- List of rivers of Beleriand
Beleriand , a location fromJ. R. R. Tolkien 'slegendarium , contains many rivers. Most are described below.A
;Adurant: The sixth and most southerly tributary of Gelion, the others being Ascar, Thalos, Legolin, Brilthor and Duilwen. It was the last of the seven rivers that defined
Ossiriand .:The name means "double stream" in
Ilkorin , referring to a parting of the river about the isle ofTol Galen , and many more along its path due to its slow current.;Aros: The southern river of
Doriath and northern tributary of Sirion. It rose in the northern lands aroundHimring and met Sirion in the south-west atAelin-uial . It formed the southern border of the Kingdom ofDoriath .;Ascar: A river in
Ossiriand . The name means "rushing, impetuous". It was the northern-most tributary of Gelion, and the second river ofOssiriand . After the Sack ofDoriath by Dwarves,Beren Erchamion fought and killed the looters there. Doriath's treasure was lost in Ascar, and it was renamed "Rathlóriel" ('Goldenbed').B
;Brithon: A minor river of the
Falas . Its name isNorth Sindarin , probably meaning "pebbly".;Brilthor: A tributary of Gelion. It was the fifth from the north of the seven rivers that defined
Ossiriand .C
;Celebros: A tributary of Taeglin that flowed past
Brethil forest.Glaurung was slain byTúrin near where this river met Taeglin, andNienor Níniel committed suicide by jumping in it.;Celon: Flowed by
Nan Elmoth inEast Beleriand . It met up with the river Aros later in its course, eventually flowing into Sirion.D
;Duilwen: A tributary of Gelion. It was the sixth from the north of the seven rivers that defined
Ossiriand .E
;Esgalduin: The main river of
Doriath .Doriathrin for "River under Veil", the Esgalduin flowed from the hills ofDorthonion through Doriath past the caves ofMenegroth , finally meeting up with theRiver Sirion .:The Esgalduin had two unnamed upper branches of its own in
Ered Gorgoroth . One ran along the border betweenDor Dínen andNan Dungortheb , and the other ran west for about 20 miles from the mountains into Nan Dungortheb and further south-east until merging with the first.G
;Gelion: The principal river of
East Beleriand . Its two sources were theHill of Himring , via the Little Gelion, and theEred Luin , via the Greater Gelion. It then passed south, dividingEstolad to the west from Thargelion to the east, then was crossed by the old dwarf-road at Sarn Athrad ("Ford of Stones"). It then passed intoOssiriand , the Land of Seven Rivers, where it was fed by rivers Ascar, Thalos, Legolin, Brilthor, Duilwen, and Adurant, all rising in the Ered Luin.:Gelion then passed by Tuar-im-Duinath (the Forest between the Rivers) and emptied into the Great Sea
Belegaer .:Late in his life, Tolkien apparently decided to change the name "Gelion", as it did not fit the pattern of
Sindarin . The possible replacements he recorded were "Gelduin", "Gevilon", "Gevelon", "Duin Daer", and "Duin Dhaer".ME-ref|The War of the Jewels|pp. 191, 336];Ginglith: A tributary of Narog. It had its wells in the woods of
Núath , under the near theEred Wethrin in northernWest Beleriand . After passing by the lands of Tumhalad it met the Narog about 50Númenórean miles north ofNargothrond .;Glithui: A northern tributary to Taeglin.
L
;Legolin: A tributary of Gelion. It was the fourth from the north of the seven rivers that defined
Ossiriand .;Lithir: A tributary of Sirion that joined it just to the south of the Pass of Sirion. The sources of Lithir were in
Ered Wethrin .M
;Malduin: A northern tributary to Taeglin.
;Mindeb: A northern tributary of Sirion. It began in the
Ered Gorgoroth near the Pass of Anach, and was met by an unnamed tributary coming from theCrissaegrim . It formed the boundary betweenDimbar and Nan Durgotheb.:It formed the western border of the forest of Neldoreth in
Doriath and was part of the Girdle of Melian. It is mentioned inQuenta Silmarillion chapter 14.N
;Narog: The chief river of West
Beleriand . The Narog rose from the Pools of Ivrin in theEred Wethrin , flowed south and then southeast, flowing through a gorge in a series of rapids where it crossed the hills of the Andram or Long Wall, finally meeting Sirion in the Land of WillowsNan-tathren , not far above theMouths of Sirion . Narog's tributaries were the Ginglith in the north and the Ringwil in theTaur-en-Faroth .:Into its western bank, just south of where Ringwil rushed into Narog, was carved the city of
Nargothrond , stronghold ofFinrod Felagund .:During his time in
Nargothrond ,Túrin Turambar persuadedOrodreth to build a bridge over Narog. He did, but it resulted in the downfall of Nargothrond as it provided a way for the dragonGlaurung to reach the city.;Nen Lalaith: A stream of
Dor-lómin that rose nearAmon Darthir inEred Wethrin and ran pastHúrin 's house.;Nenning: A river of the
Falas . Its wells were in the hills lying north-west inWest Beleriand south of theEred Wethrin , near the Woods ofNúath . It ran to the bay ofEglarest where it met the seaBelegaer .R
;Rathlóriel: "See Ascar."
;Ringwil: A tributary of Narog. It began in the hills about
Nargothrond , and flowed north of the hidden city.:Where it met the Narog a secret door was built, which was used by
Lúthien to escape from Nargothrond whenCelegorm andCurufin held her prisoner.;Rivil: A tributary of Sirion. It began in
Dorthonion , and then flowed north-west until it met withSirion in theFens of Serech .:The river is mentioned twice in "
The Silmarillion ". The first mention is in the chapter concerningBeren andLúthien . Rivil's Well was where a camp was made by the Orcs that had killedBarahir , father ofBeren . Beren attacked them there, taking back theRing of Barahir before escaping again.:The second mention is in the chapter concerning the
Nírnaeth Arnoediad , where the valiant retreat ofHúrin andHuor is described thus: "...foot by foot they withdrew, until they came behind the Fen of Serech, and had the stream of Rivil before them. There they stood and gave way no more.";Sirion: The principal river of Beleriand. See main article.
T
;Taeglin: A tributary of Sirion. It rose in the southern reaches of the
Ered Wethrin , ran generally southeast, receiving the waters of Glithui and Malduin, then passed along the southern margin of theForest of Brethil , where it ran through a gorge named "Cabed-en-Aras " and then received the Celebros. The Taeglin then ran eastward into Sirion at the borders ofDoriath .:An important ford on the river was the Crossings of Teiglin, near the western border of Brethil. A road ran through it from
Nargothrond to Minas Tirith. Minor tributaries were Celebros and Malduin. The river's banks near Celebros was the scene of the encounter betweenTúrin Turambar and the dragonGlaurung .:In the published "
Silmarillion " and early writings, the river was called Teiglin. As revealed in "The History of Middle-earth ", the rivername should actually have been spelt "Taeglin". This was a relatively late change which was not adopted byChristopher Tolkien for the published "Silmarillion".;Thalos: A tributary of Gelion. It was the third from the north of the seven rivers that defined
Ossiriand . Thalos sprang from theEred Luin and at its springsFinrod met the firstMen to enterBeleriand .References and notes
Most of the information can be found in "
The Silmarillion " throughout, particularly chapter 14 "Of Beleriand and Its Realms". Some information comes from "Unfinished Tales " and "The History of Middle-earth " series.
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