The Complete Tolkien Companion (53 page)

So began the war of the Dúnedain and the Elves against Sauron, known as the
LAST ALLIANCE
. Together with his father, his sons and their Elven-allies, Isildur marched south with a great army as soon as this could be mustered. In the final battle before the Black Gate, Sauron was defeated and driven back to the Dark Tower, where he was long besieged. There Isildur's brother Anárion was slain, and there, in the following year (3341, the last of the Second Age), his father Elendil perished in personal combat with Sauron – who was also overthrown. Isildur then became High King of both Arnor and Gondor.

On the last battlefield Isildur had gained possession of the Ruling Ring of Sauron. This, unwisely – and against the urgings of Círdan and Elrond, who were present – he took as weregild for the death of his kin, cutting the Ring from Sauron's own hand with the broken hilt-shard of Elendil's sword. This act ultimately nullified the victory so dearly bought.

For the first two years of the Third Age, Isildur remained in the South-kingdom, instructing his brother's son Meneldil in kingship. Then, after planting a sapling of the White Tree in Minas Anor, in memory of his brother, he marched away, together with his three eldest sons and an escort of no more than 200 knights to take up the Northern Sceptre. Beside the Gladden Fields in Wilderland, this party – who were unmounted – was ambushed by a host of Orcs of the Mountains, and all but three were slain. Isildur almost escaped only to be betrayed by his greatest treasure: he perished in the waters of the Anduin.
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His fourth son Valandil then became King of Arnor.

Isildur's Bane
– The name given among the Dúnedain of Arnor to the
RULING RING
of Sauron – which brought about the death of their last High King.

Isilmë
– The sister of Silmariën of Númenor.

Isilmo
– The father of King Tar-Minastir of Númenor.

Isilya
‘Moon's-day' (Q.) – The third day of the
enquië
or week in both the Elvish calendar and the Kings' Reckoning. The Sindarin name for the same day was
Orithil;
while the Hobbits of the Shire and Bree called it
Monendei
(later shortened to
Monday
).

Isle of Balar
– The great island in the mouth of the Bay of
BALAR
in Middle-earth, a remnant of
ERESSËA
. At the end of the First Age it became the dwelling of the Falathrim and the last redoubt of the Elves in Middle-earth. Gil-galad Ereinion, heir of Fingon the High King, was fostered here.

Isle of Werewolves
– A translation of the Grey-elven name
Tol-in-Gaurhoth,
as the island of Tol Sirion was renamed after its fall to Sauron servant of Morgoth, two years after the Dagor Bragollach. Here Finrod Felagund met his death.

Istari
– The ancient Order of
WIZARDS
(
Heren Istarion,
Q.), actually Maiar of Valinor.

Isumbras Took
(Isumbras I) – In 2340 Third Age (740 Shire Reckoning), Isumbras became the thirteenth Thain of the Shire and the first Hobbit of the influential Took family to hold this office. The Oldbucks, with whom the hereditary Thainship had previously resided, re-crossed the Baranduin in that year and founded the Buckland, changing their family name to Brandybuck.

Ithilbor
– The father of
SAEROS
of the Nandor.

Ithildin
‘Star-moon' (Sind.) – A metal developed during the Second Age by the Elven-smiths of Eregion; it was made from mithril, which the Elves obtained from the Dwarves of Moria. Ithildin was particularly suitable for the finest embellishments and hidden markings, for it did not shine unless illuminated by moon or stars, and even then only after the correct spells had ‘unlocked' it. The Doors of Durin (the West-gate of Moria) were inlaid with designs traced in this metal.

Ithilien
‘Land-of-the-Moon' (Sind.) – One of the two most royal and ancient provinces of Gondor, founded by Isildur himself in 3320 Second Age. It lay in the narrow lands between the Mountains of Shadow and the Great River, bordered by the marshland of Nindalf in the north and the river Poros in the south. It was a fair land of trees, gentle hills and quick waters, and during the early years of the South-kingdom, many of the Dúnedain dwelt there in happiness and prosperity. Yet beautiful though Ithilien was, its strategic position (on the eastern side of the Anduin) rendered the province especially vulnerable to attack from both the East and the South – particularly during the years of Gondor's decline, in the second half of the Third Age. Defenceless in the north, save for the partial shield of the marshes, the province was protected in the south only by the river Poros; and against direct attack from Mordor, the people of Ithilien were quite helpless. Nevertheless Gondor contrived to keep a foothold there throughout the wars and invasions of the Third Age, when her frontiers were left open to assault from all directions, as her might gradually diminished. But in the year 2002 the chief city of the province, Minas Ithil, fell to the Enemy, and only the hardiest of Gondor's people dwelt in Ithilien afterwards. Indeed, a full century before the War of the Ring it was obvious to the Captains of Gondor that this fairest of her provinces must soon be abandoned to the Enemy. To ensure that Ithilien would not be taken without a fight, Steward Túrin II ordered the construction of secret refuges or bases from which a small but effective guerrilla force of Rangers would be able to harass the foe. By the year 2901 most of the few remaining inhabitants of the province had fled, due to a sudden influx of Mordor-orcs; fifty years later Sauron himself openly returned to Mordor; Mount Doom erupted once more and Ithilien was at last evacuated – save for the Rangers, who began to operate from hidden bases (
see
HENNETH ANNÛN
).

