The Elvenking's Halls[1] were a cave system in northern Mirkwood, in which King Thranduil and many of the Elves of Mirkwood lived during most of the Third Age and into the Fourth Age.
Description[]
The halls were just inside the eastern border of Mirkwood on the north bank of the Forest River, some miles upstream from Esgaroth.[1] The great cave had many passages and wide halls and was more wholesome than the goblin tunnels in the Misty Mountains. While most of the Elves lived in the woods the king's halls served as his palace and treasure vault, and was also a fortress for the Elves in times of danger.[2]
The entryway to the halls had huge stone doors[2] that were closed and secured by magic. The throne room for Thranduil was a great hall with pillars carved from the living rock. In lower levels were cells for prisoners and at the lowest part of the caves were the cellars of the king. These cellars were built over an underground stream so that empty barrels could be dropped into the water and floated out to the Forest River through a gate barred by a portcullis.[3]
History[]
About TA 1050 the Shadow began to fall upon Greenwood (causing it to be renamed Mirkwood).[4] In response, King Thranduil led his people to the north-east corner of the forest and delved there a fortress and series of great halls underground. He was inspired in this enterprise by Thingol's halls of Menegroth in Doriath from the First Age,[5] though these halls would be less expansive.[6] While the Dwarves played some part in the early delving,[7] it is unknown if they continued after the founding of the Woodland Realm in the Second Age. It is doubtful, however, given the strong animosity between the Sindar and Dwarves after the slaying of Thingol and the Sacking of Doriath.
In the autumn of TA 2941[4] Thorin and Company were traversing Mirkwood and had run out of food. Spotting some woodland feasts the Company attempted to enter these gatherings but were thwarted each time. On the third attempt Thorin was captured and brought to Thranduil's halls where he was interrogated by the king. Angered by Thorin's refusal to answer his questions, Thranduil had Thorin locked in his innermost cell.[2]
Soon after, the twelve remaining Dwarves (but not Bilbo Baggins) were taken by the Elves and brought to Thranduil's halls. They fared no better with the king and were also locked in the king's dungeon. Bilbo, however, roamed invisibly (wearing the Ring) about the halls and discovered and escape through the cellars. By luck Bilbo was able to obtain the keys to the Dwarves' cells, free them, and pack them into empty barrels in the cellar. Workers then came and per routine rolled the barrels through the trap door.[3]
In TA 3017, Aragorn captured Gollum in the Dead Marshes and brought him to Thranduil's halls.[4] As was told in the Council of Elrond, Gollum was kept in prison but had been allowed to climb a tree, with guards to watch him.[8] On June 20 TA 3018, Orcs attacked and Gollum disappeared.[9]
During the War of the Ring Thranduil's realm was invaded but on 15 March TA 3019 he was victorious over the forces of Dol Guldur in the Battle Under the Trees. With the passing of Sauron Thranduil's domain was extended to the Mountains of Mirkwood.[9]
Gallery[]
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Sale van Thranduil |
| Albanian | Salla e Thranduil |
| Amharic | ጥህራንዱኢል ውስጥ አዳራሾች |
| Arabic | قاعات ثراندويل |
| Armenian | Սրահներից Թրանդուիլ |
| Azerbaijani | Thranduilın zallarının |
| Basque | Thranduil Aretoen |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Залы Трандуіл |
| Bengali | ঠ্রান্দুইল হলসমূহ |
| Bosnian | Dvorana Thranduila |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Зали на Тхрандуил |
| Burmese | ဌ္ရန္ဒုဣလ္ ၏ခန်းမ ? |
