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Brethil
Half-elven
Mar 20 2015, 8:36pm
Post #1 of 23
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Landscapes in Middle-earth (or another Tolkien work) that intrigue you...
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...that you love, or would like to see. I will start off with one that I would dearly love to explore: "And in the shorelands Tuor first found traces of the Noldor of old. For among the tall and sea-hewn cliffs south of Drengist there were many coves and sheltered inlets, with beaches of white sand among the black gleaming rocks, and leading down to such places Tuor found often winding stairs cut in the living stone; and by the water-edge were ruined quays, built of great blocks hewn from the cliffs, where elven-ships had once been moored." (Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin, Unfinished Tales) What are some of yours?
(This post was edited by Brethil on Mar 20 2015, 8:39pm)
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Darkstone
Immortal
Mar 20 2015, 8:45pm
Post #2 of 23
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Upon the west to their right the land was treeless also, but it was flat, and in many places green with wide plains of grass. On this side of the River they passed forests of great reeds, so tall that they shut out all view to the west, as the little boats went rustling by along their fluttering borders. Their dark withered plumes bent and tossed in the light cold airs, hissing softly and sadly. Here and there through openings Frodo could catch sudden glimpses of rolling meads, and far beyond them hills in the sunset, and away on the edge of sight a dark line, where marched the southernmost ranks of the Misty Mountains. There was no sign of living moving things, save birds. Of these there were many: small fowl whistling and piping in the reeds, but they were seldom seen. Once or twice the travellers heard the rush and whine of swan-wings, and looking up they saw a great phalanx streaming along the sky. `Swans! ' said Sam. `And mighty big ones too! ' `Yes,' said Aragorn, 'and they are black swans.' -The Great River
****************************************** No Orc, No Orc!! It's a wonderful town!!! Mount Doom blew up, And the Black Tower's down!! The orcs all fell in a hole in the ground! No Orc, No Orc!! It's a heckuva town!!! -Lord of the Rings: The Musical, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
(This post was edited by Darkstone on Mar 20 2015, 8:45pm)
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squire
Half-elven
Mar 20 2015, 9:03pm
Post #4 of 23
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'...The world came there to a sudden end"
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They stood under the boughs of the woods again. No noise of the falls could be heard, for a long southward slope lay now between them and the ravine in which the stream flowed. To the west they could see light through the trees, as if the world came there to a sudden end, at a brink looking out only on to sky. [Said Faramir:] ‘Go straight on, for thus you will have the cover of the woodland for many miles. On your west is an edge where the land falls into the great vales, sometimes suddenly and sheer, sometimes in long hillsides. Keep near to this edge and the skirts of the forest.' - LotR IV.7 I have always been curious about this edge. It somehow rings true geologically but I've never seen it in any Tolkien illustration, or even on any of the maps. I've always thought it must have been a huge obstacle to Gondorian settlement on the upper slopes of Ithilien.
squire online: RR Discussions: The Valaquenta, A Shortcut to Mushrooms, and Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit Lights! Action! Discuss on the Movie board!: 'A Journey in the Dark'. and 'Designing The Two Towers'. Footeramas: The 3rd & 4th TORn Reading Room LotR Discussion and NOW the 1st BotR Discussion too! and "Tolkien would have LOVED it!" squiretalk introduces the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: A Reader's Diary = Forum has no new posts. Forum needs no new posts.
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Brethil
Half-elven
Mar 20 2015, 10:19pm
Post #5 of 23
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It would be both a natural barrier wall against invasion
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but also a natural boundary to expansion as well. Map-gazing, I'm thinking it must refer to the western edge of N. Ithilien (south of Henneth Annun) as it heads towards the Anduin south of Cair Andros? Perhaps formed by the stronger and older course of the Anduin (maybe after the War of Wrath? I can picture a short period of intense water flow as the land resettled - much like I have read theorized about the formation of the Grand Canyon?)
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Brethil
Half-elven
Mar 20 2015, 10:21pm
Post #7 of 23
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Evocative. And as I posted to BF ... birds. //
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Their dark withered plumes bent and tossed in the light cold airs, hissing softly and sadly.
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Brethil
Half-elven
Mar 20 2015, 10:41pm
Post #9 of 23
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What a neat set of pics! And very cool idea
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This one reminds me of the landscape I was contemplating, with Tuor exploring old Noldo stairways...
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Brethil
Half-elven
Mar 20 2015, 10:48pm
Post #10 of 23
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As a further thought on the ridge's implications to Ithilien ...
