A hill raised by the people of Finrod in the wide plain of Talath Dirnen, a league (approximately three miles) east of the Doors of Nargothrond above the river Narog. Over the years, trees grew on its flanks, but from its clear summit the watchers of Nargothrond could watch the lands about with the clear sight of the Elves, and so the hill got its name, Amon Ethir, meaning 'Hill of Spies'.
After the Sack of Nargothrond, the hill still stood, and it was here that Niënor encountered Glaurung the Dragon. Having plunged the land into a thick fog of dragon-reek, so that only the hill remained above the mists, he cast Niënor into a deep spell of forgetfulness, a state in which her guardian Mablung finally found her. He led her away from the hill into the north, but on the borders of Doriath she became lost, and from the Dragon's spell on Amon Ethir many evils later came.
Notes
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The etymology of ethir in this context is unclear. The word usually refers to the mouth of a river (as for example in Ethir Anduin) but that cannot be the case here. It perhaps derives from a construction such as et-tir, 'look out'; if so, then Amon Ethir was literally the 'lookout hill'.
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- Updated 18 February 2016
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