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Elendil died in II 3441; his remains were removed to Minas Tirith in III 2510, or shortly thereafter
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  • Updated 23 February 2009
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Tomb of Elendil

The secret of the Halifirien

Map of the Tomb of Elendil on Halifirien

Elendil was the first High King of the realms of the Dúnedain in Middle-earth, who was lost in the War of the Last Alliance in the final battle with Sauron. After that war was over, his son Isildur selected a mountain in the centre of Gondor to be his father's final resting place, and there he created a secret hallow where he raised a green mound and placed Elendil's remains within. The mountain he chose to hold the Tomb of Elendil was originally known as Eilenaer, but later came to be called Amon Anwar by the Gondorians, and the Halifirien by the Rohirrim.

Long after Isildur's time, that part of Gondor that lay to the west of the Tomb of Elendil had become an empty and unpeopled plain. After the Northmen of the Éothéod aided Gondor in battle, Steward Cirion resolved to grant them that province, known as Calenardhon, as a new home (this was the land that later came to be called Rohan). He chose Elendil's hallow on Amon Anwar as the place where this gift should be granted, and Cirion and Eorl of the Éothéod swore eternal friendship beside Elendil's grave-mound.

After this time, the Halifirien was no longer in the centre of the South-kingdom, but rather on Rohan's borders. So Elendil's remains were removed to the Hallows of Minas Tirith, where the tombs of its other Kings and Stewards were to be found. Nonetheless, the green sward and mound remained on the Halifirien, a reminder of the great tomb that had lain there in secret throughout most of the Third Age.


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About this entry:

  • Updated 23 February 2009
  • This entry is complete

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