Introduction
From the (to many)
obscure to the well-known. Minas Tirith
is arguably one of the most famous cities in the fantasy canon, serving as the
capital of the kingless Kingdom of Gondor and the site of the largest battle in
The Lord of the Rings. Built into the
side of Mount Mindolluin, the city was originally a fortified castle, an
outpost of Númenor meant to keep guard against the depredations of the Dark
Lord, Sauron of Mordor. Later, after the Downfall of Númenor, it became a
redoubt and stronghold of Gondor. Finally, a thousand years before the events
of
The Lord of the Rings, it became
the capital city of Gondor.
Minas Tirith, by Ted Naismith.
Physical Description
Minas Tirith is one of the most visually distinctive cities
in fiction, oriented so that vertical space (rather than horizontal) is
employed for maximum efficiency and defensive capability. The White Tower of Ecthelion located at the
top of the city rises more than 1,000 feet above the Pelennor Fields below,
with the city arranged in six concentric, half-circular levels below it (for
seven levels in total). Each 100-foot-tall level is surrounded by its own
defensive wall. The city was designed with the idea that any invaded army would
have to besiege and breach each wall in turn, all the while under arrow and
missile fire from above. Thanks to extensive stores and the possibility of
escape or resupply through the mountains behind the city, any attacker would
also be forced to assault the city, as a siege would be ineffective.
The outermost wall of the city proper is coloured black,
constructed by the Númenóreans of the same stone used to build Orthanc, the
tower of Isengard. Wrought of Númenórean cunning, the outermost wall is almost
indestructible, shaking off siege weapons and fire with barely a scratch. The
inner, newer walls are made of white stone and are less formidable, but still
very strong.
The city is built over an old hill, the Hill of Guard, and in
some places the old hill is visible. Most dramatically, the hill has a
protrusion, like the bow of a ship, that dramatically cuts though the upper
levels and extends out from the top of the hill in front of the White Tower.
The tip of the prow is located 700 feet above the plain and the lowest level,
offering a dizzying view of the surrounding countryside. Behind the hill is a
saddle linking it to the flank of Mount Mindolluin, eastern-most of the White
Mountains. On this saddle is located the Silent Street and the Houses of
Healing.
Atop the seventh level is the Citadel, the seat of the Kings
of Gondor and, more recently, the Stewards. The Citadel consist of an
impressive palace and the 300-foot-tall White Tower of Ecthelion, from which
the standard of Gondor would be raised.
Surrounding Minas Tirith in a wide arc is the Rammas Echor,
a significant defensive wall extending for four leagues (12 miles) from the
Great Gate. Gates in the Rammas Echo permit roads to travel north towards Cair
Andros and Rohan, south to Pelargir and east to Osgiliath. Osgiliath, the old
capital of Gondor, lies a few more miles from the wall on the Great River
Anduin. The Anduin curves to the south and west of Osgiliath, so the wall of
the Rammas Echor follows the river. This stretch of the wall is known as the
Causeway Forts, commanding the crossing from Osgiliath. South of Minas Tirith,
just outside the walls on the banks of the Anduin, lies the small port of
Harlond.
Located within the encircling wall of the Rammas Echor are
the Pelennor Fields. The fortified breadbasket of Gondor, these fields are
mostly turned over to farming. During times of siege when the Rammas Echor
holds, the fields can continue to feed the city.
Minas Tirith is the twin in purpose, and some aspects of design,
of Minas Ithil, better-known as Minas Morgul, which lies almost 50 miles to the
east in the passes of the Mountains of Shadow.
Population
The population of Minas Tirth is never disclosed by Tolkien,
although it numbers in the tens of thousands at the time of the War of the Ring
(thousands of soldiers are defending the city, so the civilian
population should be significantly greater). The city is also described as
under-populated by around 50% compared to the height of its power, with many buildings
starting to fall into decline. The population of Minas Tirith at the height of its power may have been 30,000, or maybe more if the farms and homesteads on the Pelennor are counted.
Minas Tirith as depicted in Peter Jackson's movie trilogy. The "bigature" used to primarily depict the city was seven metres high and contained over 1,000 distinct houses, taking months to construct. A detailed CGI model was built of the city and also the entire surrounding region.
History
Minas Tirith was originally called Minas Anor, “The Tower of the Sun” in Sindarin. It was founded in
the year 3320 of the Second Age by Anárion, the second of son of Elendil, High
King of Arnor. Elendil and his sons had escaped the Downfall of Númenor,
brought about the Dark Lord Sauron a year earlier when he convinced Ar-Pharazôn
the Golden, the last King of Númenor, into attacking Valinor itself. For his
temerity, Ar-Pharazôn and his host were slain and the Undying Lands of the uttermost
west were removed from the mortal world. During this cataclysm Númenor was
drowned.
Elendil and his sons, along with a host of loyal retainers, landed
in Middle-earth and made alliance with the native Númenórean colonists. They
were acknowledged as the rulers of the colonies and two new kingdoms were
established, Arnor in the far north-west and Gondor in the south. Following the
Downfall Sauron had returned to Mordor to raise a new host and complete the
conquest of Middle-earth, a fact Elendil was aware of, so he ordered the
construction of the city of Osgiliath and two great fortresses to defend it:
Minas Anor to the west and Minas Ithil,
“The Tower of the Moon”, to the east.
