Osgiliath.[5] Within the Rammas Echor, the road ran for four leagues (twelve miles)[6] over the Pelennor Fields to the Great Gate of Minas Tirith.[4]
The Forts' purpose was to guard the Causeway on the road from Osgiliath to Minas Tirith against the possibility of enemy attack.[7]
History[]
On March 10 in the year 3019 of the late Third Age,[8] Beregond, a member of the Third Company of the Guards of the Citadel,[4] returned to Minas Tirith from Bered Ondrath[3] to which he had been sent from the city over the Pelennor Fields.[2]
On March 11 the following day,[8] the Steward of Gondor Denethor II sent his younger son Faramir to defend the crossing over the river Anduin at Osgiliath against the Morgul-host to decimate the attackers before retreating back to Minas Tirith.[citation needed]
On March 12,[8] the attacking Morgul-host that was led by the Witch-king of Angmar and outnumbered the defenders tenfold had managed to cross the Anduin on a large number of floats and barges that they had secretly built in East Osgiliath so that Faramir retreated and rallied his men to the Forts[3].[9]
However, in the early hours of March 13,[8] the attackers wrecked the Causeway Forts[3] and blasted breaches in the Rammas Echor. The defenders had to retreat over the Pelennor Fields to the Great Gate of the City with Faramir leading the rearguard. When cavalry from Haradwaith overtook the retreating men and caused them to rout, the entire remaining cavalry of Minas Tirith charged from the city, attacked the enemy forces and escorted the retreating men including Faramir, who had been shot with a dart during a fight with a mounted champion of Harad, back to the city. Only two thirds of the defenders including Faramir made it back to Minas Tirith.[10]
Etymology[]
Bered Ondrath is a Sindarin name meaning "Causeway Towers"[11] and possibly "towers of the stone road",[12] derived from the plural of barad ("fort, fortress;[13] tower;[14] a great towering building")[15], the lenited[3] form of gond[16] ("stone - general as a substance or material;[17] a rock")[18], and rath ("course, river-bed;[19] a track, street")[20].[21]
In adaptations[]
The Lord of the Rings Online[]
In the video game The Lord of the Rings Online, these Forts guard the way west out of the city. In the version of the city that acts as the player-versus-monster-player map, they are the stronghold of the Free Peoples of the World, and cannot be accessed by enemy players.
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Hoë pad Forte |
| Albanian | Kala të ngritura rrugore |
| Amharic | ከፍተኛ የመንገድ ምሽጎች |
| Arabic | حصون الطرق المرتفعة |
| Armenian | Բարձր ճանապարհային ամրոցներ |
| Assamese | উচ্চ পথৰ দুৰ্গসমূহ |
| Asturian | Fortificaciones de carreteres altes |
| Azerbaijani | Yüksək yol Istehkamlar |
| Basque | Altxatutako errepideko gotorlekuak |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Высокія дарожныя фарты |
| Bengali | উঁচু রাস্তার দুর্গ |
| Bosnian | Izdignute putne utvrde |
| Breton | Kreñvlec'hioù hent uhel |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Крепости по високите пътища |
| Burmese | မြင့်မားသောလမ်းခံတပ်များ |
| Cambodian | បន្ទាយផ្លូវខ្ពស់។ |
| Catalan | Fortins de carretera elevada |
| Chinese | 堤路防御工事 |
| Croatian | Visoke cestovne utvrde |
| Czech | Vysoké silniční pevnosti |
| Danish | Dæmningsmurene |
| Dari | قلعه های جاده مرتفع |
| Dutch | Dijk Vestingwerken |
| Esperanto | Digvojo-fortikaĵoj |
| Estonian | Kõrgendatud tee linnused |
| Faroese | Høvuðsvegur virkir |
| Filipino | Mga kuta sa matataas na kalsada |
| Finnish | Viertolinnake |
| French | Forts de chaussée |
| Frisian | Ferhevene wei Forten (Western) |
| Friulian | Fortissis stradâls elevadis |
| Galician | Fortes de calzada elevada |
| Georgian | მაღალი გზის ციხესიმაგრეები |
| German | Erhöhte straße Festungen |
| Greek | Φρούρια υψηλών δρόμος |
| Gujarati | હાઇ રોડ કિલ્લાઓ |
| Hebrew | מבצרי כביש גבוהים |
| Hindi | कॉजवे किलों |
| Hungarian | Magasabb közúti erődök |
| Icelandic | Hár vegur virkjum |
| Indonesian | Benteng-benteng Jalan lintas |
| Italian | Fortini di Strada rialzata |
| Japanese | 土手道要塞 |
| Kannada | ಒಡ್ಡುದಾರಿ ಕೋಟೆಗಳು |
| Kazakh | Жоғары жол Бекіністер (Cyrillic) Joğarı jol Bekinister (Latin) |
