Editing Lothlórien (section)

== Fictional description ==

=== Names ===

Tolkien gave the forest many different names, reflecting its fictional history and the way it is perceived by the different peoples of Middle-earth.{{sfn|Stanton|2006|pp=394–395}}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
! Name
! Meaning
! Origin
|-
! Lindórinand
| Valley of the Land of the Singers<ref group=T name="Unfinished Tales_History of Galadriel and Celeborn"/>
| Older [[Nandorin]] name of the area
|-
! Lórinand
| Valley of Gold<ref group=T name="Unfinished Tales_History of Galadriel and Celeborn"/>
| Nandorin name after introduction of ''mallorn'' trees{{efn|The form ''Lórinand'' was rendered in [[Quenya]] as Laurenandë and in Sindarin as Glornan or Nan Laur, all of the same meaning.<ref group=T name="Unfinished Tales_History of Galadriel and Celeborn"/>}}
|-
! Laurelindórenan
| Valley of Singing Gold<ref group=T name="Unfinished Tales_History of Galadriel and Celeborn"/>
| [[Sindarin]] name after the introduction of ''mallorn'' trees
|-
! Lothlórien
| The Dreamflower<ref name="Hammond & Scull_2005_note for p. 335, Lothlórien">{{harvnb|Hammond|Scull|2005|loc=note for p. 335, Lothlórien}}</ref>
| Sindarin name in the [[Third Age]]
|-
! Lórien
| Dream Land<ref name="Hammond & Scull_2005_note for p. 335, Lothlórien"/>
| Shortened form of Lothlórien matching the name of the<br />[[Gardens of Lórien]] in [[Aman (Middle-earth)|Aman]]{{sfn|Stanton|2006|pp=394–395}}
|-
! Dwimordene
| Valley of illusions
| Used in [[Rohan (Middle-earth)|Rohan]],<ref group=T name="The King of the Golden Hall">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954|loc=Book 3, ch. 6 "The King of the Golden Hall"}}</ref> from [[Old English]] ''[[wikt:dwimor|dwimor]]'' "illusion", ''denu'', "valley"{{sfn|Foster|2003|loc="Dwimordene"}}
|-
! The Golden Wood
| —
| [[Westron|The Common Speech]]<ref group=T name="The Riders of Rohan">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954|loc=Book 3, ch. 2 "The Riders of Rohan"}}</ref>
|}

=== History ===

Early in the [[First Age]], some of the [[Eldar (Middle-earth)|Eldar]] left the [[Great March]] to [[Valinor]] and settled in the lands east of the [[Misty Mountains]]. These elves became known as the [[Nandor (Middle-earth)|Nandor]], and later as the [[Silvan Elves]]. Galadriel made contact with an existing Nandorin realm, Lindórinand, in what became Lothlórien,<ref group=T name="Unfinished Tales_History of Galadriel and Celeborn"/> and planted there the golden ''[[mallorn]]'' trees which [[Gil-galad]] had received as a gift from [[Tar-Aldarion]].<ref group=T name="Unfinished Tales_A Description of Númenor">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980|loc=Part 2, ch. 1 "A Description of [[Númenor]]"}}</ref>

The culture and knowledge of the Silvan elves was enriched by the arrival of [[Sindar]]in Elves from west of the Misty Mountains, and the Silvan language was gradually replaced by [[Sindarin]]. Amongst these arrivals was Amdír, who became their first lord, as well as [[Galadriel]] and [[Celeborn]], who fled the destruction of Eregion during the War of the Elves and Sauron. In the [[Third Age]], Amroth, the former Lord of Lothlórien, went to the south of Middle-earth with his beloved Nimrodel, but drowned in the [[Bay of Belfalas]] after she went missing in the ''[[White Mountains (Middle-earth)|Ered Nimrais]]'' and never returned. Control of Lothlórien passed to Galadriel and Celeborn. Galadriel's [[Rings of Power|Ring of Power]] preserved the land from death and decay, and warded off Sauron's gaze.<ref group=T name="Unfinished Tales History of Galadriel and Celeborn">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980|loc=Part 2, ch. 4 "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn"}}</ref><ref group=T name="The Tale of Years">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955|loc=Appendix B, "The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands)"}}</ref>

