Editing Gondor (section)

== Literature ==

=== In-fiction etymology ===

Tolkien intended the name ''Gondor'' to be [[Sindarin]] for "Stone-land".<ref name="AppF" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}} Appendix F, "Of Men"</ref><ref name="Etym" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1987}} entries GOND-, NDOR-</ref> This is echoed in the text of ''The Lord of the Rings'' by the name for Gondor among the [[Rohirrim]], Stoningland.<ref name="Battle of the Pelennor Fields" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}} book 5 ch. 6 "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields"</ref> Tolkien's early writings suggest that this was a reference to the highly developed masonry of Gondorians in contrast to their rustic neighbours.<ref name="RS379-81" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1988}} ch. 22 "New Uncertainties and New Projections"</ref> This view is supported by the [[Drúedain]] terms for Gondorians and [[Minas Tirith]]—Stonehouse-folk and Stone-city.<ref name="Ride of the Rohirrim" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}} book 5 ch. 5 "The Ride of the Rohirrim"</ref> Tolkien denied that the name ''Gondor'' had been inspired by the ancient Ethiopian citadel of [[Gondar]], stating that the root ''Ond'' went back to an account he had read as a child mentioning ''ond'' ("stone") as one of only two words known of the [[pre-Celtic]] languages of Britain.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=#324 to Graham Tayar 4–5 June 1971 }}</ref> Gondor is also called the South-kingdom or Southern Realm, and together with Arnor as the Númenórean Realms in Exile. Researchers [[Wayne G. Hammond]] and [[Christina Scull]] have proposed a [[Quenya]] translation of ''Gondor'': ''Ondonórë''.<ref>{{harvnb|Hammond|Scull|2005|loc="The Great River", p. 347}}</ref>
The Men of Gondor are nicknamed "Tarks" (from Quenya ''tarkil'' "High Man", Númenórean)<ref group=T>{{cite journal |last1=Tolkien |first1=J. R. R. |author-link=J. R. R. Tolkien |last2=Gilson |first2=Christopher (editing, annotations) |journal=[[Parma Eldalamberon]] |title=Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings |issue=17 |url=http://www.eldalamberon.com/parma17.html |page=101}}</ref> by the [[Orc (Middle-Earth)|orc]]s of Mordor.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, "The Tower of Cirith Ungol"</ref>

{{anchor|Geography}}

=== Fictional geography ===

{{further|Geography of Middle-earth}}

==== Country ====

{{anchor|Anfalas|Belfalas|Pelargir|Ered Nimrais|Ithilien}}
 	
[[File:Gondor sketch map.svg|thumb|upright=2.5|Sketch map of Gondor in the Third Age, bordered by [[Rohan (Middle-earth)|Rohan]] and [[Mordor]]]]

Gondor's geography is illustrated in [[Middle-earth#Maps|the maps]] for ''The Lord of the Rings'' made by [[Christopher Tolkien]] on the basis of his father's sketches, and geographical accounts in ''The Rivers and Beacon-Hills of Gondor'', ''[[Cirion and Eorl]]'', and ''The Lord of the Rings''. Gondor lies in the west of [[Middle-earth]], on the northern shores of Anfalas<ref name="falas" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1987}} entries ÁNAD-, PHÁLAS-, TOL<sup>2</sup>-</ref><ref name="Minas Tirith" group=T/> and the Bay of Belfalas<ref name="UT-AN" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980}} part 2 ch. 4 "History of Galadriel and Celeborn": "Amroth and Nimrodel"</ref> with the great port of Pelargir near the river Anduin's delta in the fertile<ref name="Last Debate" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}} book 5 ch. 9 "The Last Debate"</ref> and populous<ref name="Minas Tirith" group=T/> region of Lebennin,<ref name="UT-map" group=T/> stretching up to the White Mountains (Sindarin: ''Ered Nimrais'', "Mountains of White Horns"). Near the mouths of Anduin was the island of Tolfalas.<ref name="PM-TYSA" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1996}} ch. 6 "The Tale of Years of the Second Age"</ref>

To the north-west of Gondor lies Arnor; to the north, Gondor is bordered by [[Rhovanion|Wilderland]] and [[Rohan (Middle-earth)|Rohan]]; to the north-east, by Rhûn; to the east, across the great river Anduin and the province of Ithilien, by [[Mordor]]; to the south, by the deserts of northern [[Harad]]. To the west lies the Great Sea.<ref>{{harvnb|Fonstad|1991|p=191}}</ref>

