Weathertop (Amon Sûl)

Figure 5. Adapted from Tolkien, J. R. R. (2012). The realm of Middle-earth [Map]. The Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary One-Volume Edition. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin.

It is at Weathertop that Aragorn, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippen encounter three Ringwraiths intent on forcibly taking the Ring from Frodo. Once called Amon Sûl, it was the site of an ancient and ruined defensive tower built by the Men of old (Weathertop, Tolkien Gateway, 2018).

Of great import is Weathertop’s geographic location, on the East-West Road between the frontier town of Bree and the Elven sanctuary of Rivendell. Furthermore, its historical significance should also be of great interest to students of Tolkien’s works (Chance, 2010, p. 45).

Recommended Reading

Brisbois, M. J. (2005). Tolkien’s imaginary nature: An analysis of the structure of Middle-earth. Tolkien Studies, 2(1), 197-216.

Sabo, D. (2007). Archaeology and the sense of history in JRR Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Mythlore: A Journal of JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature, 26(1), 91-112.