Changes: Gwaihir

Latest revision as of 02:47, 26 March 2024

Gwaihir, also known as Gwaihir the Windlord, was lord of the Great Eagles during the Third Age.

Biography

Gwaihir was descended from Thorondor, the greatest Eagle who ever lived. It was said that he and his brother Landroval aided Thorondor in rescuing Beren and Luthien from Angband.^[1]

War of the Ring

In the summer of TA 3018, Gandalf asked Radagast the Brown to send word among his friends the birds to learn what they could of the Enemy's plans. The Great Eagles flew far and wide and gathered news of the Nazgûl, the muster of Orcs and Wargs, and the escape of Gollum from Mirkwood.

LOTR mega-eagle — Gwaihir rescues Gandalf from Orthanc

Gwaihir went to Isengard to bring this news to Gandalf. In the early hours of September 18, he found Gandalf imprisoned by Saruman on the pinnacle of Orthanc. Gwaihir bore Gandalf away, and when the wizard said that he needed a horse, Gwaihir set him down in the land of Rohan.

Gandalf and Gwaihir, Cavini — Gandalf the Grey with Gwaihir, by Ivan Cavini

On February 17, 3019, Gwaihir was searching for Gandalf at the request of Galadriel when he found the wizard atop the Silvertine. Gandalf had vanquished the Balrog in the Battle of the Peak, but the entrance to the Endless Stair had been blocked, preventing him from escaping the mountaintop. Gwaihir once again bore Gandalf; he found his burden to be as light as a feather, for Gandalf's old life had been burned away, and he had been reborn as Gandalf the White.

Gwaihir brought Gandalf to Lothlórien, and then at the wizard's request he flew to seek news of the Fellowship. Aragorn and Legolas both saw him circling above the Emyn Muil. Gwaihir returned to Gandalf with the news that Merry and Pippin had been kidnapped by Saruman's Uruk-hai.

012408fellbeastveagle — Gwaihir facing a fellbeast

Gwaihir and his brother Landroval led a great company of Eagles to the Battle of the Black Gate on March 25, 3019. They swooped in to attack the winged Nazgûl, but the Nazgûl fled when Sauron summoned them to fly to Mount Doom where Frodo Baggins stood at the Cracks of Doom with the Ring. After the Ring was destroyed, Mount Doom erupted and Frodo and Sam were stranded on a hill amid flowing lava and falling ash. Gandalf asked Gwaihir to bear him a final time. Accompanied by Landroval and Meneldor, Gwaihir flew swiftly to Mount Doom; with his keen sight, he spotted the Hobbits through the fumes. The Eagles lifted Frodo and Sam and bore them away to safety.

Etymology

The name Gwaihir comes from the Sindarin terms gwaew ("storm, wind") and hîr ("lord, master"), translating his name to "Wind-lord".^[2]

Abilities

Gwaihir had keen eyesight and was the swiftest of the Great Eagles. He was large and strong enough to carry a grown man, though he could not do so indefinitely.

GwaihirRescueJohnHowe — Gwaihir arriving to rescue Gandalf from Isengard, by John Howe

Elsewhere in the legendarium

In earlier versions, his name was "Gwaewar" and he was Thorondor's (then leader of the Great Eagles) vassal. As Gwaewar, he was called the "Lord of the Wind".^[3] He was also among the Eagles present to save Beren and Lúthien from Angband.^[4]

Gwaihir is sometimes thought to be the unnamed Lord of the Eagles seen in The Hobbit, but this is unlikely, as Gandalf mentions after the Battle of the Black Gate, in TA 3019, that Gwaihir had borne him "three times" thitherto;^[5] the first of those times was in rescuing Gandalf from Orthanc in September of TA 3018, which occurred long after the period of The Hobbit.

In adaptations

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy

In The Fellowship of the Ring film (2001), Gwaihir arrives at Isengard to rescue Gandalf. Later in The Return of the King, Gwaihir, Landroval, and the other Great Eagles arrive at the Battle of the Black Gate and attack the Nazgûl and their fellbeasts. After the destruction of the One Ring, Gwaihir bears Gandalf and rescues Frodo and Sam from the rocks of Mount Doom.

Video games

Gwaihir makes a brief appearance in the video game The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age as a special power available to Berethor's Company.
Gwaihir makes an unnamed appearance in The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth as a power to use when playing as either Gondor or Rohan. Although he is unnamed - just called an eagle - it is possible that one of the eagles would be Gwaihir.
Gwaihir also makes a brief appearance in The Lord of the Rings: War in the North after Eredan, Andriel and Farin defeat Bargrisar.