{{anchor|Enedwaith}} The wide land to the west of Rohan was Enedwaith; in some of Tolkien's writings it is part of Gondor, in others not.<ref name="PM-DM" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1996}} ch. 10 "Of Dwarves and Men", and notes 66, 76</ref><ref name="AppA" group=T/><ref name="UT-HGCApp" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980}} part 2 ch. 4 "History of Galadriel and Celeborn"; Appendices C and D</ref><ref name="UT-BFI" group=T/>
{{anchor|South Gondor}}
The hot and dry region of South Gondor, or Harondor was by the time of the War of the Ring "a debatable and desert land", contested by the men of Harad.<ref name="UT-map" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980}} map of the West of Middle-earth</ref>

{{anchor|Lamedon|Lossarnach|Morthond Vale|Ringló Vale|Erech}}
The region of Lamedon and the uplands of the prosperous Morthond, with the desolate Hill of Erech,<ref name="Passing of the Grey Company" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}} book 1 ch. 2 "The Passing of the Grey Company"</ref> lay to the south of the White Mountains, while the populous<ref name="Battle of the Pelennor Fields" group=T/> valleys of Lossarnach were just south of Minas Tirith. The city's port was also a few miles south at Harlond, where the great river [[Anduin]] made its closest approach to Minas Tirith. Ringló Vale lay between Lamedon and Lebennin.<ref name="Map of Gondor" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}} map of Gondor</ref>

{{anchor|Anórien|Calenardhon|Emyn Muil|Emyn Arnen|Parth Galen}}
The region of Calenardhon lay to the north of the White Mountains; it was granted independence as the kingdom of [[Rohan (Middle-earth)|Rohan]].<ref name="UT-BFI" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980}} "The Battles of the Fords of Isen", Appendix (ii)</ref> To the northeast, the river Anduin enters the hills of the Emyn Muil and passes the Sarn Gebir, dangerous straits, above a large river-lake, Nen Hithoel. Its entrance was once the northern border of Gondor, and is marked by the Gates of Argonath, an enormous pair of kingly statues, as a warning to trespassers. At the southern end of the lake are the hills of Amon Hen (the Hill of Seeing) and Amon Lhaw (the Hill of Hearing) on the west and east shores; below Amon Hen is the lawn of Parth Galen, where the Fellowship disembarked and was then broken, with the capture of Merry and Pippin, and the death of Boromir. Between the two hills is a rocky islet, Tol Brandir, which partly dams the river; just below it is an enormous waterfall, the Falls of Rauros, over which Boromir's funeral-boat is sent. Further down the river are the hills of Emyn Arnen.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Fonstad|1991|pp=83–89}}</ref>

{{anchor|Minas Tirith}}

==== Capital, Minas Tirith ====

{{main|Minas Tirith}}

{{anchor|Dry Tree|White Tree}}

[[File:Trees of Sun and Moon and Dry Tree Rouen 1444.jpg|thumb|The lifeless White Tree of Gondor has been compared to the [[Dry Tree]] of medieval legend.<ref name="Garth 2020"/> Medieval manuscript illustration of the Dry Tree (centre) with the [[Phoenix (mythology)|Phoenix]], flanked by the [[Trees of Sun and Moon|Trees of the Sun and the Moon]]. Both the Dry Tree and the Phoenix are symbols of [[Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]] and new life. [[Rouen]] 1444–1445<ref name="British Library 2020"/>]]

The capital of Gondor at the end of the Third Age, Minas Tirith (Sindarin: "Tower of Guard"<ref>{{cite book |last=Noel |first=Ruth S. |title=The Languages of Tolkien's Middle-earth |year=1974 |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|Houghton Mifflin]] |isbn=0-395-29129-1 |page=170}}</ref>), lay at the eastern end of the White Mountains, built around a shoulder of Mount Mindolluin.<ref name="Houses of Healing" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, book 5 ch. 8 "The Houses of Healing"</ref> The city had seven walls: each held a gate, and each gate faced a different direction from the next.<ref name="Siege of Gondor" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, book 5, ch. 4 "The Siege of Gondor"</ref> The city was surrounded by the [[#Pelennor Fields|Pelennor]], an area of farmlands ringed by a wall.<ref name="Minas Tirith" group=T/> Inside the seventh wall was the Citadel, topped by the White Tower. Behind the tower, reached from the sixth level, was a [[Mountain pass|saddle]] leading to the necropolis of the Kings and Stewards, with a street of tombs, Rath Dínen.{{efn|Map #40 in Barbara Strachey's ''[[Journeys of Frodo]]'' is a plan of Minas Tirith. {{harvnb|Fonstad|1991|pp=138–139}} shows a different plan of the city. The only maps by Tolkien are sketches.}}

