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"See! The beacons of Gondor are alight, calling for aid. War is kindled. See, there is the fire on Amon Dîn, and flame on Eilenach; and there they go speeding west: Nardol, Erelas, Min-Rimmon, Calenhad, and the Halifirien on the borders of Rohan."
Gandalf, in The Return of the King
Beacons of War

A fire on a Beacon-hill as depicted in Peter Jackson's The Return of the King

The Beacon-hills of Gondor were a group of foot-hills which the Gondorians placed great fireplaces on to act as an alarm system to warn the Kingdom of Gondor in the event of an attack.

History[]

The Beacon-hills of Gondor were seven foot-hills in the range of the White Mountains on which were placed great beacons. These Beacon-hills were permanently manned by Gondorians. From east to west they were; Amon Dîn, Eilenach, Nardol, Erelas, Min-Rimmon, Calenhad, and Amon Anwar (or Halifirien). Amon Dîn, Eilenach, and Min-Rimmon were the oldest of the Beacon-hills of Gondor.[1][2] The Beacon-wardens who manned the beacon on Halifirien dwelt in the Firien Wood.

In the late Second Age and early Third Age, the Beacon-hills of Gondor mainly served to warn southern Gondor of a danger to the northern province of Calenardhon, or vice versa, but after the Steward of Gondor Cirion granted Calenardhon to the Éothéod, they were used mainly to warn the people in Anórien of danger. Calls for aid between Gondor and Rohan were exchanged by a messenger carrying the Red Arrow instead.

During the War of the Ring, the beacon system on the Beacon-hills was utilized on March 9 TA 3019, two days before the Siege of Gondor by Sauron's army began.

In adaptations[]

Beacon-hills of Gondor

The beacon on Eilenach as seen in The Return of the King film

One of the major changes made to the story by Peter Jackson's film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is that when Gandalf and Pippin ride to Minas Tirith, the beacons were not lit, since the despairing Denethor has decided not to send for help. In the movie there is a beacon just above the city, and to summon the Rohirrim, Gandalf asks Pippin to evade the guards and light it. Once he has done so, the film depicts the other beacons being lit one by one until the last is sighted by Aragorn who is in Edoras, and it is this (and not the Red Arrow, which is not mentioned in the film) which finally helps him to persuade Théoden to muster the Rohirrim to Gondor's aid.

In the films, there can appear more beacons than the seven described in the book - however, the filmmakers actually displayed each beacon being lit from several angles, such that beacons shown up-close are seen again in the distance of the next shot. The film does differ from Tolkien's writings in placing the first beacon directly above Minas Tirith, instead of atop the separate hill of Amon Dîn. The beacons are seen situated at considerable altitudes that would make permanent manning impractical, and generating sufficient flame very difficult. The last beacon, Halifirien, is not within view of Edoras in the books.

Beacon-hills of Gondor
Amon Dîn | Eilenach | Nardol | Erelas | Min-Rimmon | Calenhad | Amon Anwar (Halifirien)


References[]

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