The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Built I 472; destroyed at the end of the First Age
Location
In the middle of the plain of Anfauglith
Origins
Created by Orcs at the command of Morgoth
Races
Divisions
Mainly Noldor and Edain
Pronunciation
how'th-en-ni'rnaeth (the dh in Haudh is pronounced like the 'th' sound in 'these', the ae in Nirnaeth is pronounced like the English word 'eye')
Meaning
Other names

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About this entry:

  • Updated 25 April 2023
  • This entry is complete

Haudh-en-Nirnaeth

The Hill of Tears

Map of the Haudh-en-Nirnaeth
The Haudh-en-Nirnaeth in Anfauglith (somewhat conjectural)1
The Haudh-en-Nirnaeth in Anfauglith (somewhat conjectural)1

The great mournful hill that stood in the central parts of Anfauglith's Gasping Dust, also known as the Haudh-en-Ndengin ('Hill of Slain'). It was raised by Morgoth's Orcs after his great victory in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and built from the remains and the gear of those who fell in that battle. Legend said that in all the ruined desert of Anfauglith, the Haudh-en-Nirnaeth was the only place where green growth could be found.

Dreadful as it was, the Hill of Tears was not completely deserted, and according some tales, Morgoth himself went there to taunt his prisoner Húrin after the Nirnaeth. Húrin's brother Huor had been slain in the battle, and his wife Rían also went to the Haudh-en-Nirnaeth seeking her lost husband. When she came to the Hill of Tears, she lay down in grief and gave up her life.


Notes

1

We have very little detail about the location of Haudh-en-Nirnaeth, except that it was in the midst of the desert of Anfauglith, and that it lay somewhere eastward of Hithlum. That description could conceivably cover a very large area indeed, so the location shown on this map is necessarily somewhat speculative.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 25 April 2023
  • This entry is complete

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