Gallery

Translations

Foreign Language	Translated name
Amharic	ጓሂር
Arabic	جوير
Armenian	Գվայհիր
Belarusian Cyrillic	Гвайхіра
Chinese (Hong Kong)	關赫
French	Gwaihir le Seigneur des Vents
Georgian	გვაიჰირი
Gujarati	ગ્વાઇહર
Hebrew	גואיהיר
Japanese	グワイヒア
Kannada	ಗ್ವೈಹೀರ್
Malayalam	ഗ്വായിർ
Marathi	ग्वाहीर
Nepalese	ग्वाहिर
Persian	گواهیر (Gwaihir) گواهیر ارباب بادها (Gwaihir the Windlord)
Russian	Гваихир
Serbian	Гваихир (Cyrillic) Gwaihir (Latin)
Sinhalese	ග්වෛහිර්
Tajik Cyrillic	Гwаиҳир
Tamil	கிவைஹிர்
Tatar	Гвайхир
Telugu	గ్వాఇహిర్
Thai	ไกวเฮียร์
Ukrainian Cyrillic	Гвайгір (Боривітер)
Urdu	گوایہیر
Yiddish	גוואַיהיר

References

↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XI: The War of the Jewels, Part One. The Grey Annals
↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies"
↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Two: "Valinor and Middle-earth before The Lord of the Rings"
↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. IX: Sauron Defeated, Part One: The End of the Third Age, V: "The Field of Kormallen"
↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Ch. IV, "The Field of Cormallen"

[1] The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XI: The War of the Jewels, Part One. The Grey Annals

[2] The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies"

[3] The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Two: "Valinor and Middle-earth before The Lord of the Rings"

[4] The History of Middle-earth, Vol. IX: Sauron Defeated, Part One: The End of the Third Age, V: "The Field of Kormallen"

[5] The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Ch. IV, "The Field of Cormallen"

