Gwathló
Encyclopedia
In J. R. R. Tolkien
's fiction
al universe of Middle-earth
, the river Gwathló or Greyflood is a river in middle Eriador
.
The Sindarin
name Gwathló was adapted from the name Gwathir, given to the river by the Númenóreans in the Second Age
. Its name translates as Shadowy River, and was given because over all its length it flowed through immense forests which covered Minhiriath to the north and Enedwaith to the south. It was one of the few rivers also given an Adûnaic
name: Agathurush.
The Gwathló was wide enough that it could be sailed on all the way to where its tributary Glanduin met the river. It was formed where the Mitheithel or Hoarwell met the Glanduin, where a marshy area known as Nîn-in-Eilph or Swanfleet was formed.
When the Númenórean Ship Kings required more and more wood to build their ships, they set up a haven-fortress on the Gwathló called Lond Daer or Lond Daer Enedh, Great (Middle) Haven. From there the lands were rapidly deforested, and by the Third Age
all the forests were gone.
In the late Second Age and early Third Age the Gwathló formed the border between the Kingdoms of Arnor
and Gondor
, and the great Gondorian northern outpost of Tharbad was built where the Old South Road crossed the river at its only crossing in the lower stream. However by the late Third Age Gondor had retreated far south and Arnor had been destroyed. Tharbad and its great bridge had been abandoned and ruined, and the river had to be crossed by the ruins of Tharbad at a dangerous ford.
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al universe of Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
, the river Gwathló or Greyflood is a river in middle Eriador
Eriador
Eriador is a large region in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth. In the Second Age, and possibly much earlier, it was largely forested, but the Dúnedain felled most of the forests to build ships. Much of it was encompassed in the early Third Age by the kingdom of Arnor, which...
.
The Sindarin
Sindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
name Gwathló was adapted from the name Gwathir, given to the river by the Númenóreans in the Second Age
Second Age
The Second Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. Tolkien intended for the history of Middle-earth to be considered fictionally as a precursor to the history of the real Earth....
. Its name translates as Shadowy River, and was given because over all its length it flowed through immense forests which covered Minhiriath to the north and Enedwaith to the south. It was one of the few rivers also given an Adûnaic
Adûnaic
Adûnaic is a fictional language in the fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien.One of the languages of Arda in Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, it was spoken by the Men of Númenor during the Second Age.-Fictional history:...
name: Agathurush.
The Gwathló was wide enough that it could be sailed on all the way to where its tributary Glanduin met the river. It was formed where the Mitheithel or Hoarwell met the Glanduin, where a marshy area known as Nîn-in-Eilph or Swanfleet was formed.
When the Númenórean Ship Kings required more and more wood to build their ships, they set up a haven-fortress on the Gwathló called Lond Daer or Lond Daer Enedh, Great (Middle) Haven. From there the lands were rapidly deforested, and by the Third Age
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
all the forests were gone.
In the late Second Age and early Third Age the Gwathló formed the border between the Kingdoms of Arnor
Arnor
Arnor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. Arnor, or the Northern Kingdom, was a kingdom of the Dúnedain in the land of Eriador in Middle-earth. The name probably means "Land of the King", from Sindarin Ara- + dor...
and Gondor
Gondor
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Third Age. The third volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, is concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring and with...
, and the great Gondorian northern outpost of Tharbad was built where the Old South Road crossed the river at its only crossing in the lower stream. However by the late Third Age Gondor had retreated far south and Arnor had been destroyed. Tharbad and its great bridge had been abandoned and ruined, and the river had to be crossed by the ruins of Tharbad at a dangerous ford.