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Dates
Constructed after I 52 and probably before I 102;1 destroyed at the end of the First Age
Location
Running from the fortress of Minas Tirith on Tol Sirion southward to Nargothrond
Origins
Made by Finrod Felagund to connect his two strongholds
Race
Division
Culture
Family
Settlements
Connected Minas Tirith with Nargothrond
Passes
The road's northern end lay within the Pass of Sirion
Other names
Note
The Minas Tirith at the northern end of this road was not the city famous for its part in the War of the Ring, but a much earlier tower that carried the same name

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About this entry:

  • Updated 2 October 2022
  • This entry is complete

South Road

The road that ran to Nargothrond

Map of the South Road through Beleriand
The South Road through West Beleriand3
The South Road through West Beleriand3

The road that ran south across the Crossings of Teiglin, and thence around the western edge of the Moors of the Nibin-noeg. From there it led on southwestwards, skirting the Guarded Plain of Talath Dirnen, where it was closely watched by the Elves of Nargothrond, until it came to Nargothrond itself on the River Narog.

To the north of the Crossings of Teiglin, the road came down from Minas Tirith on Tol Sirion. That watchtower had been built by Finrod of Nargothrond, and was held for many years by his brother Orodreth, so it seems most likely that the South Road was originally made by the people of Nargothrond as a means of communication with their northern outpost.


Notes

1

This period of fifty years from I 52 to I 102 represents the time that Finrod was engaged in the building of Nargothrond, which lay the southern end of the South Road. The road cannot realistically have existed before work had at least started, although it might conceivably have been made after Nargothrond itself was completed.

2

The entire road, from Nargothrond to Minas Tirith, was known as the Highway. The name 'South Road' is only recorded, however, as being used of that part of road running southward from the Crossings of Teiglin across Talath Dirnen to Nargothrond. So, 'South Road' was definitively used as a name for southern stretch of the Highway, representing about half its length, but whether the name was also used for the northern stretch (running southward from Minas Tirith to the Crossings of Teiglin) is not established.

3

Our only definitive references to the South Road relate to its passage over the Crossings of Teiglin on the borders of Brethil. The name evidently described at least part of the Highway constructed by Finrod Felagund to connect his strongholds of Nargothrond and Minas Tirith, as shown on this map. It is less clear whether the name of 'South Road' was used for the entire length of that Highway (that is, as the road running southward from Minas Tirith), or whether it was merely a local name in Brethil for the stretch from there towards Nargothrond.

See also...

South Road

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 2 October 2022
  • This entry is complete

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