Pelargir

Pelargir
General information
Type	Harbour/city
Location	Southern Gondor, on the banks of the Anduin south of Minas Tirith.
People
Inhabitants	Númenóreans, Men of Gondor
Spoken languages	Westron
History
Founded/built	SA 2350
Lifespan	SA 2350 - Fourth Age

The great port of Gondor, Pelargir, was one of the earliest settlements of the Númenóreans founded in Middle-earth during the Second Age.

It was located above the delta of the Anduin and south of the White Mountains.

History

Pelargir was built in SA 2350. During the years of Númenor's moral decline it became the chief haven of the Faithful as they migrated to escape the persecution they faced from the King's Men. When Númenor fell the force of the storm changed the coastline, and where Pelargir had been fairly close to the sea, from then on it was almost fifty miles upstream. The city subsequently became the principal port of the newly founded Kingdom of Gondor.

As Gondor's power grew under the four Ship-kings, Pelargir became the home of its navy. Tarannon Falastur built a palace in the city, suspended on arches above the river. However during the civil war of the Kin-strife, the city was besieged by Eldacar, as it had become a stronghold of the sons and supporters of Castamir the Usurper. The siege was partially a success, as Eldacar drove his enemies out, but they escaped by ship and set themselves up in Umbar. Their heirs became known as the Corsairs of Umbar.

With the decline of Gondor's power, Pelargir was attacked many times by the Corsairs, who were in secret allegiance with Sauron, but the forces of Gondor managed to defend the coasts. In TA 1634, however, the Corsairs sacked the city, slaying King Minardil.

The Corsairs of Umbar advancing from Pelargir

Prior to the War of the Ring the city's defences were strengthened by Ecthelion II and during the war the struggle with the Corsairs came to a head when a great Corsair fleet captured the city. As Gondor's army was tied up at Minas Tirith, there were few troops to defend Pelargir or the coasts. Then Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, along with the Grey Company and the Army of the Dead, arrived and defeated the Corsairs. The heroes used the black ships to reach Minas Tirith and defeat Sauron's forces.

After Sauron was defeated, the Corsairs were eventually subdued.

Etymology

Pelargir is a Sindarin word that meant 'Garth of Royal Ships'.

In adaptations

In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Pelargir is featured as a ruined Númenórean port city that hosts refugees from the Southlands. As such, it has many technological advancements that were previously unavailable to the Southlanders.

In The Lord of the Rings trilogy of films

The city is seen from a distance burning in a scene from the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).

In games

In Games Workshop's The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game the garrison of Pelargir is the Wardens of Pelargir. They carry shields emblazoned with the original Men of Gondor heraldry rather than those seen in the War of the Ring. Games Workshop also name Corinir as the Lord of Pelargir.

Translations

Foreign Language	Translated name
Amharic	ጰላርጊር
Arabic	پهلارگیر
Armenian	Պելարգիր
Belarusian Cyrillic	Пеларгир
Bengali	পেলারজির
Bulgarian Cyrillic	Пеларгир
Chinese	佩拉格
Georgian	პელარგირ
Greek	Πελαργυρ
Gujarati	પેલાગિર
Hebrew	פלרגיר
Hindi	पेलर्गिर
Japanese	ペラルギア
Kannada	ಪೆಲಗಿರ್
Kazakh	Пеларгир (Cyrillic) Pelargir (Latin)
Kyrgyz Cyrillic	Пэларгир
Macedonian Cyrillic	Пеларгир
Malayalam	പെലര്ഗിര്
Marathi	पलालगिर
Mongolian Cyrillic	Пэларгир
Nepalese	पेलर्गिर
Persian	پلارگیر
Russian	Пеларгир
Sanskrit	पेलर्गिर्
Serbian	Пеларгир (Cyrillic) Pelargir (Latin)
Sinhalese	පෙලර්ගිර්
Tajik Cyrillic	Пеларгир
Tamil	பெளர்கிற
Telugu	పేలరెగిరి
Thai	ภเละรgิร
Ukrainian Cyrillic	Пеларгір
Uzbek	Пеларгир (Cyrillic) Pelargir (Latin)
Yiddish	פּעלאַרגיר