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 == Biography ==
-Gwaihir was descended from [[Thorondor]], the greatest Eagle who ever lived. It was said that he and his brother [[Landroval]] aided Thorondor in rescuing [[Beren]] and [[Luthien]] from [[Angband]].<ref>''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'', Vol. XI: ''[[The War of the Jewels (book)|The War of the Jewels]],'' Part One. [[The Grey Annals]]</ref>
+Gwaihir was descended from [[Thorondor]], the greatest Eagle who ever lived. It was said that he and his brother [[Landroval]] aided Thorondor in rescuing [[Beren]] and [[Luthien]] from [[Angband]].<ref>''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'', Vol. XI: ''[[The War of the Jewels (book)|The War of the Jewels]]'', Part One. [[The Grey Annals]]</ref>
-At some point in his life, [[Gandalf|Gandalf the Grey]] saved him from a poisoned [[arrow]].
 === War of the Ring ===
-In the summer of [[TA 3018]], Gandalf asked [[Radagast]] the Brown to send word among his friends the birds to learn what they could of [[Sauron|the Enemy]]'s plans. The Great Eagles flew far and wide and gathered news of the [[Nazgûl]] and the mustering of Orcs and Wargs, and of the escape of [[Gollum]] from [[Mirkwood]].
+In the summer of [[TA 3018]], Gandalf asked [[Radagast]] the Brown to send word among his friends the birds to learn what they could of [[Sauron|the Enemy]]'s plans. The Great Eagles flew far and wide and gathered news of the [[Nazgûl]], the muster of [[Orcs]] and [[Wargs]], and the escape of [[Gollum]] from [[Mirkwood]].
-[[File:LOTR_mega-eagle.jpg|thumb|225px|Gwaihir rescues Gandalf from Orthanc]]
+[[File:LOTR_mega-eagle.jpg|thumb|277x277px|Gwaihir rescues Gandalf from Orthanc]]
-Gwaihir went to [[Isengard]] to bring this news to [[Gandalf]]. In the early hours of September 18, he found Gandalf imprisoned by Saruman on the pinnacle of [[Orthanc]]. Gwaihir bore Gandalf away, and when the Wizard said that he needed a horse, Gwaihir set him down in the land of [[Rohan]].
+Gwaihir went to [[Isengard]] to bring this news to Gandalf. In the early hours of September 18, he found Gandalf imprisoned by Saruman on the pinnacle of [[Orthanc]]. Gwaihir bore Gandalf away, and when the [[Wizards|wizard]] said that he needed a horse, Gwaihir set him down in the land of [[Rohan]].
-On [[February 17]], [[3019]], Gwaihir was searching for Gandalf at the request of [[Galadriel]] when he found the Wizard atop the [[Silvertine]]. Gandalf had vanquished the [[Balrog]] in the [[Battle of the Peak]], but the entrance to the [[Endless Stair]] had been blocked and he had been unable to escape from the mountaintop. Gwaihir once again bore Gandalf and he found his burden to be as light as a feather, for Gandalf's old life had been burned away and he had been reborn as Gandalf the White.
+[[File:Gandalf and Gwaihir, Cavini.jpg|left|thumb|Gandalf the Grey with Gwaihir, by [[Ivan Cavini]]]]
+On [[February 17]], [[TA 3019|3019]], Gwaihir was searching for Gandalf at the request of [[Galadriel]] when he found the wizard atop the [[Silvertine]]. Gandalf had vanquished the [[Balrogs|Balrog]] in the [[Battle of the Peak]], but the entrance to the [[Endless Stair]] had been blocked, preventing him from escaping the mountaintop. Gwaihir once again bore Gandalf; he found his burden to be as light as a feather, for Gandalf's old life had been burned away, and he had been reborn as Gandalf the White.
-The Eagle brought Gandalf to [[Lothlórien]] and then at the Wizard's request he flew to seek news of [[The Fellowship of the Ring|the Fellowship]]. [[Aragorn]] and [[Legolas]] both saw him circling above the [[Emyn Muil]]. Gwaihir returned to Gandalf with the news that [[Merry Brandybuck|Merry]] and [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]] had been kidnapped by Saruman's [[Orcs|Uruk-hai]].
+Gwaihir brought Gandalf to [[Lothlórien]], and then at the wizard's request he flew to seek news of the [[Fellowship of the Ring (group)|Fellowship]]. [[Aragorn II Elessar|Aragorn]] and [[Legolas]] both saw him circling above the [[Emyn Muil]]. Gwaihir returned to Gandalf with the news that [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]] and [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]] had been kidnapped by Saruman's [[Orcs|Uruk-hai]].
-[[File:012408fellbeastveagle.jpg|thumb|left|225px|Gwaihir against a fell beast]]
+[[File:012408fellbeastveagle.jpg|thumb|left|277x277px|Gwaihir facing a fellbeast]]
-Gwaihir and his brother [[Landroval]] led a great company of Eagles to the [[Battle of the Black Gate]] on [[March 25]], 3019. They swooped in to attack the Winged Nazgûl, but the Nazgûl fled when Sauron summoned them to fly to [[Mount Doom]] where [[Frodo Baggins]] stood at the [[Cracks of Doom]] with the [[One Ring|Ring]]. After the Ring was destroyed, Mount Doom erupted and Frodo and [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]] were stranded on a hill amid flowing lava and falling ash. Gandalf asked Gwaihir to bear him a final time. Accompanied by Landroval and [[Meneldor]], Gwaihir raced swiftly to Mount Doom and with his keen sight, he spotted the [[Hobbits]] through the fumes. The Eagles lifted Frodo and Sam and bore them away to safety.
