The Great East Road (also known as the East-West Road or East Road) was a dwarven-made road stretching from the Grey Havens to the Misty Mountains[1]. The Great East Road began in the Blue Mountains, passing over the plains of Eriador through The Shire and Bree[2], over the Last Bridge and by Rivendell to end near the High Pass. However, by the end of the Third Age[3], the only well known part of the once great road was the sliver that passed through The Shire.
History
The Great East Road was built by the Dwarves sometime in the First Age (likely soon after the meeting between the Dwarves and the Sindar Elves at Beleriand in YT 1250) before the first rising of the Sun. The road ran from Sarn Athrad in Ossiriand over the Blue Mountains through Eriador to the Misty Mountains and then connected to the Old Forest Road which ran on to the Iron Hills through Rhovanion[4]. Preceding the Sack of Doriath, the western portions of the road were used by companies of Dwarf craftsmen throughout eastern Beleriand.
First Age
After the First Age – in correlation with the destruction of Nogrod[5] and neighboring Belegost[5] – the road dwindled in importance. On the westward side of the Misty Mountains, because of the Longbeards influence, this segment of the road became associated with the name, Men-i-Naugrimor (Sindarin for "Old Dwarf Road").
Second Age
When Arnor was established, the north-kingdom took over the preservation of the Men-i-Naugrim, instituting several fortifications on or near it (including Weathertop). In addition to the fortifications, Arnor expanded – or constructed – bridges over the rivers Brandywine and Mitheithel. After Arnor split in TA 861, the Great East Road formed the border separating two of its successor states, Cardolan and Rhudaur.
Third Age
During the War of the Ring in the late Third Age, the Great East Road met the Greenway, and passed through Bree[6]. A day's journey east was The Forsaken Inn, beyond which was the Elven stronghold of Rivendell. West of the crossroads, the hobbits had colonized the Shire, and their most quintessential towns, Hobbiton and Michel Delving lay athwart the East Road.
Aftermath
After the War of the Ring, segments of the road that ran through the Shire became off-limits to Men, following King Elessar's proclamation.
References
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, Regional Maps, "The Misty Mountains"
- ↑ The Hobbit, Chapter IV: "Over Hill and Under Hill"
- ↑ Unfinished Tales, "The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age"
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, Regional Maps, "Wilderland"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Silmarillion, "Map of Beleriand and the Lands to the North"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Ch. IX: "At the Sign of the Prancing Pony"
Translations
Foreign Language | Translated name |
Afrikaans | Groot Oos Pad |
Albanian | Rruga e Madhe lindore |
Arabic | الطريق الشرقي العظيم |
Armenian | Մեծ Արեւելյան ճանապարհը |
Azerbaijani | Böyük şərq yolu |
Basque | Ekialdeko errepide bikaina |
Belarusian Cyrillic | Вялікі Усход дарога |
Bengali | গ্রেট ইস্ট রোড |
Bosnian | Veliki istok ceste |
Bulgarian Cyrillic | Велик Източен път |
Cambodian | ផ្លូវខាងកើតដ៏អស្ចារ្យ |
Catalan | Gran Orient Carretera |
Cebuano | Maayo sidlakan dalan |
Chinese | 伟大的东路 |
Croatian | Velika istočna cesta |
Czech | Velká východní silnice |
Danish | Østvejen |
Dutch | Oude Oosterweg |
Esperanto | Granda orienta Vojo |
Estonian | Suur Ida Tee |
Filipino | Dakilang Silangan Daan |
Finnish | Suuri itäinen tie |
French | Grande route de l'est |
Galician | Gran estrada ao leste |
Georgian | დიდი აღმოსავლეთი გზა |
German | Große Oststraße |
Greek | Μεγάλη Ανατολική Οδό |
Gujarati | ગ્રેટ ઇસ્ટ રોડ |
Hebrew | כביש מזרחי גדול |
Hindi | महान पूर्वी सड़क |
Hungarian | Nagy Keleti út |
Icelandic | Frábær austurvegur |
Indonesian | Jalan timur yang bagus |
Italian | Grande Strada Orientale |
Japanese | グレートイーストロード |
Javanese | Agung Wetan dalan |
Kannada | ಗ್ರೇಟ್ ಈಸ್ಟ್ ರೋಡ್ |
Kazakh | Ұлы Шығыс жолы (Cyrillic) Ulı Şığıs jolı (Latin) |
Korean | 위대한 동쪽 도로 |
Kurdish | Mezin Rohilat Rê (Kurmanji) |
Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Улуу Чыгыш жол |
Latin | Magnam viam orientalem |
Latvian | Lielais Austrumu Ceļš |
Lithuanian | Puikus rytinio kelio |
Macedonian Cyrillic | Велики Источен Пат |
Malaysian | Jalan besar Timur |
Maltese | Triq il-lvant kbira |
Marathi | महान पूर्वेकडील रस्ता |
Mongolian Cyrillic | Агуу их Зүүн Зам |
Nepalese | ठूलो पूर्वी सडक |
Norwegian | Flott Østvei |
Pashto | لوی ختیځ سړک |
Persian | جادهٔ بزرگ شرق |
Polish | Wschodni Gościniec |
Portuguese | Grande estrada do leste |
Punjabi | ਮਹਾਨ ਪੂਰਵੀ ਸੜਕ |
Romanian | Drumul Mare de Est |
Russian | Великий Восточный Тракт |
Serbian | Сјајно Исток Пут (Cyrillic) Sjajno Istok Put (Latin) |
Sindhi | زبردست اوڀر روڊ |
Sinhalese | මහා නැගෙනහිර පාර |
Slovak | Veľká Východná cesta |
Slovenian | Velika Vzhodna cesta |
Spanish | Gran camino al este |
Swahili | Barabara kuu Mashariki |
Swedish | Stor Öst Väg |
Tajik Cyrillic | роҳҳои бузурги шарқӣ |
Tamil | பெரிய கிழக்கு சாலை |
Telugu | గ్రేట్ ఈస్ట్ రోడ్ |
Thai | ถนนสายตะวันออกที่ดี |
Turkish | Büyük Doğu Yolu |
Ukrainian Cyrillic | Велика Східна дорога |
Urdu | عظیم مشرق روڈ |
Uzbek | Буюк Чарқ йўли (Cyrillic) Buyuk Sharq yo'li (Latin) |
Vietnamese | Đường lớn phía đông |
Welsh | Ffordd Dwyrain Mawr |
Yiddish | גרויס מזרח וועג |