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Kôrtirion (called also Kôr[1] and Koromas) was the principal city of Tol Eressëa, near Aman.

The city was located on a great hill at the very center of the island in the region of Alalvinórë, the 'Land of Many Elms'. There Ingil son of Inwë built the Tirin na Gilweth ("Tower of Gilweth") when he returned from the March of Liberation.[2][3] At the foot of this tower, described as being "tall and grey", was the house of Meril-i-Turinqi in a circular enclosure of elms.[4] The Cottage of Lost Play was located somewhere outside the city.[5]

Etymology[]

Kôrtirion meant approximately 'Great Watch-tower hill', 'Watch-tower hill', or 'mighty tower / city on a hill'.[6][7][8]

Canon[]

Kôrtirion was not described or mentioned in The Silmarillion. It is only documented in The Book of Lost Tales Part One, and mapped out by Karen Wynn Fonstad in The Atlas of Middle-earth. It was also mentioned in the poem and song, first written before 1937, "Kortirion among the Trees" and "Kôr".[3]

In Henry Rider Haggard's 1886 book She, "Kôr" is the name of an ancient, deserted city just like the Kôr of Tolkien's early poem.[9]

Places in the Undying Lands (Aman and Tol Eressëa)
Places and regions of the Valar ValinorEzelloharGardens of LòrienHalls of MandosHalls of NiennaHouse of TulkasIlmarinMáhanaxar
Pastures of YavannaWells of VardaWoods of OromëPlain of ValinorTwo Trees of Valinor
Other regions EldamarAlalvinórëυAramanAvatharEnchanted IslesHaerastOiomúrëSindanóriëGalathilionTol Withernonυ
Mountains and passes PelóriTaniquetilHyarmentirTúnaCalaciryaCaves of the Forgotten
Bodies of water AfrosBay of EldamarGruirυHíriLórellinShadowy SeasSirnúmen
Cities and strongholds Váli-màrAlqualondëAvallónëFormenosKôrtirionTavrobelρTirionLumbiυ
Houses and towers Cottage of Lost PlayρHouse of the Hundred Chimneysρ Pre-canon • Mindon EldaliévaTower of AvallónëTower of TavrobelρTram Nybolρ
  ρ Pre-canon, υ Canonicity unclear.


Translations[]

Foreign Language Translated name
Danish Kortirion ("Højen med Det Store Vagttårn")

References[]

  1. The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, chapter V: "The Coming of Elves and the Making of Kôr"
  2. "The Alphabet of Rúmil & Early Noldorin Fragments" in Parma Eldalamberon, n. XIII
  3. 3.0 3.1 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, chapter I: "The Cottage of Lost Play"
  4. The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, chapter IV: "The Chaining of Melko"
  5. The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Second Age, "Introduction"
  6. The Silmarillion, Index of Names
  7. The Silmarillion, Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin names
  8. The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, Appendix: Names in the Lost Tales – Part I
  9. John Garth, Tolkien and the Great War, Part One, ch. 4, pg. 78
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