| Catalan | Sales de Thrànduil |
| Chichewa | Nyumba ya Thranduil |
| Chinese | 瑟蘭督伊大厅 |
| Croatian | Dvorana Thranduila |
| Czech | Thranduilovy jeskyně |
| Danish | Thranduils slot (Elverkongens slot) |
| Esperanto | Salonoj de Thranduil |
| Estonian | Saali Thranduil |
| Filipino | Bulwagan ng Thranduil |
| Finnish | Thranduilin salit |
| French | Salles de Thranduil |
| Frisian | Sealen fan Thranduil |
| Danish | Haller af Thranduil |
| Dutch | De Zalen van Thandruil |
| Galician | Salóns de Thranduil |
| Georgian | დარბაზები თჰრანდუილი |
| German | Hallen von Thranduil |
| Greek | Αίθουσες του θρανδυιλ |
| Gujarati | ઠ્રન્દુઇલ ના હોલ |
| Haitian Creole | Sal nan Thranduil |
| Hawaiian | Keʻena o Thranduil |
| Hebrew | אולמות של ת'רנדויל |
| Hindi | ठ्रन्दुइल के हॉल |
| Hungarian | Thranduil Csarnoka |
| Icelandic | Sölum af Thranduil |
| Indonesian | Ruang-ruang Thranduil |
| Irish Gaelic | Hallaí na Thranduil |
| Italian | Sale di Thranduil |
| Japanese | スランドゥイルのホール |
| Javanese | Aula Thranduil |
| Kannada | ಥ್ರನ್ದುಯಿಲ್ ಸಭಾಂಗಣಗಳಲ್ಲಿ |
| Kazakh | Тһрандұілтың залдары (Cyrillic) Thranduiltıñ zaldarı (Latin) |
| Kurdish | Salonên ji Thranduil (Kurmanji) |
| Korean | 스란두일의 홀 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Тhрандуил залдарында |
| Laotian | ຫ້ອງການຂອງ ຕຫrະນດຸິຣ ? |
| Latin | Atrium Thranduil |
| Latvian | Zāles Thranduil |
| Lithuanian | Salėse Thranduil |
| Luxembourgish | Hale vun Thranduil |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Салите на Тхрандуил |
| Marathi | ठ्रन्दुइल च्या हॉलमध्ये |
| Malagasy | Ny Lalantsara' ny Thranduil |
| Maltese | Swali tal-Thranduil |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Тhрандуил-ын танхим |
| Nepalese | ठ्रन्दुइल को हल |
| Norwegian | Haller av Thranduil |
| Pashto | د سالونونه طهراندویل |
| Persian | سالن های تراندوئیل |
| Polish | Jaskinie Thranduila |
| Portuguese | Salões de Thranduil |
| Punjabi | ਠ੍ਰਨ੍ਦੁਇਲ ਦੇ ਹਾਲ |
| Romanian | Sali de Thranduil |
| Russian | Залы Трандуил |
| Scottish Gaelic | Tallaichean de Thranduil |
| Serbian | Тхрандуилове Дворане (Cyrillic) Thranduilove Dvorane (Latin) |
| Sesotho | Liholo Tsa Thranduil |
| Shona | Dzimba dzose Thranduil |
| Sinhalese | ඨ්රඳුඉල් ශාලා |
| Slovak | Sály Thranduil |
| Slovenian | Dvorane Thranduil |
| Somalian | Hoolka of Thranduil |
| Spanish | Salas de Thranduil |
| Swahili | Kumbi za Thranduil |
| Swedish | Thranduils Salar |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Толорҳои аз Тҳрандуил |
| Tamil | ட்ஹ்ரந்துஇல் அரங்குகள் |
| Thai | ห้องโถงของ ธ ธรันดูอิล |
| Turkish | Thranduil'in salonları |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Зали Тграндуіл |
| Urdu | ہالوں کے ترندوال |
| Uzbek | Тҳрандуилнинг залларида (Cyrillic) Thranduilning zallarida (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Hội trường của Thranduil |
| Welsh | Neuaddau Thranduil |
| Yiddish | האַללס פון טהראַנדויל |
| Yucatec Maya | Salas u Thranduil |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Hobbit, "Map of Wilderland"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Hobbit, Chapter VIII: "Flies and Spiders"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Hobbit, Chapter IX: "Barrels Out of Bond"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age"
- ↑ Unfinished Tales, Part Two: The Second Age, Chapter IV: "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", Appendix B: "The Sindarin Princes of the Silvan Elves"
- ↑ Unfinished Tales, Part Two: The Second Age, Chapter IV: "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Book Three, Ch. VIII: "The Road to Isengard"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Ch. II: "The Council of Elrond"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Great Years"