Within the Court of the Fountain stood the White Tree, the symbol of Gondor. It was dry throughout the centuries that Gondor was ruled by the Stewards; Aragorn brought a sapling of the White Tree into the city on his return as King.<ref name="Vaccaro 2004">{{cite journal |last=Vaccaro |first=Christopher T. |title='And one white tree': the cosmological cross and the arbor vitae in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Silmarillion" |journal=[[Mallorn (journal)|Mallorn]] |date=August 2004 |issue=42 |pages=23–28 |jstor=45320503}}</ref> [[John Garth (author)|John Garth]] writes that the White Tree has been likened to the [[Dry Tree]] of the 14th century ''[[Travels of Sir John Mandeville]]''.<ref name="Gusick2013">{{cite book |last=Gasse |first=Rosanne |chapter=The Dry Tree Legend in Medieval Literature |editor-last=Gusick |editor-first=Barbara I. |title=Fifteenth-Century Studies 38 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KNZGXEfXIOEC&pg=PA73 |year=2013 |publisher=[[Camden House Publishing|Camden House]] |isbn=978-1-57113-558-2 |pages=65–96 |quote=''Mandeville'' also includes a prophecy that when the Prince of the West conquers the Holy Land for Christianity, this tree will become green again, rather akin to the White Tree of Arnor [sic] in the Peter Jackson film version of ''The Lord of the Rings'', if not in Tolkien's original novel, which sprouts new green leaves when Aragorn first arrives in Gondor at [sic, i.e. after] the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.<!--q p.73-->}}</ref><ref name="Garth 2020"/> The tale runs that the Dry Tree had been dry since the [[crucifixion of Christ]], but that it would flower afresh when "a prince of the west side of the world should sing a mass beneath it".<ref name="Garth 2020">{{cite book |last=Garth |first=John |author-link=John Garth (author) |title=The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Places that Inspired Middle-earth |date=2020 |publisher=[[Frances Lincoln Publishers]] & [[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=978-0-7112-4127-5 |page=41}}</ref><ref name="British Library 2020">{{cite web |last=Drieshen |first=Clark |title=The Trees of the Sun and the Moon |url=https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2020/01/the-trees-of-the-sun-and-the-moon.html |publisher=[[British Library]] |access-date=24 February 2021 |date=31 January 2020}}</ref>

Tolkien's map-notes for the illustrator [[Pauline Baynes]] indicate that the city had the [[latitude]] of [[Ravenna]], an [[Italy|Italian]] city on the [[Adriatic Sea]], though it lay "900 miles east of Hobbiton more near [[Belgrade]]".<ref>{{cite news |last=Flood |first=Alison |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/23/jrr-tolkien-middle-earth-annotated-map-blackwells-lord-of-the-rings |title=Tolkien's annotated map of Middle-earth discovered inside copy of Lord of the Rings |date=23 October 2015 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tolkien annotated map of Middle-earth acquired by Bodleian library |url=https://www.exeter.ox.ac.uk/tolkien-annotated-map-of-middle-earth-acquired-by-bodleian-library/ |publisher=[[Exeter College, Oxford]] |access-date=9 April 2020 |date=9 May 2016}}</ref>{{efn|The Tolkien scholar Judy Ann Ford writes that there is also an architectural connection with Ravenna in Pippin's description of the great hall of Denethor, which in her view suggests a Germanic myth of a restored Roman Empire.<ref name="Ford2005">{{cite journal |last=Ford |first=Judy Ann |title=The White City: The Lord of the Rings as an Early Medieval Myth of the Restoration of the Roman Empire |journal=[[Tolkien Studies]] |volume=2 |issue=1 |year=2005 |pages=53–73 |issn=1547-3163 |doi=10.1353/tks.2005.0016|s2cid=170501240 }}</ref>}} The [[Warning beacons of Gondor]] were atop a line of foothills running back west from Minas Tirith towards Rohan.<ref name="Beacon-Hills" group=T>{{cite web |last1=Tolkien |first1=J. R. R. |last2=Hostetter |first2=Carl F. |author2-link=Carl F. Hostetter |last3=Tolkien |first3=Christopher |author3-link=Christopher Tolkien |title=The Rivers and Beacon - hills of Gondor |url=https://epdf.pub/the-rivers-and-beacon-hills-of-gondor105fd73767942352604c470bca4fe66679457.html |publisher=EPDF |date=2001}}<!--Part was published in ''[[Vinyar Tengwar]]'', No. 42, July 2001.--></ref>

