Warden of the Great Gate

The dates given here relate to the approximate time when the Gate of Steel guarded the inner end of the Orfalch Echor. That gate was made by Maeglin after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, so could not have dated from earlier than I 472, and thus there would have been no Warden before that date. It is quite possible, however, that the Gate of Steel replaced an earlier Great Gate in the same location, and so the role of Warden of the Great Gate might have dated back to a much earlier time, presumably to I 116 when Gondolin was originally settled.

To complicate matters further, at some point after the Nirnaeth, Turgon ordered that the Hidden Way into the Orfalch should be blocked. This must have been after I 495, when Tuor and Voronwë found their way into the city, but it must also have been earlier than I 510, the date of the city's fall. After this, given that there would be no way for a traveller to possibly reach the Great Gate through the Orfalch, there would seem to have been no further need for a Warden of the Great Gate.

Gondolin was founded by Turgon of the Noldor, and many of his people dwelt there, but they were also joined by many of the Sindar from their former home of Nevrast. Thus the Warden of the Great Gate might in principle have come from either people. Even if we take the only named Warden, Ecthelion, it remains somewhat unclear which people he belonged to. Circumstantially, it seems to be implied that he was one of the Noldor, but this is never stated unequivocally.