+Gwaihir and his brother [[Landroval]] led a great company of Eagles to the [[Battle of the Black Gate]] on [[March 25]], 3019. They swooped in to attack the winged Nazgûl, but the Nazgûl fled when Sauron summoned them to fly to [[Mount Doom]] where [[Frodo Baggins]] stood at the [[Cracks of Doom]] with the [[One Ring|Ring]]. After the Ring was destroyed, Mount Doom erupted and Frodo and [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]] were stranded on a hill amid flowing lava and falling ash. Gandalf asked Gwaihir to bear him a final time. Accompanied by Landroval and [[Meneldor]], Gwaihir flew swiftly to Mount Doom; with his keen sight, he spotted the [[Hobbits]] through the fumes. The Eagles lifted Frodo and Sam and bore them away to safety.
 == Etymology ==
@@ Line 52: / Line 50: @@
 == Abilities ==
-Gwaihir had keen eyesight and was the swiftest of the Great Eagles. He was large and strong enough to carry a grown man, though not indefinitely.
+Gwaihir had keen eyesight and was the swiftest of the Great Eagles. He was large and strong enough to carry a grown man, though he could not do so indefinitely.
+[[File:GwaihirRescueJohnHowe.png|thumb|366x366px|Gwaihir arriving to rescue Gandalf from [[Isengard]], by [[John Howe]]]]
+== Elsewhere in the legendarium==
-== Appearances ==
+In earlier versions, his name was "Gwaewar" and he was Thorondor's (then leader of the Great Eagles) vassal. As Gwaewar, he  was called the "Lord of the Wind".<ref>''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'', Vol. V: ''[[The Lost Road and Other Writings]]'', Part Two: "Valinor and Middle-earth before The Lord of the Rings"</ref> He was also among the Eagles present to save [[Beren]] and [[Lúthien]] from Angband.<ref>''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'', Vol. IX: ''[[Sauron Defeated]]'', Part One: The End of the Third Age, V: "The Field of Kormallen"</ref>
-=== In the books ===
-*''[[The Silmarillion]]''
-*''[[The History of Middle-earth]]''
-*''[[The Fellowship of the Ring (novel)|The Fellowship of the Ring]] ''
-*''[[The Two Towers (novel)|The Two Towers]] ''
-*''[[The Return of the King (novel)|The Return of the King]]''
+Gwaihir is sometimes thought to be the unnamed [[Lord of the Eagles]] seen in ''[[The Hobbit]]'', but this is unlikely, as Gandalf mentions after the [[Battle of the Black Gate]], in [[TA 3019]], that Gwaihir had borne him "three times" thitherto;<ref>''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', ''[[The Return of the King]]'', Book Six, Ch. IV, "[[The Field of Cormallen]]"</ref> the first of those times was in rescuing Gandalf from [[Orthanc]] in September of [[TA 3018]], which occurred long after the period of ''The Hobbit''.
-=== In the films ===
+==In adaptations==
-*''[[The Two Towers (film)|The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]''
-*''[[The Return of the King (film)|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]] ''
+===''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy===
+In [[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring|''The Fellowship of the Ring'' film]] (2001), Gwaihir arrives at Isengard to rescue Gandalf. Later in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|The Return of the King]]'', Gwaihir, Landroval, and the other Great Eagles arrive at the [[Battle of the Black Gate]] and attack the Nazgûl and their [[fellbeast]]s. After the destruction of the One Ring, Gwaihir bears Gandalf and rescues Frodo and Sam from the rocks of Mount Doom.
-== Other versions of the legendarium ==
-In earlier versions, his name was "Gwaewar" and he was Thorondor's (then leader of the Great Eagles) vassal. As Gwaewar, he  was called the "Lord of the Wind".<ref>''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'', Vol. 5: ''[[The Lost Road and Other Writings]]'', Part Two: "Valinor and Middle-earth before The Lord of the Rings"</ref> He was also among the Eagles present to save [[Beren]] and [[Lúthien]] from Angband.<ref>''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'', Vol. 9: ''[[Sauron Defeated]]'', Part One: The End of the Third Age, V: "The Field of Kormallen"</ref>
+===Video games===
-In [[TA 2941]], a character called "Lord of the Eagles" saved [[Thorin and Company]] from [[Wargs]] and [[Orcs]]. He later arrived in the Lonely Mountain and fought in the Battle of Five Armies.<ref>''[[The Hobbit]]'', Chapter XVII: "[[The Clouds Burst]]"</ref>
+* Gwaihir makes a brief appearance in the video game ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age]]'' as a special power available to [[Berethor]]'s Company.