==== Dol Amroth ====

Dol Amroth (Sindarin: "the Hill of Amroth"<ref>{{cite book |last=Foster |first=Robert |title=[[A Guide to Middle-earth]] |page=60 |publisher=[[Ballantine Books]] |year=1978 |isbn=978-0345275479}}</ref>) was a fortress-city on a peninsula jutting westward into the Bay of Belfalas, on Gondor's southern shore. It is also the name of the port city, one of the five great cities of Gondor, and the seat of the [[principality]] of the same name, founded by prince Galador.<ref name="Founder" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980}}, "Cirion and Eorl and the Friendship of Gondor and Rohan".</ref> The whimsical poem "[[The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon]]" in ''[[The Adventures of Tom Bombadil]]'' tells how the Man in the Moon fell one night into "the windy Bay of Bel"; his fall is marked by the tolling of a bell in the Seaward Tower (''Tirith Aear'') of Dol Amroth, and he recovers at an inn in the city.<ref group=T>[[The Adventures of Tom Bombadil]], Introduction and Poem 6</ref>

[[File:Flag of Dol Amroth.svg|thumb|upright|Flag of the Prince of Dol Amroth]]

Its ruler, the Prince of Dol Amroth, is subject to the sovereignty of Gondor.<ref name="Letters244" group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=#244 to a reader, draft, c. 1963 }}</ref> The principality's boundaries are not explicitly defined, though the Prince ruled Belfalas as a fief, as well as an area to the east on the map labelled Dor-en-Ernil ("The Land of the Prince").<ref name="UT-AN" group=T/> Imrahil, Prince of Dol Amroth in ''The Return of the King'', was linked by marriage both to the [[Stewards of Gondor]] and to the Kings of Rohan.<ref name=Lothiriel>{{cite journal |last=Viars |first=Karen |year=2015 |title=Constructing Lothiriel: Rewriting and Rescuing the Women of Middle-Earth From the Margin |journal=[[Mythlore]] |volume=33 |at=article 6 |url=https://dc.swosu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=mythlore}}</ref> He was the brother of Lady Finduilas and uncle to her sons [[Boromir]] and [[Faramir]];<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, Appendix A, "The Stewards"</ref> a kinsman of [[Théoden]];<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980}}, "Disaster of the Gladden Fields".</ref> and the father of [[Éomer]]'s wife Lothíriel.<ref name=Lothiriel/><ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, Appendix A, "The House of Eorl"</ref> Imrahil played a major part in the defence of [[Minas Tirith]]; the soldiers whom Imrahil led to Minas Tirith formed the largest contingent from the hinterland to the defence of the city.<ref name=Chivalry>{{cite journal |last=Honegger |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas Honegger |year=2017 |title=Riders, Chivalry, and Knighthood in Tolkien |journal=[[Journal of Tolkien Research]] |volume=4 |at=article 3 |url=https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1075&context=journaloftolkienresearch}}</ref><ref name="Minas Tirith" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, book 5, ch. 1 "Minas Tirith"</ref> They marched under a banner "silver upon blue",<ref name="UT Field of Cormallen" group=T/> bearing "a white ship like a swan upon blue water".<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, book 5 ch. 8 "The Houses of Healing</ref>

