- Weathertop
In the fiction of
J. R. R. Tolkien , Weathertop (Sindarin Amon Sûl, "Hill of Wind") is a significanthill in theEriador region ofMiddle-earth , the southernmost and highest summit of the Weather Hills.Literature
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, and was the site of awatchtower in the days ofArnor . The watchtower and fortifications were burned and destroyed in ME-date|TA|1409, 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 "palantír i".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 thehobbit s avoid the main road and approach Weathertop from the north. At the top they discover acairn with a message fromGandalf , and see theRingwraith s approaching in the distance along the road. That night, the Ringwraiths attack their camp in a dell below the summit, stabbing Frodo with aMorgul-blade , but are then driven off by the others.Tower of Amon Sûl
The Tower of Amon Sûl is a watch-tower on Weathertop hill. It was once tall and fair, but by the end of the
Third Age only ruins remained.The Tower of Amon Sûl was built in the first days of the North-kingdom ofArnor , which was founded in 3320 of the Second Age. At that time, the seven "palantíri" were divided and placed in different parts ofGondor and Arnor. The largest and most powerful "palantír" in the North was kept in the Tower of Amon Sûl. The Stone of Amon Sûl was the chief "palantír" used for communicating with Gondor. The "palantír " was kept on a round table of black marble with a curved depression in the surface where the seeing-stone was set.It was said that
Elendil watched from the Tower of Amon Sûl for the arrival ofGil-galad before the Last Alliance set out to wage war againstSauron .When Arnor was divided into three kingdoms in 861 of the Third Age, the Tower of Amon Sûl was claimed by
Arthedain and commanded the east road into Rhudaur from Cardolan. Also a special warden was posted there to guard and maintain the "palantír". ButCardolan andRhudaur also wanted possession of the Tower and its seeing-stone and there was strife among the three kingdoms.In 1356, King
Argeleb I of Arthedain was slain defending the Weather Hills against an assault from Rhudaur, which was then ruled by an evil lord of the Hillmen who had secretly joined forces with theWitch-king ofAngmar .Arveleg , son of Argeleb, drove back the invaders and defended the Weather Hills for many years. But in 1409, Weathertop was surrounded by a great host from Angmar. Arveleg was killed and the Tower of Amon Sûl was burned and razed. The stone ( Palantir) of Amon Sûl was rescued by the forces of Arthedain, but it was later lost at sea.Over time the ring of stones that had once been the foundation of the Tower of Amon Sûl crumbled and became overgrown with grass. When
Gandalf came to Weathertop on October 3, 3018, he was besieged by the NineRingwraiths in the ruins. There was a great battle on the hilltop, and when he escaped Gandalf left a cairn of broken and burned stones in the centre of the ruins. Gandalf marked the topmost stone with the G rune and three strokes to indicate that he had been there on October 3.Aragorn interpreted the message when he came with the Hobbits to Weathertop on October 6. Later that night in a dell on the western side of Weathertop, five Ringwraiths attacked andFrodo Baggins was gravely wounded by the Witch-king before the Ringwraiths withdrew and Aragorn led the Hobbits away.Adaptations
Weathertop and the Tower of Amon Sûl (named or unnamed) appear in film adaptations of "The Lord of the Rings" such as
Ralph Bakshi 's 1978 animated film andPeter Jackson 's 2001-2003The Lord of the Rings film trilogy .References
*"
The Fellowship of the Ring " — "A Knife in the Dark", "The Council of Elrond"
*"The Two Towers " "The Palantír,"
*Appendix A of "The Lord of the Rings", "The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain"
*"Unfinished Tales ", "The Palantíri"
* "Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings"
* "The Atlas of Middle-earth ", which has a detailed map of the hill
* "The Complete Tolkien Cmpanion " " Amon Sul" or "Weathertop"
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