The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
This region was probably inhabited from the time of the Great Journey (long before the first rising of the Sun), though this is uncertain
Location
The point of land between Anduin and Celebrant in the southeast Lórien
Race
Division
Peopled primarily by Silvan Elves
Culture
Settlements
Pronunciation
ny'th (the 'ai' sound is pronounced like the English word 'eye')
Meaning
'Spear-point' (in reference to its shape)
Other names

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 25 April 2020
  • This entry is complete

The Naith

The Gore of Lórien

Map of the Naith of Lórien
" 'Now friends,' said Haldir, 'you have entered the Naith of Lórien, or the Gore, as you would say...' "
The Fellowship of the Ring II 6
Lothlórien

The Sindarin word naith literally meant 'spear-point', but over time it came to be used by the Elves for all manner of sharp or spear-like objects. Most famously, it was used to describe the approximately wedge-shaped land between the rivers Celebrant and Anduin, where the heartlands of Lórien lay.1 Caras Galadhon, the City of the Trees, was found within this narrow land.

Tolkien translates Naith into English using the word 'Gore', a very close equivalent. Just like naith, 'gore' can describe any of a wide range of narrow or pointed items, though it is now so rarely used in that sense that many readers find it almost as obscure as its Elvish equivalent.


Notes

1

None of the extant maps of Lórien could realistically be said to match this description. The standard maps from The Lord of the Rings show the Celebrant flowing into the Anduin at approximately a right angle, making the land of Lórien approximately rectangular in shape. From the descriptions Tolkien gives, though, we have to assume that he imagined the rivers meeting at a rather narrower angle than the maps show.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 25 April 2020
  • This entry is complete

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