Dates

Established at the foundation of Gondor in II 3320,¹ the line of White Trees was interrupted in III 2872, but resumed in III 3019 and continued into the Fourth Age

Location

The court of Minas Anor (later renamed Minas Tirith)

Origins

A seedling of the White Tree of Isildur that grew in Minas Ithil, which was itself the offspring of Nimloth, the White Tree of Númenor

Race

Men

Division

Dúnedain

Culture

Gondorians

Other names

White Tree of the Eldar, White Tree of Minas Anor; after the last known White Tree died in III 2872, it was left standing, and became known as the Dead Tree or Withered Tree

Indexes:

About this entry:

Updated 9 July 2009
Updates planned: 2

White Tree of Minas Tirith

A reminder of lost Númenor

Years of the TreesFirst AgeISecond AgeIIThird AgeIIIFourth AgeIV

Nimloth
The White Tree
of Númenor

White Tree of Isildur
in Minas Ithil

First White Tree
of Minas Anor
(died III 1636)

Second White Tree
of Minas Anor
(later renamed Minas Tirith)
(died III 2872)
(The Dead Tree)

Third White Tree
of Minas Tirith
(planted III 3019)

White Trees

A title of any of various White Trees that grew in the courts of Minas Tirith, descended from Nimloth of Númenor, and ultimately (it is said) from Telperion itself.

I	III 2 - III 1636 (1,634 years) The original White Tree of Middle-earth grew in Minas Ithil, but was destroyed in II 3429 when Sauron took that fortress. Isildur escaped with a seedling, which he planted in the courts of Minas Anor. The White Tree that grew there lasted through many centuries, but finally died at the time of the Dark Plague, at the same time as King Telemnar.
II	III 1640 - III 2872² (1,232 years) After four years, the new King of Gondor, Tarondor, planted a seedling of the first White Tree in place of the original. This second tree survived through Tarondor's own reign, and through the reigns of six Kings who came after him. It lived on after the end of the line of Kings, until the time of Belecthor II, the twenty-first Ruling Steward. When Belecthor died, the White Tree died soon afterwards.
	The Dead Tree III 2872 - III 3019 (147 years) When the second White Tree died, the Gondorians could find no seedling, and so the Tree could not be replaced. Instead, Belecthor's heir Thorondir left it standing in the courts of Minas Tirith as a Dead Tree. It remained there for nearly a century and a half, through the rule of Thorondir and four further Stewards.
III	From III 3019 After the War of the Ring, Gandalf guided Aragorn to a barren slope of Mindolluin behind Minas Tirith, where he discovered a sapling of the White Tree. The Dead Tree was then removed to the Silent Street, and the sapling was planted in its place in the Court of the Fountain.

Notes

This was the date of the establishment of the line of the White Trees, with the planting of the White Tree of Isildur, though strictly speaking none of the trees of the line would have been known as the 'White Tree of Minas Tirith' until long afterward. The White Tree of Isildur grew for about a century in Minas Ithil before that city was captured, and its seedling was planted in Minas Anor (as Minas Tirith was then known) in II 2. Minas Anor would not become Minas Tirith until after III 2002, some centuries into the lifetime of the second White Tree to grow there, which would therefore be the first to be known as the 'White Tree of Minas Tirith' during its lifetime.

Many earlier editions of The Lord of the Rings give an incorrect date for the death of the second White Tree; the Tale of Years in those editions wrongly shows III 2852, whereas the correct date of III 2872 is well established. This error is corrected in later editions.

Indexes:

About this entry:

Updated 9 July 2009
Updates planned: 2

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

White Tree of Minas Tirith

A reminder of lost Númenor

Notes

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