Some like Finduilas are of Númenórean descent,<ref name="Boromir">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Davis |first=Alex |editor=[[Michael D. C. Drout|Michael D.C. Drout]] |title=Boromir |encyclopedia=[[The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia]] |year=2013 |orig-year=2006 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-86511-1 |pages=412–413}}</ref> and still speak the Elvish language.<ref name="AppF" group=T/> Tolkien wrote about the city's protective sea-walls and described Belfalas as a "great fief".<ref name="Passing of the Grey Company" group=T/> Prince Imrahil's castle is by the sea; Tolkien described him as "of high blood, and his folk also, tall men and proud with sea-grey eyes".<ref name="Minas Tirith" group=T/> Local tradition claimed that the line's forefather, Imrazôr the Númenórean had married an Elf, though the line remained mortal.<ref name="Siege of Gondor" group=T/><ref>{{Harvnb|Hammond|Scull|2005|loc="The Great River", pp. 683–684}}</ref><ref name="Arwen">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Armstrong |first=Helen |editor=Michael D.C. Drout |title=Arwen |encyclopedia=[[The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia]]|year=2013 |orig-year=2006 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-86511-1 |pages=38–39}}</ref>

=== Fictional history ===

{{anchor|Paths of the Dead}}

==== Pre-Númenórean ====

The [[first people]] in the region were the [[Drúedain]], a hunter-gatherer group of [[Man (Middle-earth)|Men]] who arrive in the [[First Age]]. They were pushed aside by later settlers and came to live in the pine-woods of the Druadan Forest<ref name="Ride of the Rohirrim" group=T/> by the north-eastern [[White Mountains (Middle-earth)|White Mountains]].<ref name="Many Partings" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}} book 6 ch. 6 "Many Partings"</ref> 
The next people settled in the [[White Mountains (Middle-earth)|White Mountains]], and became known as the Men of the Mountains. They built a subterranean complex at Dunharrow, later known as the Paths of the Dead, which extended through the mountain-range from north to south.<ref name="Last Debate" group=T/> They became subject to [[Sauron]] in the Dark Years.  Fragments of pre-Númenórean languages survive in later ages in place-names such as ''Erech'', ''Arnach'', and ''Umbar''.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}} Appendix F part 1</ref>

====Númenórean kingdom====
{{further|Númenor}}
{{anchor|Osgiliath}}{{anchor|Nimloth the fair}}{{anchor|Anárion}}

The shorelands of Gondor were widely colonized by the [[Númenóreans]] from the middle of the [[Second Age]], especially by Elf-friends loyal to [[Elendil]].<ref name="OtRoP" group=T>{{Harvnb|Tolkien|1977}} "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"</ref> His sons [[Isildur]] and Anárion landed in Gondor after the drowning of Númenor, and co-founded the Kingdom of Gondor. Isildur brought with him a seedling of Nimloth (Sindarin: ''nim'', "white" and ''loth'', "blossom"<ref name="Foster 1978 p186">ref>{{cite book |last=Foster |first=Robert |title=The Complete Guide to Middle-earth |year=1978 |publisher=[[Ballantine Books]] |isbn=978-0-345-44976-4 |page=186}}</ref>) the Fair, the white tree from Númenor. This tree and its descendants came to be called the White Tree of Gondor, and appears on the kingdom's [[coat of arms]].  Elendil, who founded the Kingdom of Arnor to the north, was held to be the [[High King]] of all the lands of the [[Dúnedain]].<ref name="AppA" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}} Appendix A, I (iv)</ref> Isildur established the city of [[Minas Morgul|Minas Ithil]] (Sindarin: "Tower of the Moon") while Anárion established the city of Minas Anor (Sindarin: "Tower of the Sun").<ref name="AppA" group=T/>

Sauron survived the destruction of Númenor and secretly returned to his realm of Mordor, soon launching a war against the Númenórean kingdoms. He captured Minas Ithil, but Isildur escaped by ship to Arnor; meanwhile, Anárion was able to defend Osgiliath.<ref name="OtRoP" group=T/> Elendil and the [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elven]]-king [[Gil-galad]] formed the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, and together with Isildur and Anárion, they besieged and defeated Mordor.<ref name="OtRoP" group=T/> Sauron was overthrown; but the [[One Ring]] that Isildur took from him was not destroyed, and thus Sauron continued to exist.<ref name="Gladden Fields" group=T/>