-However, it is up for debate if Gwaihir was one of the eagles that saved Thorin and Company. In the whole of ''The Lord of the Rings'' Gwaihir carries Gandalf twice, and by the end of the book Gandalf says so <ref>''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'','' [[The Return of the King]]'', Book Six, Chapter IV: "[[The Field of Cormallen]]"</ref>; this implies that Gwaihir had not borne him before the years of ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]].''
+* Gwaihir makes an unnamed appearance in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth]]'' as a power to use when playing as either [[Gondor]] or [[Rohan]]. Although he is unnamed - just called an eagle - it is possible that one of the eagles would be Gwaihir.
-== Portrayal in adaptations ==
+*Gwaihir also makes a brief appearance in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: War in the North]]'' after [[Eradan (Ranger)|Eredan]], [[Andriel]] and [[Farin (Champion)|Farin]] defeat [[Bargrisar]].
-=== The Lord of the Rings film trilogy ===
+==Gallery ==
-In ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring (film)|The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', Gwaihir arrives at Isengard to rescue Gandalf. Later in ''[[The Return of the King (film)|The Return of the King]]'', Gwaihir, Landroval, and the other Great Eagles arrive at the [[Battle of the Black Gate]] and attack the Nazgûl and their fell beasts. After the destruction of the One Ring, Gwaihir bears Gandalf and rescues Frodo and Sam from the rocks of Mount Doom.
+<gallery>
+File:Gandalf escapes on Gwaihir, by Alan Lee.jpg|Gandalf the Grey being escorted to Rohan by Gwaihir; after being rescue from Isengard
-In the Hobbit Trilogy, Gandalf uses a moth to call Gwaihir and the other Great Eagles to help them escape Azog and his hunters. Later, [[Radagast]] rides Gwaihir during the [[Battle of the Five Armies]] after seeking his aid along with an army of Great Eagles.
+File:Gwaihir - LOTR The Card Game (ally).JPG|Gwaihir in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game]], Trouble in Tharbad Adventure Pack''
+File:Gwaihir - LOTR The Card Game (Hero).JPG|Gwaihir in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game]], The Land of Sorrow Adventure Pack''
-=== Video games ===
+File:Gwaihir - LOTR The Card Game (Objective-ally).JPG|Gwaihir in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game]], The Mountain of Fire Expansion''
+</gallery>
-*Gwaihir makes a brief appearance in the video game ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age]]'' as a special power available to [[Berethor]]'s Company.
-*Gwaihir makes an unnamed appearance in ''The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth'' as a power to use when playing as either [[Gondor]] or [[Rohan]]. Although he is unnamed - just called an eagle - it is possible that one of the eagles would be Gwaihir.
-*Gwaihir also makes a brief appearance in [[The Lord of the Rings: War in the North|''The Lord of the Rings: War in the North'']] after [[Eradan (Ranger)|Eredan]], [[Andriel]] and [[Farin (Champion)|Farin]] defeat [[Bargrisar]].
 ==Translations==
-<div style="overflow:auto; height:300px; width:500px; float:left">
 <!--<div style="overflow:auto; height:200px;">-->
+{|class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="Show" data-collapsetext="Hide" style="border: 1px solid #a6a6a6; width:100%; margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
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 | width="300" |'''Foreign Language'''
 | width="300" |'''Translated name'''
+|-
+|Amharic
+|ጓሂር
 |-
 |Arabic
 |جوير
 |-
 |Armenian
 |Գվայհիր
 |-
@@ Line 102: / Line 95: @@
 |-
 |Chinese (Hong Kong)
 |關赫
 |-
 |French
 |Gwaihir le Seigneur des Vents
 |-
 |Georgian
@@ Line 121: / Line 114: @@
 |Kannada
 |ಗ್ವೈಹೀರ್
+|-
+|Malayalam
+|ഗ്വായിർ
 |-
 |Marathi
@@ Line 142: / Line 138: @@
 |-
 |Tajik Cyrillic
 |Гwаиҳир
 |-
 |Tamil
 |கிவைஹிர்
+|-
+|Tatar
+|Гвайхир
 |-
 |Telugu
 |గ్వాఇహిర్
+|-
+|Thai
+|ไกวเฮียร์
 |-
 |Ukrainian Cyrillic
 |Гвайгір (Боривітер)
 |-
 |Urdu
 |گوایہیر
 |-
@@ Line 160: / Line 162: @@
 |}
-</div>
 {{Clear}}
-== References ==
+==References==
-<references/>
+<references />
+[[Category:Eagles]]
+[[Category:The Lord of the Rings characters]]
+[[Category:Major characters (The Lord of the Rings)]]
+[[Category:The Fellowship of the Ring (film) characters]]
+[[Category:The Return of the King (film) characters]]
 [[ca:Gwaihir]]
 [[de:Gwaihir]]
 [[es:Gwaihir]]
+[[fr:Gwaihir]]
 [[it:Gwaihir]]
 [[pl:Gwaihir]]
 [[ru:Гваихир]]
 [[sk:Gwaihir]]
-[[Category:Eagles]]
-[[Category:The Lord of the Rings Characters]]
-[[Category:Major characters (The Lord of the Rings)]]
-[[Category:The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (film) Characters]]
-[[Category:The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (film) Characters]]