The Firien Wood (also called Firienholt by the Rohirrim, or Wood of Anwar, and also the Whispering Wood[1]) was an oak forest below Halifirien, the westernmost of the Warning beacons of Gondor, on the fringes of Gondor and Rohan. a section of the wood was called Everholt.
The forest was located at the northern feet of the White Mountains, bordering the Mering Stream and the Eastfold of Rohan in the land of Anórien. It spanned twenty or twenty-five miles from west to east,[2] and covered some of the slopes of Amon Anwar.[1] The Great West Road passed through it.
Save for beasts and birds, its only inhabitants by the War of the Ring were the Beacon-wardens, living near Halifirien's summit. A path marked by standing stones led from the road to the summit of Halifirien.
History[]
In the Second Age, this forest was first named Eryn Fuir[3] (Sindarin for 'North Wood'), and the Great West Road was blazed through it by the Dúnedain exiles from Númenor,[4] to facilitate travel that avoided the wetlands to the north. It is told that after the departure of Isildur some time before TA 2, no tree was ever felled in the woods again[1] except by the eventual Beacon-wardens, suggesting that the Dúnedain had used the forest substantially for its timber.
Around the early twenty-sixth century of the Third Age, the old path to Amon Anwar that had run through here had become overgrown, but was still marked by a standing-stone. Cirion, the Ruling Steward of Gondor ordered the path to be reopened to aid in movements of friends and allies, but with stealth in mind and only wide enough for a few men to pass upwards. No trees were cut down and the entrance to the path shrouded, to hid it from being clearly seen from the main road.[1] After the coming of Eorl the Young and his people to Calenardhon in TA 2510 and the Battle of the Field of Celebrant, the woods were named Firienholt (Rohanese for "Firien Wood") upon the founding of Rohan. In TA 2864, the great boar of Everholt was hunted in these woods by Folca, thirteenth King of Rohan, resulting in his death.[5]
When the Kingdom of Gondor established seven warning beacons along White Mountains, for the calling of aid from the Rohirrim, the westmost and highest beacon was beside the Firien Wood upon a slope of Amon Anwar or "Halifirien". Since the early Third Age, Beacon-wardens dwelt in the woods, living in tree-lodges and maintaining the road.[1]
Etymology[]
The Firien Wood was named after Halifirien, the 'holy mountain' at its south where Isildur had established the Tomb of Elendil.
The word firien is from Old English firgen, meaning 'wood'.[6]
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Firien Woud |
| Albanian | Pylli i Firienit |
| Amharic | የፊሪያን ደን |
| Arabic | غابة الفيرين |
| Armenian | Ֆիրիեն Անտառ |
| Assamese | ফিৰিয়েন অৰণ্য |
| Azerbaijani | Firien Meşəsi |
| Basque | Firien Basoa |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Фірыен Лес |
| Bengali | ফিরিয়েন বন |
| Bosnian | Firien Šuma |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Фириен Гора |
| Catalan | Bosc de Firien |
| Chinese | 菲瑞恩森林 |
| Croatian | Šuma Firien |
| Czech | Firien Les |
| Danish | Firien Skov |
| Dutch | Firien Bos |
| Esperanto | Arbaro de Firien |
| Estonian | Firieni Mets |
| Faroese | Firien Skógurin |
| Filipino | Gubat ng Firien |
| Finnish | Firienin metsä |
| French | Bois de Firien |
| Frisian | Firien Bosk (Western) |
| Friulian | Bosc dai Firien |
| Galician | Bosque de Firien |
| German | Firienwald |
| Greek | Δάσος της Φιριεν |
| Gujarati | ફિરિયન ફોરેસ્ટ |
| Hawaiian | Nahele Firen |
| Hebrew | פיריה יַעַר |
| Hindi | फ़िरिएन वन |
| Hungarian | Firien Erdő |
| Icelandic | Firien Skógur |
| Indonesian | Hutan Firien |
| Irish Gaelic | Foraois Firien |
| Italian | Foresta di Firien |
| Japanese | フィリエンの森 |
| Javanese | Alas Firien |
| Kannada | ಫಿರಿಯನ್ ಅರಣ್ಯ |
| Konkani | फिरिएन रान |
| Korean | 피리엔 숲 |
| Latvian | Fīriena Mežs |
| Lithuanian | Firieno Miškas |
| Luxembourgish | Firien Bësch |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Шума Фириен |
| Malayalam | ഫിരിയൻ ഫോറസ്റ്റ് |
| Malaysian | Hutan Firien |
| Maltese | Foresti Firien |
| Marathi | फिरेन वन |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Фириен Ой |
| Nepalese | फेरीन वन |
| Norwegian | Firien Skog |
| Occitan | Bòsc de Firien |
| Persian | جنگل فایرین |
| Pashto | د فیرین ځنګل |
| Portuguese | Floresta Firien |
| Punjabi | ਫਿਰੀਅਨ ਜੰਗਲ |
| Romanian | Pădurea Firien |
| Russian | Лес Фериен |
| Sardinian | Bòscu de Firien |
| Scottish Gaelic | Coille Firien |
| Serbian | Фириен Шума (Cyrillic) Firien Šuma (Latin) |
| Sicilian | Boscu di Firien |
| Sinhalese | ෆිරියන් වනාන්තරය |
| Slovak | Firien Les |
| Slovenian | Firien Gozd |
| Spanish | Bosque de Firien |
| Swedish | Firien Skog |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Ҷангали Фириен |
| Tamil | ஃபிரியன் காடு |
| Telugu | ఫైరియన్ ఫారెస్ట్ |
| Turkish | Firien Ormanı |
| Turkmen | Firien Tokaýy |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Ліс Фірієн |
| Urdu | فیریئن جنگل |
| Uzbek | Фириен Ўрмони (Cyrillic) Firien Oʻrmoni (Latin) |
| Venetian | Foresta de Firien |
| Vietnamese | Rừng Firien |
| Welsh | Coedwig Firien |
| Yiddish | פֿירען וואַלד |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Unfinished Tales, "Cirion and Eorl and the Friendship of Gondor and Rohan", iii., pgs. 300-2 & 314
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, pg. 89
- ↑ Vinyar Tengwar, No. 42, July 2001, "The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter), pg. 20
- ↑ Unfinished Tales, "Cirion and Eorl and the Friendship of Gondor and Rohan", Note 32
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Kings of the Mark"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings" in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull's The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, pg. 770