Grey Mountains

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The Grey Mountains, or the Ered Mithrin, was a large mountain range in Middle-earth located to the north of Rhovanion.

Description

The Grey Mountains were the last remnants of the wall of the Iron Mountains, which once stretched all over the north of Middle-earth, but were broken at the end of the First Age after the War of Wrath. North of the Grey Mountains lay Forodwaith, or the Northern Waste. This land was known as Dor Daidelos during the First Age, but most of it was destroyed in the breaking of Arda after the War of Wrath.

In the maps of the Second and Third Age, it may look like the Grey Mountains were but a northern arm of the Misty Mountains, but in truth, this mountain range was far older, stemming from the creation of Arda, whereas the Misty Mountains had not been raised until after the Years of the Lamps.

Where the Grey Mountains met at their western end with the Misty Mountains lay Mount Gundabad, an ancient Dwarven holy site and the place where Durin I awoke.  

The stretch of mountains west of the Misty Mountains which still formed one range with the Grey Mountains was known as the Mountains of Angmar, another remnant of the Iron Mountains.

The eastern end of the Grey Mountains was split into two branches, and in between lay the Withered Heath, where dragons still bred. After that was a long gap until the Iron Hills continued the old line of the Iron Mountains again. The Lonely Mountain was not part of either range and was entirely separate.

From east to west the mountains stretched some 350 Númenórean Miles, and the sources of the Great River Anduin, Langwell, the river Greylin, and the Forest River of Mirkwood arose in this range.

Inhabitants

The Dwarves of Durin's folk considered the Ered Mithrin as part of their land as far back as the reign of Durin I. Because of constant attack by both Orcs of Morgoth and possibly Dragons, they were not heavily explored or settled until the Third Age. By the Third Age all Dwarven strongholds had been abandoned or raided by dragons, and the Grey Mountains served only to divide Forodwaith from Wilderland. Very few dwarves remained in the Grey Mountains during the Third Age after the core population left, and the Kingdoms of Durin's Folk most probably reclaimed their halls in the Grey Mountains during the Fourth Age due to the diminished states of Orcs and Dragons.

Etymology

The Grey Mountains are also known as Ered Mithrin in Sindarin; from ered (mountains) + mithrin (grey).^[1]

Other versions of the Legendarium

Another line of Grey Mountains in Middle-earth are seen on the Ambarkanta map: these are a series of mountains which continue the line of the Blue Mountains as the western edge of Endor, but on the southern half of the continent. Since no maps of the entire world exist after the First Age, it is unknown if this mountain line still existed in the Third Age. In any case they do not appear in any narrative.

Translations

References

1. ↑ The Complete Guide to Middle-earth