The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Apparently dates from soon after II 3319;1 Sauron was overthrown 25 March III 3019
Location
Behind the Window of the Eye, at the top of the Barad-dûr
Race
Division
Settlements
Particularly associated with Barad-dûr
Other names

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About this entry:

  • Updated 4 August 2010
  • Updates planned: 1

Lidless Eye

The Eye of Sauron

From the highest tower of Barad-dûr, Sauron kept an unceasing watch on the lands and kingdoms of Middle-earth. The 'Lidless Eye' refers to this unsleeping vigilance.


Notes

1

The Eye imagery that surrounded Sauron during the Third Age seems to derive from the Downfall of Númenor, in which the Dark Lord's last fair form was destroyed. After that he could still re-embody himself, but only in a dark and hideous form. It's unclear whether the symbolism of the Eye was founded directly on that new form, but it does seem to come into use at about this point in history.

See also...

Barad-dûr

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About this entry:

  • Updated 4 August 2010
  • Updates planned: 1

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