Both Elendil and Anárion were killed in the war, so Isildur conferred rule of Gondor upon Anárion's son Meneldil, retaining [[suzerainty]] over Gondor as High King of the Dúnedain. Isildur and his three elder sons were ambushed and killed by [[Orc (Middle-earth)|Orcs]] in the Gladden Fields. Isildur's remaining son Valandil did not attempt to claim his father's place as Gondor's monarch; the kingdom was ruled solely by Meneldil and his descendants until their line died out.<ref name="Gladden Fields" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980}} part 3 ch. 1 "Disaster of the Gladden Fields"</ref>

==== Third Age, under the Stewards ====
{{anchor|Umbar|Stewards|Plague|Great Plague}}

[[File:Flag of the Stewards of Gondor.svg|thumb|upright|Seal of the Stewards of Gondor{{efn|The seal of the stewards consisted of the three letters: R.ND.R (standing for ''Arandur'', king's servant), surmounted by three stars.<ref name="Seal of the Stewards" group=T/>}}]]

[[File:2ndMarquessOfHamilton.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|[[James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton]] holding the white staff of the Lord Steward of the King's Household, Scotland. Portrait by unknown artist after [[Daniël Mijtens]], 1622]]

During the early years of the [[Third Age]], Gondor was victorious and wealthy, and kept a careful watch on Mordor, but the peace ended with Easterling invasions.<ref name="AppB" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}} Appendix B "The Third Age"</ref> Gondor established a powerful navy and captured the southern port of Umbar from the [[Black Númenóreans]],<ref name="AppB" group=T/> becoming rich.<ref name="AppA" group=T/>

{{anchor|Great Plague}}
As time went by, Gondor neglected the watch on [[Mordor]]. A civil war gave Umbar the opportunity to declare independence.<ref name="AppB" group=T/> The kings of [[Harad]] grew stronger, leading to fighting in the south.<ref name="PM-HE" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1996}} ch. 7 "The Heirs of Elendil"</ref> With a Great [[Plague (disease)|Plague]]<!--of the year 1636--> the population began a steep decline.<ref name="AppB" group=T/> The capital was moved from Osgiliath to the less affected Minas Anor, and evil creatures returned to the mountains bordering Mordor. There was war with the Wainriders, a confederation of Easterling tribes, and Gondor lost its line of kings.<ref name="UT-CE1" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980}} part 3 ch. 2 "Cirion and Eorl", (i)</ref> The [[Ringwraiths]] captured and occupied Minas Ithil<ref name="OtRoP" group=T/> which became [[Minas Morgul]], "the Tower of Black Sorcery".<ref name="Steward and the King" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}} book 5 ch. 8 "The Houses of Healing"; book 6 ch. 5 "The Steward and the King"</ref><ref name="OtRoP" group=T/><ref name="AppA" group=T/> At this time Minas Anor was renamed to Minas Tirith, in constant watch of its now defiled twin city.

{{anchor|Ithilien}}
Without kings, Gondor was ruled by Stewards for many generations, father to son; despite their exercise of power and hereditary status, they were never accepted as Kings, nor did they sit on the high throne.<ref name="TT-WW" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954}} book 4, ch. 5 "The Window on the West"</ref> The badge of office of the Stewards is a white rod.<ref name="Minas Tirith" group=T/><ref name="EB lord high steward">{{cite web |title=lord high steward: English honorific office |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/lord-high-steward |publisher=Britannica |access-date=27 May 2025 |quote=On ceremonial occasions he carries a white staff}}</ref>

Faramir reports that Boromir as a boy had asked his father Denethor how many centuries it would take for a steward to become a king. Denethor replied "Few years, maybe, in other places of less royalty. In Gondor ten thousand years would not suffice."<ref name="TT-WW" group=T/> Shippey reads this as a reproach to [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Macbeth]]'', noting that in Scotland, and [[Lord Steward|in Britain]], a [[House of Stuart|Stewart/Steward]] like [[James I of England]] (James VI of Scotland) could metamorphose into a king.{{sfn|Shippey|2005|p=206}} 

