| This article refers to the tower in the Third Age. For other namesakes, see Minas Tirith (disambiguation). |
The White Tower of Minas Tirith[3] was the tallest tower in the High Court of Minas Tirith. The thrones of the King and the Steward of Gondor were contained in the Tower Hall inside the tower, and the city's palantír was kept in a chamber in the uppermost story.
Description[]
By the time of the War of the Ring, the White Tower had graced the highest point of Minas Tirith for over a thousand years. The Tower of Ecthelion flew the plain white standard of the Stewards of Gondor from its pinnacle, and—during the Fourth Age the Royal Standard. It was 50 fathoms (300 feet) tall. The Tower stood in the center of the Citadel on the seventh level of the city. In front of the Tower was the Court of the Fountain where the White Tree of Gondor grew.
In the Tower Hall was the throne of the King of Gondor upon a dais, and at the foot of the dais on the lowest step was a black chair where the Steward of Gondor would sit. The palantír of Minas Tirith, also known as the Anor-stone, was kept in a secret room at the top of the tower.
Below the Hall was the buttery of Beregond's company, where the Citadel Guard (which Pippin became) would stay when not on duty.[1][4][5]
History[]
King Calimehtar first built the White Tower in TA 1900 in order to house the palantír and commemorate his victory over the Wainriders. In TA 2698, the Tower was repaired and rebuilt by the Steward Ecthelion I, some three centuries before the War of the Ring, and for whom the Tower came to be named.
The elite military unit in Minas Tirith was called the Guard of the Citadel or the Guard of the Tower. At the time of the War of the Ring, Boromir and Faramir - the sons of the Steward of Gondor - successively bore the title Captain of the White Tower. Boromir, the Steward's heir, was also the High Warden of the White Tower.
On March 9, 3019, Peregrin Took got his first glimpse of the Tower of Ecthelion as he rode with Gandalf to Minas Tirith:
- "Then Pippin cried aloud, for the Tower of Ecthelion, standing high within the topmost wall, shone out against the sky, glimmering like a spike of pearl and silver, tall and fair and shapely, and its pinnacle glittered as if it were wrought of crystals; and white banners broke and fluttered from the battlements in the morning breeze, and high and far he heard a clear ringing as of silver trumpets."
- —The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Five, Ch. I: "Minas Tirith"
Pippin met Denethor II, the Steward of Gondor, in the Tower Hall. Denethor's son Faramir came to the Tower Hall the next day, and Pippin and Gandalf learned of his encounter with Frodo and Sam in Ithilien. When Faramir was brought back to the city gravely wounded on March 13, Denethor retreated to his chamber high in the Tower with his son and would not come down. In the secret chamber of the Tower, Denethor looked into the palantír and saw images manipulated by Sauron that caused him to despair.
After the defeat of Sauron the standard of the Stewards of Gondor was raised for the last time on May 1, 3019. That day Aragorn was crowned King and when he entered the Citadel; the standard of the Kings of Gondor bearing the White Tree and the Stars was unfurled on the pinnacle of the Tower of Ecthelion.[2][4][5][6]
Etymology[]
It was often called the Tower of Ecthelion after the Steward Ecthelion I who rebuilt it. It was also called the Tower of Denethor during the reign of Denethor II.[citation needed]
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Wit Toring van Ecthelion |
| Albanian | Kulla e bardhë e Ecthelionit |
| Armenian | Էքթելիոնի Սպիտակ աշտարակ |
| Asturian | Torre Blanca d'Ecthelion |
| Azerbaijani | Ecthelionın Bəyaz Qalası |
| Basque | Ecthelionen Zuri Dorrea |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Эктелион Белая вежа |
| Bengali | একথেলিয়নের হোয়াইট টাওয়ার |
| Bosnian | Bijeli toranj Ektelion |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Бяла кула на Ектелион |
| Catalan | Torre Blanca de Ecthelion |
| Cebuano | Puti nga Tore sa Ecthelion |
| Chinese | 愛克西里昂白塔 |
| Corsican | Torre Bianca di Ecthelion |
| Croatian | Ecthelionova Bijela kula |
| Czech | Ecthelionova Bílá věž |
| Danish | Ecthelions Hvide Tårn |
| Dutch | Witte Toren van Ecthelion |
| Esperanto | Blanka Turo de Ecthelion |
| Estonian | Ecthelioni Valge torn |
| Faroese | Ecthelions Hvítur tornurin |
| Filipino | Puting Tore ng Ecthelion |
| Finnish | Valkoinen Ecthelion torni |
| French | Tour blanche d'Ecthelion |
| Frisian | Wite Toer fan Ectelion (Western) |
| Galician | Torre Branca de Ecthelion |
| German | Weißer Turm von Ecthelion |
| Greek | Λευκός Πύργος του Εκθελιον |
| Gujarati | એક્થેલિઅનનો વ્હાઇટ ટાવર |
| Hebrew | המגדל הלבן אקתליון |
| Hindi | एक्टेलियन का सफेद टॉवर |
| Icelandic | Hvíti turninn frá Ecthelion |
| Indonesian | Menara Putih Ecthelion |
| Italian | Torre Bianca di Ecthelion |
| Japanese | エクセリオンの白い塔 |
| Kazakh | Эктелионның ақ мұнарасы (Cyrillic) Éktelïonnıñ aq munarası (Latin) |
| Korean | 엑셀리온 화이트타워 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Эkтэлиондын Ак мунара |
| Latin | Alba turris Ecthelionis |
| Luxembourgish | Wäissen Tuerm vun Ecthelion |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Белата кула на Ектелион |
| Malaysian | Menara Putih Ecthelion |
| Maltese | Torri abjad ta 'Ecthelion |
| Marathi | इक्थेलियनचा पांढरा टॉवर |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Эkтэлион-ийн Цагаан цамхаг |
| Nepalese | एथेलियनको सेतो टावर |
| Norwegian | Ecthelions Hvite Tårn |
| Occitan | Torre Blanca d'Ectelion |
| Polish | Biała Wieża Ectheliona |
| Portuguese | Torre Branca de Ecthelion |
| Romanian | Turnul Alb din Ecthelion |
| Russian | Белая Башня Эктелиона |
| Sardinian | Torra Bianca de Ecthelion |
| Serbian | Ектелионова Бела кула (Cyrillic) Ektelionova Bela kula (Latin) |
| Sicilian | Turri Bianca di Ecthelion |
| Sinhalese | එක්තීලියන්ගේ සුදු කුළුණ |
| Slovak | Ecthelionova Biela veža |
| Slovenian | Ecthelionov Beli stolp |
| Spanish | Torre Blanca de Ecthelion |
| Swahili | Nyeupe Mnara wa Ecthelion |
| Swedish | Ecthelions Vita Torn |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Бурҷи сафеди Ектелион |
| Tamil | எக்டெலியன் வெள்ளை கோபுரம் |
| Turkish | Ecthelion'un Beyaz Kule |
| Turkmen | Ecthelionyň Ak Diňi |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Біла вежа Ектеліона |
| Uzbek | Ektelionning Oq minorasi (Cyrillic) Ektelionning Oq minorasi (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Tháp trắng của Ecthelion |
| Yiddish | ווייַס טאַוער פון ײשטהעליאָן |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings, "Minas Tirith"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands)
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, The Peoples of Middle-earth, VIII: "The Tale of Years of the Third Age", The Third Age (entry 2698)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Five, Chapter I: "Minas Tirith"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Chapter V: "The Steward and the King"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XII: The Peoples of Middle-earth, VII: "The Heirs of Elendil"