As the [[War of the Ring]] loomed, the [[Company of the Ring]], emerging from the dark tunnels of [[Moria (Middle-earth)|Moria]] and seeing their leader [[Gandalf]] perish, was brought through Lothlórien to Caras Galadhon, and there met the Lord and Lady of the Galadhrim. The Fellowship spent roughly a month in Lothlórien, though it [[Time in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction|seemed to them only a few days]]. Before they left, Galadriel allowed [[Samwise Gamgee|Samwise]] and [[Frodo]] to look in the Mirror of Galadriel, giving them a glimpse of events in the future or at other times; she also tested the loyalty of Fellowship members, and gave each of them a gift for their quest.<ref group=T name="Fellowship_Lothlórien, The Mirror of Galadriel">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=Book 2, ch. 6 "Lothlórien", and ch. 7 "The Mirror of Galadriel"}}</ref>

After the fall of Sauron, Galadriel and Celeborn rid Dol Guldur of Sauron's influence.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955|loc=Appendix B, "The Great Years"}}</ref> Galadriel left for Valinor at the beginning of the [[Fourth Age]], and Celeborn later followed her. The city slowly became depopulated and Lothlórien faded. By the time of the death of Queen [[Arwen]], Celeborn and Galadriel's granddaughter, Lothlórien itself was deserted.<ref group=T name="The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955|loc=Appendix A 1.v, "[[The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen]]"}}</ref>

=== Geography ===

[[File:Sketch map of Lothlórien.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|Sketch map of Lothlórien]]

Lothlórien lay in the west of [[Wilderland]]. To its west stood the Misty Mountains, with the Dwarf-realm of Moria, and on its east ran the great river [[Anduin]]. Across the Anduin lay the forest of [[Mirkwood]] and the fortress of [[Dol Guldur]], which could be glimpsed from high points in Lothlórien. The river '''Silverlode''' or '''Celebrant''' flowed through Lothlórien and joined the Anduin; it had a tributary from the west, the river Nimrodel. The realm lay primarily to the north of the Silverlode, with a small strip of forested land to the south. The main part of the realm was the triangular region between the converging rivers Silverlode and Anduin, called the Naith (Sindarin for "spearhead")<ref group=T name="The Lost Road_Etymologies, SNAS">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1987|loc=Etymologies, SNAS}}</ref> by the Elves or the [[wikt:Gore#English#Etymology 2|Gore]] or Angle in the [[Westron|Common Speech]]. The tip of the Naith was called the Egladil (Sindarin for "elven-point").<ref group=T name="Fellowship_Lothlórien, The Mirror of Galadriel"/>

Caras Galadhon (from ''galadh'' ("[[tree]]") was the city of Lothlórien and the main settlement of the Galadhrim in Middle-earth.<ref group=T name="Farewell to Lórien">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=Book 2, ch. 8 "Farewell to Lórien"}}</ref> Founded by Amroth in the Third Age, deep in the forest, the city's dwellings were atop tall ''mallorn'' trees; the mallorn had been brought to that land by Galadriel. The city was "some ten miles" from the point where the rivers Silverlode (Sindarin: ''Celebrant'') and Anduin met,<ref group=T name="Farewell to Lórien"/> close to the eastern border of the realm. In the trees there were many [[Tree house|tree-platforms]], which could be elaborate dwellings or simple guard-posts.{{efn|''Talan'' in Sindarin, ''flet'' in [[Westron]].<ref group=T name="Unfinished Tales_History of Galadriel and Celeborn"/>}} Stairways of ladders were built around the main trees, and at night the city was lit by "many lamps" – "green and gold and silver".<ref group=T name="Lothlórien">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=Book 2, ch. 6 "Lothlórien"}}</ref> The city's entrance was on the southern side.<ref group=T name="The Mirror of Galadriel">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=Book 2, ch. 7 "The Mirror of Galadriel"}}</ref>

{{anchor|Analysis}}