The Old Guesthouse in the first circle of Minas Tirith (somewhat conjectural)1
The Old Guesthouse in the first circle of Minas Tirith (somewhat conjectural)1
The Old Guesthouse, or Sennas Iaur in Elvish,2 was a large building of grey stone on the lowest level of Minas Tirith. It stood on the wide thoroughfare known as Rath Celerdain, the Lampwrights' Street, that ran back directly from the City's Great Gate. This location near the Gate meant that it was easily reached by travellers entering the City, and thus it would have been a busy place during the times of relative peace before the War of the Ring.
The Guesthouse stood back from the main street, with a green lawn in front of the main building between two wings extending forward on either side. Behind this lawn a flight of steps ran up to the main building, fronted by a row of pillars. The walls of the main Guesthouse were broken by numerous windows for its many rooms. We do not know precisely how old the 'Old' Guesthouse was, but the weathering of its grey stone shows it had likely stood for at least several centuries. Indeed, it is not inconceivable that it dated back thousands of years, perhaps to the time when Minas Tirith was known as Minas Anor or even beyond, to the rebuilding of the City by Ostoher in about the year III 420.
During the War of the Ring, with the City under imminent threat of attack from Mordor, most of the children and the aged of Minas Tirith were evacuated into the countryside westward of the City itself. Those few children that remained within Minas Tirith were housed in the Old Guesthouse, and one of these was Bergil, son of the guardsman Beregond, who acted as guide to Pippin Took after he arrived in the City with Gandalf.
Notes
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We know that the Old Guesthouse stood on Rath Celerdain, the Lampwrights' Street in the lowest circle of Minas Tirith, but beyond that we have very little specific information. The street was said to run toward the Great Gate of the City, which implies that it opened onto the square behind the Gate. That in turn suggests that the Old Guesthouse was relatively close to the City Gate (which indeed would be a reasonable place for a guesthouse to be built). Note that we're not told whether the Old Guesthouse lay to the north or south of the Gate; while it is shown to the south on this map, it might equally have stood in a corresponding location to the north.
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2 |
The Elvish name Sennas Iaur does not appear in canonical sources, but it is given in Tolkien's unfinished index to The Lord of the Rings. The word sennas is not attested elsewhere, but is presumably derived from the root sed-, 'rest', 'be at peace', so a sennas would literally be a resting-place for travellers.
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- Updated 29 April 2026
- Updates planned: 1
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