- "Immeasurable halls, filled with an everlasting music of water that tinkles into pools, as fair as Kheled-zâram in the starlight"
- —The Two Towers, Book Three, Chapter VIII: "The Road to Isengard"
The Glittering Caves, also known as Aglarond, was the cave system located behind the Deeping Wall of Helm's Deep.
Description[]
The Glittering Caves was an immense, beautiful, and ore-laden cave system that extended deep down into the White Mountains for many miles and consisted of many different paths, tunnels, and chambers. A small stream ran down through the narrows of Helm's Deep and into the caves and was its source of water.
History[]
Before the War of the Ring[]
The Glittering Caves were little used, explored or known of outside Rohan, with the Rohirrim using them as a refuge during war and the storage of provisions.
War of the Ring and afterwards[]
During the War of the Ring, the Hornburg was the refuge of the Rohirrim in the Battle of the Hornburg after being driven back by the Host of Saruman.[1]
After the war, Gimli the Dwarf, who had fought mightily in that battle, was allowed to settle a colony of Durin's Folk in the Caves, leading a host of Dwarves from the Lonely Mountain and became the first Lord of the Glittering Caves. Gimli and Legolas had made a pact of friendship that when the War of the Ring ended, Gimli should walk in the deep woods of Fangorn and that Legolas should behold the jeweled splendour of the Glittering Caves. Gimli did so, and in time the Dwarves of the Glittering Caves restored and strengthened the Hornburg.
Etymology[]
In Sindarin, the caves were called Aglarond, meaning "Caves of Glory" or "Caves of Light". It comes from the words aglar ("glory, light") and rond ("cave").[2][3] It was called Glæmscrafu, the "Caves of Radiance", in Rohanese, which in actuality was an Anglo-Saxon word.[4]
Behind the scenes[]
The Glittering Caves is one of the very few locations in Tolkien's work that can be associated with a real place. They were inspired by the caves of Cheddar Gorge, in the southern English county of Somerset.[5]
In adaptations[]
For The Two Towers film (2002), the appearance of the Glittering Caves was determined by artwork of Alan Lee, matte painter Yanick Dussealt, and Paul Lasaine.[6]
Translations[]
Foreign Language | Translated name |
Afrikaans | Glinsterende grottes |
Albanian | Stoli Shpella |
Amharic | የሚያብረቀርቁ ዋሻዎች |
Arabic | الكهوف المُتلألئة (Al-kohof Al-motala'le'aa) |
Basque | Kobazulo distiratsuak |
Belarusian Cyrillic | зіготкія Пячоры |
Bengali | গুহা চমকপ্রদ |
Bulgarian Cyrillic | блестящото Пещери |
Cambodian | ត្រចះត្រចង់គុហា |
Catalan | Brillant Coves |
Cebuano | Nagasiga-siga nga mga Langob |
Chinese | 闪闪发光的洞穴 (Glittering Caves)
愛加拉隆 (Aglarond) |
Croatian | Blještave Pećine |
Czech | Třpytivé jeskyně |
Danish | De Glitrende Huler |
Dutch | Glitterende Grotten |
Esperanto | Brilantaj Kavernoj |
Estonian | Sädelev koopad |
Filipino | Kumikinang na Kuweba |
Finnish | Kimaltelevat Luolat |
French | Cavernes Étincelantes |
Frisian | Fonkeljend Grotten |
Galician | Cintilantes Covas |
Georgian | ბრჭყვიალა გამოქვაბულები |
German | Glitzernde Höhlen |
Greek | λαμπερή Σπήλαια |
Hebrew | מערות נוצצות |
Hindi | शानदार गुफाएं |
Hungarian | Csillogó Barlangok |
Icelandic | Blikandi Hellar |
Indonesian | Berkilauan Gua-gua |
Italian | Caverne Scintillanti |
Japanese | きらびやかな洞窟 |
Javanese | Sumringah guwa-guwa |
Kannada | ಗುಹೆಗಳು ಹೊಳೆಯುವ |
Kazakh | Жылтыр үңгірлер (Cyrillic) Jıltır üñgirler (Latin) |
Korean | 빛나는 동굴 |
Kurdish | Xweş şikeftan (Kurmanji) |
Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Жаркылдаган тешик |
Latvian | Mirdzošs alas |
Lithuanian | Spindintys urvai |
Macedonian Cyrillic | блескавата Пештери |
Malaysian | Berkilauan Gua-gua |
Marathi | लेणी भव्य |
Mongolian Cyrillic | Гялалзсан агуй |
Nepalese | चम्किरहेको गुफाहरू |
Norwegian | Glitrende Huler |
Persian | غارهای درخشنده |
Polish | Błyszczące jaskinie |
Portuguese | Cavernas Cintilantes (Brazil) |
Punjabi | ਕੇਵਸ ਸ਼ਾਨਦਾਰ |
Romanian | Cetatea Cornului |
Russian | Блестящие пещеры |
Serbian | Блиставе Пећине (Cyrillic) Blistave Pećine (Latin) |
Sesotho | Phatsimang Mahaheng |
Sindhi | چمڪندڙ غار ? |
Sinhalese | දිලිසෙන ලෙන් විහාර |
Slovak | Trblietavé jaskyne |
Slovenian | Bleščeče jame |
Somalian | Quruxdiisa Boholaha |
Spanish | Cuevas Brillantes |
Swedish | Glittrande Grottor |
Tajik Cyrillic | дурахшанда мағораҳо |
Tamil | குகைகள் ஒளிவிடும் |
Telugu | మెరిసే గుహలు |
Thai | ถ้ำระยิบระยับ |
Turkish | Parlak Mağaralar |
Ukrainian Cyrillic | блискучі Печери |
Urdu | گفاوں شاندار |
Vietnamese | Những hang động lấp lánh |
Welsh | Ogofâu sgleiniog |
Yiddish | גליטערינג קאַוועס |
Dwarven realms of Middle-earth throughout the Ages | |
---|---|
Years of the Trees and First Age: | Amon Rûdh | Belegost | Khazad-dûm | Mount Gundabad | Nogrod | Narukuthûn | Blue Mountains |
Second Age: | Khazad-dûm | Belegost | Nogrod | Mount Gundabad | Blue Mountains | Iron Hills |
Third Age: | Grey Mountains | Iron Hills | Khazad-dûm | Lonely Mountain | Blue Mountains | Dunland |
Fourth Age: | Glittering Caves | Khazad-dûm | Lonely Mountain | Blue Mountains | Iron Hills |
References[]
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Book Three, Chapter VII: "Helm's Deep"
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon, Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies"
- ↑ Unfinished Tales, Part Three: The Third Age, V: "The Battles of the Fords of Isen" Notes
- ↑ The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 321
- ↑ Gary Russell, The Art of The Two Towers, "Helm's Deep", pgs. 144-5, 148