| Korean | 높은 도로 요새 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Бийик жол чептер |
| Laotian | ປ້ອມຖະຫນົນຫົນທາງສູງ |
| Latin | Princeps via munitiones |
| Latvian | Augsts ceļš forti |
| Lithuanian | Aukštos kelio fortai |
| Luxembourgish | Héich Strooss Forten |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Насипи тврдини |
| Malayalam | ഉയർന്ന റോഡ് കോട്ടകൾ |
| Malaysian | Kubu-kubu jalan tinggi |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Өндөр зам бэхлэлтүүд |
| Maithili | ऊँच सड़क किला |
| Marathi | कॉजवे तटबंदी |
| Nepalese | हाई रोड फोर्ट्स |
| Norwegian | Høy vei festninger |
| Occitan | Fòrts de rota nauta |
| Pashto | د لوړ سړک قلعې |
| Persian | استحکامات میانگذر |
| Polish | Strażnice na Grobli |
| Portuguese | Fortes de estrada elevada |
| Punjabi | ਉੱਚੀ ਸੜਕ ਦੇ ਕਿਲੇ |
| Romanian | Forturile Drum înălțat |
| Russian | Высокие дорожные форты |
| Sardinian | Fortes artziados pro sas istradas |
| Serbian | Утврде на високим путевима (Cyrillic) Utvrde na visokim putevima (Latin) |
| Sicilian | Furtizzi di strata auta |
| Sinhalese | කෝස්වේ බලකොටු |
| Slovak | Vysoké cestné pevnosti |
| Slovenian | Utrdbe na nasipih |
| Spanish | Fuertes de pedraplén |
| Swahili | Ngome za barabara zilizoinuliwa |
| Swedish | Hög väg fästningar |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Қалъаҳои роҳи баланд |
| Tamil | தரைப்பாலம் கோட்டைகள் |
| Tatar | Биек юл ныгытмалары |
| Telugu | ఎత్తైన రహదారి కోటలు |
| Thai | ป้อมปราการถนนยกระดับ |
| Turkish | Yüksek yol Tahkimatlar |
| Turkmen | Beýik ýol Galalar |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Фортеці високої дороги |
| Urdu | کاز وے قلعے |
| Uzbek | Юқори йўл Истеҳкомлар (Cyrillic) Yuqori yo'l Istehkomlar (Latin) |
| Venetian | Forti de strada ełevada |
| Vietnamese | Pháo đài đường cao |
| Welsh | Caerau ffordd uchel |
| Yiddish | הויך וועג פעסטונגען |
References[]
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, vol. III: The Return of the King, Book Five, ch. IV: "The Siege of Gondor", pgs. 817-8
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Lord of the Rings, vol. III: The Return of the King, Book Five, ch. IV: "The Siege of Gondor", pg. 807
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 The History of Middle-earth, vol. IX: The War of the Ring, Part Three: Minas Tirith, VI: "The Siege of Gondor", pg. 340 (note 16)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Lord of the Rings, vol. III: The Return of the King, Book Five, Chapter I: "Minas Tirith", pg. 750
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, "Unfinished index for The Lord of the Rings", pg. 546 (entry "Causeway Forts")
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, vol. III: The Return of the King, "Map of Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor"
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings, "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Great Years"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, vol. III: The Return of the King, Book Five, ch. IV: "The Siege of Gondor", pg. 817
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, vol. III: The Return of the King, Book Five, ch. IV: "The Siege of Gondor", pgs. 818-20
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, vol. IX: The War of the Ring, Index
- ↑ "Bered Ondrath" on eldamo.org
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: The Etymologies, entry "BARAT"
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon, issue XVII: Words, Phrases and Passages in various tongues in The Lord of the Rings, pgs. 65-6
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon, issue XVII: Words, Phrases and Passages in various tongues in The Lord of the Rings, pgs. 22, 85
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon, issue XXIII: The Feanorian Alphabet, Part 2 and Eldarin Pronouns, pg. 139
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon, issue XVII: Words, Phrases and Passages in various tongues in The Lord of the Rings, pg. 28
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon, issue XVII: Words, Phrases and Passages in various tongues in The Lord of the Rings, pg. 29
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: The Etymologies, entry "RAT"
- ↑ The Nature of Middle-earth, pg. 364
- ↑ Roman Rausch, "3.35 Bered Ondrath" on Sindanoorie.net