The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Destroyed in the War of Wrath at the end of the First Age
Location
Flowing westwards through the central parts of Ossiriand
Race
Division
Culture
Source
Among the western slopes of Ered Luin
Tributaries
None
Outflow
Into the river Gelion
Pronunciation
bri'lthorr ('rr' indicates that the final r sound should be pronounced)
Meaning
'Glittering torrent'1

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About this entry:

  • Updated 30 November 2023
  • This entry is complete

River Brilthor

The fourth of Gelion's six tributaries

Map of the river Brilthor

The Seven Rivers of Ossir

One of the six swift rivers that flowed westward from the mountains of Ered Luin to meet the long course of the river Gelion on the borders of Ossiriand. Brilthor's springs were in the southern reaches of the Blue Mountains, on the western side of the range, and from those springs the river ran on westward across Ossiriand, the Land of Seven Rivers (indeed, Brilthor was one of the seven rivers that gave that land its name). Its course carried the river for a distance of some two hundred miles (about 320 km) between Legolin to the north and Duilwen to the south, until it met the wide river Gelion on Ossiriand's western borders.


Notes

1

The name Brilthor is explicitly interpreted as 'glittering torrent', but the element -thor, also carries the connotation of leaping or rushing downward. The use of this element might be taken to suggest that there were waterfalls along the river's upper course as it fell from the heights of Ered Luin, though we have no detailed description of the river to confirm this.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 30 November 2023
  • This entry is complete

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