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Dates
Probably planted in the early Second Age;1 cut down and burnt c. II 32902
Location
The King's Court in Armenelos, the royal city of Númenor
Origins
Family
Descended from Galathilion, an image of Telperion the White Tree of Valinor
Settlements
Pronunciation
ni'mloth
Meaning
'White blossom'
Titles
Note
This White Tree is not to be confused with an Elf who shared the same name, Nimloth of Doriath, who was the spouse of Dior and mother of Elwing

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 16 August 2016
  • Updates planned: 2

White Trees

The White Tree that grew in the King's Court of Númenor; burned at the instigation of Sauron. Isildur stole a fruit from the Tree before it was destroyed, from which grew a seedling that he later planted in the courts of Minas Ithil.


Notes

1

The bringing of Nimloth to Númenor is described in a very broad account of the early days of Númenor that covers events unfolding over hundreds of years within a handful of paragraphs. Thus it is hard to pin down the date of the tree's arrival with any degree of certainty, except to say that it was probably within the early centuries of Númenor's existence.

The late King Tar-Palantir made a prophesy that when Nimloth died, the Line of Kings would come to an end. If the survival of Nimloth was tied so directly to the line of the Kings of Númenor, this might rather tenuously suggest that it dated back to the time of Tar-Minyatur the first King, but this connection is circumstantial at best.

2

We can date the destruction of Nimloth a little more closely than its planting, though still not precisely. When Isildur stole one of its fruit, Ar-Pharazôn was persuaded by Sauron to destroy the tree. After this event we're told that '...the years passed, and the King felt the shadow of death approach, as his days lengthened' (Akallabêth) before he began his Great Armament in defiance of the Ban of the Valar. We can date this latter event as II 3310, so the burning of Nimloth must have been several decades previously, probably about II 3290, but perhaps even as early as c. II 3270.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 16 August 2016
  • Updates planned: 2

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