The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Location
A cleft or short valley running between the Halifirien and the main mass of the White Mountains to the south
Race
Division
Cultures
Source
The spring of the Mering Stream lay within the Firien-dale
Important peaks
The dale ran beneath the Halifirien
Pronunciation
Firien is pronounced 'fi'ri-en'
Meaning
Literally 'mountain valley', but here Firien appears to be used as a contraction of Halifirien, 'holy mountain'

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About this entry:

  • Updated 3 April 2023
  • This entry is complete

Firien-dale

The valley beneath the Halifirien

Map of the Firien-dale

The Halifirien, tallest of the Beacon-hills of Gondor, was an outlier of the White Mountains, standing apart from the main range among the trees of the Firien Wood. Between the Beacon-hill and the mountains ran a wooded cleft, known as the Firien-dale (which translates as 'mountain-valley', a reference to the lone peak of the Halifirien), and it was in this dale that the Mering Stream had its sources. That stream marked the border between Rohan and Gondor, and so the Firien-dale lay where Rohan's Eastfold marched with the Gondorian region of Anórien.


Notes

1

Until III 2510, the Firien-dale was within the wide northern lands of Gondor, but in that year Steward Cirion gifted the province of Calenardhon to Eorl and the Men of the Éothéod. Thus a new land was created, which went on to gain the name of Rohan. The border between Gondor and Rohan was marked by the Mering Stream, but because that stream rose within the cleft of the Firien-dale, it is unclear which realm had a claim on the small valley. The Rohirrim clearly had at least some interest in the dale, because the name Firien-dale comes from their language. As part of the agreement that created Rohan, responsibility for the neighbouring Firien Wood was divided between Gondor and the new kingdom, and perhaps this agreement also extended to include the narrow and wooded Firien-dale.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 3 April 2023
  • This entry is complete

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