Caras Galadhon

Outside of Lothlórien or any other Elven settlement, the Westron (Common Speech used by most Men and Hobbits during the Third Age) variant of Caras Galadhon, City of Trees, was also widely used amongst Men to talk about the city.

Geography

The city was built inside the Forest of Lothlórien, near the point where the rivers Celebrant and Anduin met, close to the eastern border of the realm.Although its position at the end of the Egladil ("The Angle", name given to the lands between the two rivers and location of the forest) and consequently near the Anduin favoured communication through Middle-earth, it made the city more vulnerable to attacks from Dol Guldur, a Fortress of Sauron to the east of Caras Galadhon, something which eventually happened during the War of the Ring. It is thought that the city was constructed to prevent such an event, but Tolkien never included an explanation for it in his books or appendices.The City was also called "The City of Light and Song".

Architecture

As every space available had to be used to create the residence of the Elves, the city was constructed inside and around the surrounding trees which gave it its common name (see above).

To help navigation inside the city, several stairs were made around the main tree which was lit by green flames during the night. There were also constructed "talans" ["Talans" is the Sindarin noun for the structures. In Westron, they were known as "Flets".] , tree-platforms built in close proximity to the stairs and the trees. These structures created horizontal surfaces which could be used for shelter and to guard the city from intruders.

There were no entrance doors to the city which faced NorthTolkien, J. R. R.(April 1, 1987), "The Fellowship of the Ring", vol. 1, The Lord of the Rings, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, "The Mirror of Galadriel", ISBN 0-395-08254-4] and the Fellowship had to be guided through a white road, which surrounded the city and its moat, to the southern part of Caras Galadhon, where its entrance was found.

Other interesting places inside the city were Caras Galadhon's fountain, the Palace of the Galadriel and Celeborn and the Mirror of Galadriel, which Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee looked at during their one-month stay in Caras Galadhon.

History

Third Age

Although there is no substantial information regarding Caras Galadhon's chronological origin, Celeborn's statement seems to indicate that the city had already been built when Dwarves fled from Khazad-dûm after unleashing the Balrog known as Durin's Bane, in the year 1981 of the Third Age.

In that same year, Amroth, the former Lord of Lórien, went to the south of Middle-earth with his beloved Nimrodel, but drowned in the Bay of Belfalas after she went missing in the "Ered Nimrais" and never returned home. After this loss, the control of Lothlórien passed to Galadriel and Celeborn, which put them in Caras Galadhon at the time these two events happened.

War of the Ring

During the War of the Ring, the Fellowship of the Ring was brought through Lórien to Caras Galadhon, and there met the Lord and Lady of the Galadhrim. The Fellowship spent roughly a month at Caras Galadhon (between 17th January 3019 and 16th February of the same year).

Around the time of the siege of Minas Tirith, Lórien was besieged itself by Dol Guldur three timesTolkien, J. R. R.(April 1, 1987), "The Return of the King", vol. 3, The Lord of the Rings, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, "Appendix B - The Tale of the Years (Chronology of the Westlands)", ISBN 0-395-08256-0 ] :

* The first, during 11 March 3019, happened one day before Frodo's crossing of Shelob's lair;

* The second battle happened four days later, on the same day of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields;

* The last occurred on 22 March, three days before the destruction of the One Ring.

These three attacks were able to ruin several parts of the forest, mostly the borders to the North and East (which were more exposed to Dol Guldur's strength), but also the West border was hindered, because the main force was helped by Orcs from Moria.

After the fall of Sauron, Galadriel and Celeborn marched to Dol Guldur and managed to rid it from Sauron's past influence. By the beginning of the Fourth Age, the place which was previously Sauron's stronghold was renamed Amon Lanc and became part of Celeborn's East Lórien realm.

Fourth Age and Beyond

When the War of the Ring ended and Dol Guldur was overturned, the city became the capital of a much wider realm, which at that time spanned to both sides of the river Anduin and shared a border with Mirkwood to the East. This new realm, ruled solely by Celeborn after Galadriel left for Valinor at the end of the Third Age, was called East Lórien by the Galadhrim who lived there.

However, the city slowly became depopulated after Galadriel's absence and Celeborn left the city for Rivendell after a while and supposedly to Valinor later; Although it was called, at the time of the War of Ring, to be a "great city" where thousands of Silvan Elves lived, by the time of Aragorn Elessar's death in the year 120 the land of Lórien was reported as being "silent" and Caras Galadhon was wholly abandoned by then, meaning that the Silvan Elves deserted it either for Mirkwood or Valinor, although the latter seems to be a vague option, because the Ring-bearers's ship was supposed to be the last one sailing to the Undying Lands.

ee also

* Battle of Lothlórien
* Cerin Amroth
* Fate of the Elves of Middle-earth
* Haldir of Lórien

Notes

References

*ME-ref|Atlas|Lothlórien
* Tolkien, J. R. R. (April 1, 1987), "The Fellowship of the Ring", vol. 1, The Lord of the Rings, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 0-395-08254-4
* Tolkien, J. R. R. (April 1, 1987), "The Return of the King", vol. 3, The Lord of the Rings, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 0-395-08256-0

External links

* [http://www.glyphweb.com/ARDA/c/carasgaladhon.html Caras Galadhon] at the [http://www.glyphweb.com/ARDA/ Encyclopedia of Arda]
* [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Caras_Galadhon Caras Galadhon] at the [http://tolkiengateway.net/ Tolkien Gateway]