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the River would be seen, but accessible likely only through portage-ways or ladders. They would be able to see any River fleet, and have some small goods maybe shipped - but it would not be easy. Instead the land routes would be more efficient for them. It removes Ithilien one step away from the ship-heritage of Numenor. That belongs more securely to Gondor and the King.
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squire
Half-elven
Mar 21 2015, 12:33am
Post #11 of 23
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I think of Middle-earth, both in The Silmarillion and in LotR, as being in northern Europe, especially England. So when I read about the landscapes, I always provide a lot of cloudy weather and generally grey palette and misty haze - one reason why I like Alan Lee's illustrations so much. Anyway, I figure Tuor's exploration of a cliffscape over beaches should not have bright blue skies and turquoise water. I suspect there are locations in, say, Cornwall, with black cliffs, white beaches, and steps carved in the stone, that might well have come from Tolkien's own experience. I love reading about the Niagara escarpment! They had to build the Erie Canal to get up it - quite an enterprise in 1820s America. It reminds me of the Catskills east face, overlooking the Hudson. But in both cases, unlike Ithilien, the dramatic cliff is at the edge of a plateau; it's basically flat as you walk away from the cliff edge. In Ithilien, I gather from the description, the edge appears along a contour or the highlands slope. The wooded topography continues upwards, at a shallower incline, all the way to the foothills and then the peaks of the Ephel Duath mountains.
squire online: RR Discussions: The Valaquenta, A Shortcut to Mushrooms, and Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit Lights! Action! Discuss on the Movie board!: 'A Journey in the Dark'. and 'Designing The Two Towers'. Footeramas: The 3rd & 4th TORn Reading Room LotR Discussion and NOW the 1st BotR Discussion too! and "Tolkien would have LOVED it!" squiretalk introduces the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: A Reader's Diary = Forum has no new posts. Forum needs no new posts.
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hanne
Lorien
Mar 21 2015, 12:57am
Post #12 of 23
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I love the pic Brethil found but do have to photoshop it in my mind so the stones are black and the sky is stormy :) I'm sure you're right that Tolkien may have thought of Cornwall for Nevrast. I like the stormier images of Bedruthan Steps and the steps and ruins at Tintagel. Wikipedia lists nine edges in England. Alderley Edge isn't very long, but it is 10 miles from the Peaks so maybe it is a candidate. And Stanage Edge is right on the edge of the Peaks but looks too bleak to be Ithilien for me.
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Brethil
Half-elven
Mar 21 2015, 1:05am
Post #13 of 23
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Alas! I shall defy logic for the bright seas. //
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DanielLB
Immortal
Mar 21 2015, 2:02pm
Post #14 of 23
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Then the swans drew the white ships of the Teleri over the windless sea; and thus at last and latest they came to Aman and the shores of Eldamar. There they dwelt, and if they wished they could see the light of the Trees, and could tread the golden streets of Valmar and the crystal stairs of Tirion upon Túna, the green hill; but most of all they sailed in their swift ships on the waters of the Bay of Elvenhome, or walked in the waves upon the shore with their hair gleaming in the light beyond the hill. Many jewels the Noldor gave them, opals and diamonds and pale crystals, which they strewed upon the shores and scattered in the pools; marvellous were the beaches of Elendë in those days. And many pearls they won for themselves from the sea, and their halls were of pearl, and of pearl were the mansions of Olwë at Alqualondë, the Haven of the Swans, lit with many lamps. For that was their city, and the haven of their ships; and those were made in the likeness of swans, with beaks of gold and eyes of gold and jet. The gate of that harbour was an arch of living rock sea-carved; and it lay upon the confines of Eldamar, north of the Calacirya, where the light of the stars was bright and clear. Where can I buy my ticket?
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Brethil
Half-elven
Mar 22 2015, 12:43am
Post #16 of 23
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Then the swans drew the white ships of the Teleri over the windless sea; and thus at last and latest they came to Aman and the shores of Eldamar. There they dwelt, and if they wished they could see the light of the Trees, and could tread the golden streets of Valmar and the crystal stairs of Tirion upon Túna, the green hill; but most of all they sailed in their swift ships on the waters of the Bay of Elvenhome, or walked in the waves upon the shore with their hair gleaming in the light beyond the hill. Many jewels the Noldor gave them, opals and diamonds and pale crystals, which they strewed upon the shores and scattered in the pools; marvellous were the beaches of Elendë in those days. And many pearls they won for themselves from the sea, and their halls were of pearl, and of pearl were the mansions of Olwë at Alqualondë, the Haven of the Swans, lit with many lamps. For that was their city, and the haven of their ships; and those were made in the likeness of swans, with beaks of gold and eyes of gold and jet. The gate of that harbour was an arch of living rock sea-carved; and it lay upon the confines of Eldamar, north of the Calacirya, where the light of the stars was bright and clear. Where can I buy my ticket?