After attacks by evil forces, the province of Ithilien<ref name="Minas Tirith" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}} book 5 ch. 1 "Minas Tirith"</ref> and the city of Osgiliath were abandoned.<ref name="AppA" group=T/><ref name="AppB" group=T/> Late in the Third Age, the forces of Gondor, led by [[Aragorn]] (under the alias Thorongil) attacked Umbar and destroyed the Corsair fleet, allowing Ecthelion II to devote his attention to Mordor.<ref name="Seal of the Stewards" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980}} part 3 ch. 2 "Cirion and Eorl", note 25</ref>{{sfn|Straubhaar|2007|pp=248–249}}<!--in Drout--><ref name="AppB" group=T/>

==== War of the Ring and restoration ====

{{anchor|Henneth Annûn}}{{anchor|Dol Amroth}}

{{further|Battle of the Pelennor Fields|Heraldry of Middle-earth#Men}}

Denethor sent his son [[Boromir]] to [[Rivendell]] for advice as war loomed. There, Boromir attended the [[Council of Elrond]], saw the [[One Ring]], and suggested it be used as a weapon to save Gondor. Elrond rebuked him, explaining the danger of such use, and instead, the hobbit [[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] was made ring-bearer, and a [[Fellowship of the Ring (characters)|Fellowship]], including Boromir, was sent on a quest to destroy the Ring.<ref name="Council of Elrond" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a}} book 2 ch. 2 "[[The Council of Elrond]]"</ref> 
Growing in strength, [[Sauron]] attacked Osgiliath, forcing the defenders to leave, destroying the last bridge across the Anduin behind them. [[Minas Tirith]] then faced direct land attack from [[Mordor]], combined with naval attack by the Corsairs of Umbar. The [[hobbit]]s Frodo and [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]] travelled through Ithilien, and were captured by [[Faramir]], Boromir's brother, who held them at the hidden cave of Henneth Annûn, but helped them to continue their quest.<ref name="TT-WW" group=T/> [[Aragorn]] summoned the Dead of Dunharrow to destroy the forces from [[Umbar]], freeing men from the southern provinces of Gondor such as Dol Amroth<ref name="Minas Tirith" group=T/><ref name="UT-AN" group=T/> to come to the aid of Minas Tirith.

[[File:Battle of the Pelennor Fields.svg|thumb|left|upright=1.25|[[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]]]]

During the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]], the Great Gate was breached by [[Sauron]]'s forces led by the [[Witch-king of Angmar]]. He spoke "words of power" as the [[battering ram]] named [[Middle-earth weapons and armour#Grond|Grond]] attacked the Great Gate; it burst asunder as if "stricken by some blasting spell", with "a flash of searing lightning, and the doors tumbled in riven fragments to the ground".<ref name="Siege of Gondor" group=T/> The Witch-king rode through the Gate where [[Gandalf]] awaited him, but left shortly afterwards to meet the Riders of Rohan in battle. Gondor, with the support of [[Rohirrim]] as cavalry, repelled the invasion by Mordor. Following the death of [[Denethor]] and the incapacity of Faramir, Prince Imrahil became the effective lord of Gondor.<ref name="O'Connor 2017">{{cite journal |last=O'Connor |first=David |year=2017 |title=For What May We Hope? An Appreciation of Peter Simpson's Political Illiberalism |journal=The American Journal of Jurisprudence |volume=62 |issue=1 |pages=111–117 |doi=10.1093/ajj/aux014 |url=https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1075&context=journaloftolkienresearch|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

When Imrahil declined to send the entirety of Gondor's army against Mordor, Aragorn led a smaller army to the [[Black Gate (Middle-earth)|Black Gate]] of Mordor to distract Sauron from Frodo's quest.<ref name="O'Connor 2017"/> Sauron encircled the army at the [[Battle of the Morannon]], but the hobbits succeeded, defeating Sauron and bringing the war and the Third Age to an end. The Great Gate was rebuilt with ''[[mithril]]'' and steel by [[Gimli (Middle-earth)|Gimli]] and Dwarves from the [[Lonely Mountain]]. Aragorn's coronation was held on the Gateway, where he was pronounced King Elessar of both Gondor and Arnor, the sister kingdom in the north.<ref name="AppAII" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}} Appendix A, II</ref><ref name="PM-HE" group=T/><ref name="PM Tale of Years and the Third Age" group=T>{{Harvnb|Tolkien|1996}} ch. 8 "The Tale of Years of the Third Age"</ref><ref group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=#256 to Colin Bailey 13 March 1964, #338 to Father Douglas Carter, 6? June 1972 }}</ref>{{-}}