Weathertop

From the One Wiki to Rule Them All, the Lord of the Rings Encyclopedia.

The Ancient Fortress of Amon Sûl later known as the WeatherTop

The Great Fortress of Amon Sûl was destroyed at the Rise of the Witch-King of Angmar.

Weathertop from the Great Eastern Road.

Weathertop at night.

Weathertop (Sindarin Amon Sûl, "Hill of Wind") was a significant hill in the Eriador region of Middle-earth, the southernmost and highest summit of the Weather Hills.

Weathertop overlooks the Great East Road east of Bree, about midway between the Shire and Rivendell. The hill rises a thousand feet above the level lands round about. In the year SA 3319 of the Second Age, the the Faithful of Numenor brought with them seven seeing-stones, the palantiri and a sapling from the White Tree. Four of the palantiri and the Tree went south with Isildur, and three were taken by Elendil to be housed in the towers of Elostirion by the Sea, Annuminas and Amon Sûl, a watchtower set on the hill that came to be known as Weathertop. Amon Sûl was crucial to the north kingdom of Arnor because it sat at the junction of three of its realms --- Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur --- and gave uninterrupted views of the surrounding land. With one of the palantiri housed here, they could be watched over by the small garrison that the tower would have had, and any intelligence could be communicated across many leagues back to Elendil in Annuminas. The watchtower and fortifications were burned and destroyed in TA 1409 by the Witch-king, but the top is still flat and surrounded by a ring of stones. A path leads from the top northward, connecting to the other fortresses of the Weather Hills. The tower originally held one of the seven Palantíri.

Weathertop is not mentioned in The Hobbit, but is a scene of action in The Lord of the Rings. After fleeing from Bree, Strider and the hobbits avoid the main road and approach Weathertop from the north. At the top they discover a cairn with a message from Gandalf, and see the Ringwraiths approaching in the distance along the road. That night, the Ringwraiths attack their camp in a dell below the summit, stabbing Frodo with a Morgul blade, but then being driven off by the others.

[edit] References

The Lord of the Rings, book 1, ch. 11
The Atlas of Middle-earth, which has a detailed map of the hill

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