This period of Sauron's outright domination over Ithilien lasted some sixty years. Yet for the most part, he did not bother to amass any new force there. In fact, Sauron's chief purpose in capturing the province seems to have been in order to win control of the Harad Road which ran from the Crossings of Poros far in the south, northwards through Ithilien to the Black Gate. In the years immediately before the outbreak of the War of the Ring, this road was much used by his Southron allies – and their convoys suffered greatly at the hands of the Rangers. Finally, in March 3019, even the Rangers of Ithilien were withdrawn, to aid the city of Minas Tirith in its last need. But in the event Gondor was saved, and the Dark Lord cast down, and then Ithilien became free once more and was soon resettled, not least by Elves from Greenwood led by Legolas. During the Fourth Age which followed it was again renowned as the loveliest of all the provinces of Gondor.

Note:
in translations from the Red Book,
Ithilien
normally refers to North Ithilien, the fairer half of the province, between the hills of Emyn Arnen and the northern marches. South Ithilien was the name given to the less well-populated and more barren land bordered by the Emyn Arnen, the Anduin and the Poros.

Ithryn Luin ‘
The Blue Wizards' (Sind.) – The fourth and fifth members of the order of
ISTARI
, said to have journeyed into the East and never returned. A late source identifies them as Alatar and Pallando, Maiar of Oromë.
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Ivanneth
– The Sindarin form of the Quenya word
Yavannië,
the ninth month of the
loa
(year) in Kings' Reckoning. This name was used only by the Dúnedain.

Ivorwen
– The wife of Dirhael and mother of Gilraen the Fair (the mother of Aragorn II).

Ivrin
– The complex of springs and pools in the southern vales of the Ered Wethrin; the source of the river Narog. Called also
Eithel Ivrin,
and ‘The Pools of Ivrin'.

Ivriniel
– A noble lady of Dol Amroth in Gondor; she was the elder sister of Finduilas (who wedded Steward Denethor II) and Imrahil.

The Ivy Bush
– An inn of the Bywater district of the Shire, patronised (like its rival, The Green Dragon) by thirsty Hobbits from both Bywater and Hobbiton.

Kalakirya
‘Light-cleft' (Q.) –
See
CALACIRYA
.

Kalakiryan
–
See
CALACIRYA
.

Kalimac
– The original (as opposed to translated) Bucklandish fore-name, of which the diminutive
Kali
carried the meaning ‘jolly' or ‘gay'. To preserve the full sense of the name,
Kalimac
has been translated from the Red Book as
Meriadoc
(abbreviated ‘Merry').

Karningul
– The original (as opposed to translated) Westron name for that deep valley in eastern Eriador known to the Elves and the Dúnedain as
Imladris.
Both have a literal meaning of ‘Deep-clovenvalley', translated from the Red Book as ‘Rivendell'.

Kelos
–
See
CELOS
.

Kelvar and Olvar
– The Quenya words
kelvar
and
olvar
carried meanings almost identical to Latin
fauna
and
flora,
and were used in a similar sense.

Kementári
‘Queen-of-the-Earth' (Q.) –
See
YAVANNA KEMENTÁRI
.

Khamûl
– Known as the ‘Black Easterner'; second-in-command of the Nine
RINGWRAITHS
, the only one of these creatures to be given a name in records. In the latter part of the Third Age he occupied Dol Guldûr in Sauron's name. At the beginning of the War of the Ring he, together with the other Nazgûl, was sent into the Shire to hunt for the Ring; and Khamûl was the Ringwraith who pursued the Hobbits from Hobbiton (where he spoke with Hamfast Gamgee) as far as the Bucklebury Ferry. After the Morgul-lord Khamûl was said to be the Ringwraith most attuned to the Great Ring, and also the most easily confused by daylight.

Khand
– A south-eastern country or province of Middle-earth, situated between the deserts of Near Harad and the wide fields of Rhûn, close to the southern marches of Mordor. It was peopled by a race of men known as
Variags.

Khazâd
(Khuz.) – The Dwarves. Although the literal meaning of this word has never been learned, it is certain that Khazâd was the Dwarves' ‘own name for their own race since Aulë [the Smith of the Valar] gave it to them at their making in the deeps of time'.
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It is one of the few Dwarvish words ever to become widely known to members of other races – since the Khazâd were secretive by nature and jealous of all their possessions, including their language (Khuzdul).
Khazâd
can also be found in the Dwarves' name for the city which the Elves called Moria:
Khazâd-dûm,
‘The-Mansion-of-the-Khazâd'. The once well-known battle-cries of this people –
Baruk Khazâd!
(‘Axes of the Dwarves!') and
Khazâd ai-Menu!
(‘The Dwarves are upon you!') – also include this ancient element.

Khazâd-dûm
‘Mansion-of-the-Khazâd' (Khuz.) – The Dwarves' own name for the greatest accomplishment of their race: their vast city and realm under the Misty Mountains. It was more widely known as
MORIA
, the Black Pit.

Kheled-zâram
‘Mirror-mere' (Khuz.) – The Dwarves' name for the beautiful dark lake which filled the Vale of
AZANULBIZAR
. This lake was one of the most revered places of the Dwarves – indeed, the entire valley was hallowed by numerous ancient associations for Durin's Folk.

Dwarvish legend states that Durin the Deathless, on his awakening far back in the Elder Days, came to the Vale and looked into the cool, still depths of the Mirror-mere. There he perceived, like a crown about his head, a reflection of seven stars in the water, though it was still daylight and the sun shone in the sky. This vision was accepted as an acknowledgement of Durin's incomparable royalty – he was the eldest of all the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves – and as a sign that he should found his kingdom there. The place where Durin gazed into the lake was later marked by an obelisk.