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noWizardme
Half-elven
Mar 22 2015, 11:11am
Post #17 of 23
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I've done something similar to location scouting...
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I intermittently come across landscape (mostly) pictures that go with particular Tolkien quotations, and collect them here: https://www.pinterest.com/...-real-life-pictures/
~~~~~~ "nowimë I am in the West, Furincurunir to the Dwarves (or at least, to their best friend) and by other names in other lands. Mostly they just say 'Oh no it's him - look busy!' " Or "Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!" This year LOTR turns 60. The following image is my LOTR 60th anniversary party footer! You can get yours here: http://newboards.theonering.net/...i?post=762154#762154
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BlackFox
Half-elven
Mar 22 2015, 9:24pm
Post #18 of 23
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Day was waning. In the last rays of the sun the Riders cast long pointed shadows that went on before them. Darkness had already crept beneath the murmuring fir-woods that clothed the steep mountain-sides. The king rode now slowly at the end of the day. Presently the path turned round a huge bare shoulder of rock and plunged into the gloom of soft-sighing trees. Down, down they went in a long winding file. When at last they came to the bottom of the gorge they found that evening had fallen in the deep places. The sun was gone. Twilight lay upon the waterfalls. All day far below them a leaping stream had run down from the high pass behind, cleaving its narrow way between pine-clad walls; and now through a stony gate it flowed out and passed into a wider vale. The Riders followed it, and suddenly Harrowdale lay before them, loud with the noise of waters in the evening. There the white Snowbourn, joined by the lesser stream, went rushing, fuming on the stones, down to Edoras and the green hills and the plains. Away to the right at the head of the great dale the mighty Starkhorn loomed up above its vast buttresses swathed in cloud; but its jagged peak, clothed in everlasting snow, gleamed far above the world, blue-shadowed upon the East, red-stained by the sunset in the West. Merry looked out in wonder upon this strange country, of which he had heard many tales upon their long road. It was a skyless world, in which his eye; through dim gulfs of shadowy air, saw only ever-mounting slopes, great walls of stone behind great walls, and frowning precipices wreathed with mist. He sat for a moment half dreaming, listening to the noise of water, the whisper of dark trees, the crack of stone, and the vast waiting silence that brooded behind all sound. - The Muster of Rohan, ROTK There's something about mountains when you've lived your whole life in a country that has none.
(This post was edited by BlackFox on Mar 22 2015, 9:25pm)
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Brethil
Half-elven
Mar 23 2015, 1:19am
Post #19 of 23
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Lovely bit. I don't know if anyone else reads this way - but I note JRRT uses 'fir' a decent number of times as a particular forest description; and I have no idea if it is the auditory association - phonetically like to 'fur', which is also such a rich-sounding word - with texture, or what the reason is, but I always find it very evocative. It makes me think not only of trees but of thick, welcoming trees.
(This post was edited by Brethil on Mar 23 2015, 1:19am)
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BlackFox
Half-elven
Mar 23 2015, 9:37am
Post #20 of 23
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I wonder whether it's because they're evergreen or maybe even because of their association with Christmas.
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CuriousG
Half-elven
Mar 23 2015, 12:17pm
Post #21 of 23
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I can say that having grown up in a valley and moved away, I always miss mountains, and when I go back to them, wonder why I ever left (there is a little thing called getting a job, but whatever). I really like the word use here: the "leaping" stream "run down" , "cleaving". All that activity form the water! So much better than "And there was a pretty stream nearby."
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BlackFox
Half-elven
Mar 23 2015, 8:15pm
Post #22 of 23
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The poet in Tolkien definitely shines through there (and elsewhere in LOTR).
(This post was edited by BlackFox on Mar 23 2015, 8:16pm)
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Darkstone
Immortal
Mar 23 2015, 9:07pm
Post #23 of 23
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Mount Mayon, The Philippines = Road between Mount Doom and Barad-dûr. Thule, Greenland = Helcaraxë
****************************************** No Orc, No Orc!! It's a wonderful town!!! Mount Doom blew up, And the Black Tower's down!! The orcs all fell in a hole in the ground! No Orc, No Orc!! It's a heckuva town!!! -Lord of the Rings: The Musical, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
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