Gondolin
The city Gondolin by Chvacher
Place in Arda
Aliases	Loth (Blossem)Ondolindë (The Rock of the Music of the Water) Gar Thurion (Secret Place) Gondobar (City of Stone) Gondothlimbar (City of the Dwellers in Stone) Gwarestrin (Tower of the Guard)
Summary	Hidden kingdom-city of Turgon
Built by	The Ñoldor of Turgon
Realm	Beleriand Tumladen
Lord	Turgon
Type	Fortified Hidden City
Lifespan	First Age

Gondolin was a hidden city of the elves located in about the middle of the Beleriand in Middle-earth. It was founded by Turgon the Wise, a Ñoldorin lord in the early First Age. It endured the longest of all the Ñoldorin kingdoms in exile, lasting nearly four-hundred years of the Sun.

Contents 1 History 2 Specifications 3 Houses of Gondolin 4 Other people of interest from the city 5 Etymology 6 Gallery 7 Behind the Scenes 8 References 9 See also 10 External link

HistoryEdit

As recounted in The Silmarillion, the Vala Ulmo, the Lord of Waters, revealed the location of the Vale of Tumladen to the Noldorin Lord Turgon in a dream around the year FA 50. Under this divine guidance, Turgon travelled from his kingdom in Nevrast and found the vale in FA 53. Within the Echoriath, the Encircling Mountains, just west of Dorthonion and east of the River Sirion, lay a round level plain with sheer walls on all sides and a ravine and tunnel leading out to the southwest known as the Hidden Way. In the middle of the vale there was a steep hill which was called Amon Gwareth, the "Hill of Watching". There Turgon decided to found a great city that would be protected by the mountains and hidden from the Dark Lord Morgoth.

For nearly seventy-five years, Turgon and his people built Gondolin in secret. After it was completed in FA 116, he took with him to dwell in the hidden city his entire people in Nevrast — almost a third of the Ñoldor — as well as nearly three quarters of the northern Sindar. The city stood for nearly 400 years until it was betrayed to Morgoth by Maeglin, Turgon's nephew, and sacked by the army of Morgoth the Dark Lord.

Gondolin is described in The Book of Lost Tales, Part 2 (The History of Middle-earth, Vol. 2) as this - "Now the streets of Gondolin were paved with stone and wide, kerbed with marble, and fair houses and courts amid gardens of bright flowers were set about the ways, and many towers of great slenderness and beauty builded of white marble and carved most marvellously rose to the heaven. Squares there were lit with fountains and the home of birds that sang amid the branches of their aged trees, but of all these the greatest was that place where stood the King's palace, and the tower thereof was the loftiest in the city, and the fountains that played before the doors shot twenty fathoms and seven in the air and fell in a singing rain of crystal; therein did the sun glitter splendidly by day, and the moon most magically shimmered by night. The birds that dwelt there were of the whiteness of snow and their voices sweeter than a lullaby of music."

SpecificationsEdit

The Hidden Way was protected by seven gates, all constantly guarded; the first of wood, then stone, Bronze, Iron, Silver, Gold, and Steel. The seven names of Gondolin are told to Tuor: "Gondobar am I called and Gondothlimbar, City of Stone and City of the Dwellers in Stone; Gondolin the Stone of Song and Gwarestrin am I named, the Tower of the Guard, Gar Thurion or the Secret Place."

Houses of GondolinEdit

Gondolin was divided into twelve Houses, all of which had their own leaders. At the time of the Fall of Gondolin, these were:

House	Leader	Emblems	Notes
White Wing	Tuor	Swan-wing upon a blue field	The bodyguard of Tuor, and the smallest house.
Mole	Maeglin	Sable attire, mole on a sable field	Comprised of miners loyal to Maeglin.
Swallow	Duilin	Fan of purple feathers	Gondolin's best archers.
Heavenly Arch	Egalmoth		A very wealthy house; comprised the other part of Gondolin's archers.
Pillar and the Tower of Snow	Penlod		Not much known about them. Their commander was slain during the Fall of Gondolin; he was a great writer of the Eldar.
Tree	Galdor	Tree upon green	Wielded clubs and slings.
Golden Flower	Glorfindel	Golden flower upon green field
Fountain	Ecthelion		The guard of the fountains, primarily those of the king. Warriors of this house defended the seventh gate of Gondolin. Loved silver and diamond, and marched into battle to the playing of flutes.
Harp	Salgant	Silver harp on sable field	House of musicians. However, their leader was a coward.
Hammer of Wrath	Rôg	Black hammer and anvil on a red field	The largest and most valiant house. They were comprised of those blacksmiths that were not under Maeglin, as well as escaped thralls of Morgoth. They perished to the last elf during the Fall of Gondolin.
House of the King	King Turgon	A star, the moon, and the red heart of Finwë Nolemë	Comprised of the King's family and bodyguard.

Other people of interest from the cityEdit

• Aredhel - Princess of Gondolin and sister of Turgon
• Elemmakil - Captain of the Guard of the Outer Gate^[1]
• Enerdhil - A possibly mythical jewel-smith of the city^[2]
• Voronwë - Mariner that accompanied Tuor to the city

EtymologyEdit

He originally named the city Ondolindë, which is Quenya for "The Rock of the Music of Water" after the springs of Amon Gwareth. (Its Quenya Tengwar spelling was `N2^jT2$.) The name was later changed to its Sindarin form which meant Hidden Rock.

GalleryEdit

Behind the ScenesEdit

As well as orcs, balrogs, and dragons, that army included iron machines powered by "internal fires" used as personnel carriers and to surmount difficult geography and fortifications and to break down fortifications: that is one of various suspicions that Morgoth knew modern technology and industrialized. That army attacked Gondolin over the northern mountains and not through the Hidden Way.

Elven Realms of Middle-earth throughout the Ages
Years of the Trees:	Cuiviénen | Eglador | Havens of the Falas
First Age:	Doriath | Dorthonion | Gondolin | Havens of Sirion | Havens of the Falas | Himlad & Pass of Aglon | Hithlum | Maglor's Gap | March of Maedhros | Nargothrond | Nevrast | Ossiriand | Pass of Sirion | Thargelion
Second Age:	Eregion | Greenwood the Great | Lindon | Rivendell
Third Age:	Lindon | Lothlórien | Northern Mirkwood | Rivendell
Fourth Age:	Lindon | Lothlórien & East Lórien | Rivendell | Wood of Greenleaves

ReferencesEdit

• The Silmarillion: Quenta Silmarillion

1. ↑ Unfinished Tales pgs. 45-50
2. ↑ Unfinished Tales pgs. 248-251

See alsoEdit

• Gar Ainion, a place in Gondolin

External linkEdit

• Gondolin at Tolkien Gateway