In 3429 Sauron attacked Gondor, but was checked by Anárion at
Osgiliath. This gave Elendil enough time to call for aid from Gil-galad, the
High King of Lindon, one of the elvish kingdoms. Gil-galad assembled a great
host and marched to Gondor’s aid. In the War of the Last Alliance Gil-galad and
Elendil proved victorious, driving Sauron from the field following the Battle
of Dagorlad (3434 SA) and besieging Barad-dûr for seven years, during which
time Anárion was slain. In 3441 SA Sauron emerged from the Dark Tower and
engaged the besiegers in combat, slaying Elendil and Gil-galad. Isildur, the
eldest son of Elendil, took up his father’s sword and defeated Sauron, cutting
the One Ring from his finger. Sauron’s physical body disintegrated, but
Isildur’s subsequent refusal to destroy the One Ring meant that Sauron’s spirit
was able to return centuries later.
Isildur accepted Anárion’s son Meneldil as the King of Gondor,
whilst Isildur chose to become King of Arnor and rule both Dúnedain kingdoms
from the north. However, Isildur’s rule as High King of the Dúnedain was
short-lived: less than two years later he was killed at the Battle of the
Gladden Fields by orcs and the One Ring sank to the bottom of the Anduin. 2,500
years later it was recovered by Déagol, a Stoor Hobbit, who in turn was killed
by Sméagol, better known to history as Gollum.
Gondor endured for over three thousand years. Meneldil and his
descendants ruled initially from Osgiliath, a beautiful, large city sprawling
for miles along the Great River on both sides, linked by causeways and roads to
Minas Anor to the west and Minas Ithil in the east. Tolkien does not describe
the status of the two guard forts at this time, but it is likely that Minas
Anor was not a city as Minas Tirith became in later years. More likely, Minas
Anor consisted of the watch tower and fortifications, probably expanding with a
town on the lowest level to resupply merchants and travellers heading from
south Gondor north into Anórien and Calenardhon (which later became Rohan).
Gondor grew into a mighty power. In the second half of the first
millennium of the Third Age it suffered multiple invasions and attacks from
Easterlings and the Haradrim. By 600 TA Gondor had conquered vast swathes of
Rhûn north of Mordor and by 933 it had captured the port city of Umbar far to
the south. The kingdom reached the zenith of its power and influence under
Hyarmendacil I and Atanatar the Glorious.
Gondor was weakened by a devastating civil war, the
Kin-strife, in 1432 TA, followed by the Great Plague of 1636. Osgiliath and
Minas Ithil were devastated and the capital was removed to Minas Anor. The
fortress began expanding into the modern city at this time.
In 2002 TA Minas Ithil was captured by the Witch-King of the
Nazgûl
and became known as Minas Morgul, the
“Tower of Black Sorcery”. Minas Anor was renamed Minas Tirith, the “Tower of Guard”. This was a curious name, for it
was ill-omened. During the War of the Jewels, approximately 5,590 years
earlier, the elven fortress of Minas Tirith was constructed on the island of
Tol Sirion to keep guard on an important strategic pass in long-vanished
Beleriand. Sauron himself conquered the island and the fortress in battle. It
is possible that the Gondorians picked the named for its descriptive qualities,
unaware of its history.
In 2050 TA King Eärnur rode to Minas Morgul to answer a
challenge to single combat by the Witch-King of Angmar. He was slain without
issue. The Steward of Gondor took charge of the realm, organising its defences
and generally acting like a king but refusing to take the title. Gondor enjoyed
four centuries of relative peace until a series of rolling, continuous wars
erupted along its borders. During one of these early conflicts the Gondorians
made alliance with Eorl the Young, a chieftain of the northern Anduin, in order
to defeat an Easterling tribe, the Balchoth. In gratitude for Eorl’s aid,
Gondor ceded its enormous (but sparsely-populated) northern province of
Calenardhon to Eorl. This led to the founding of Rohan and the establishing of
many centuries of peace and alliance with Gondor.
After five centuries of skirmishing and raids, Sauron
declared himself again in Mordor and summoned a vast army. By this time Gondor
had been significantly weakened, but still remained the most powerful kingdom
in Middle-earth. During the War of the Ring (3017-19 TA) Sauron attacked Gondor
several times, most notably at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, during which
the Steward of Gondor, Denethor, was killed. Aragorn, the long-missing heir of
Isildur, declared himself and was crowned King of Gondor after the conflict. He
led the combined armies of Rohan and Gondor to victory at the Battle of the
Morannon (aided by the simultaneous destruction of the One Ring in the flames
of Mount Doom). After the battle he led the rebuilding of Gondor from Minas
Tirith and also re-established the northern realm of Arnor.
J.R.R. Tolkien's own drawing of Minas Tirith, created in 1944 whilst he was writing The Lord of the Rings.
Depictions in Other
Media
Tolkien drew his own illustration of Minas Tirith to get
across its complex geography. However, Tolkien inadvertently left out the
city’s most distinctive feature, the prow-like rock formation dominating the
eastern edge of the city.
Minas Tirith has appeared in several adaptations of J.R.R.
Tolkien’s work, although not Ralph Bakshi’s 1978 animated movie (which ends
just after the Battle of Helm’s Deep). The 1980 movie The Return of the King, released by Rankin Bass as a sequel to
their earlier Hobbit animated
musical, therefore features the first on-screen depiction of Minas Tirith. It
is only loosely based on the book version, featuring the different levels but
also lacking most of the fine detail.
Most significant is Minas
Tirith’s appearance in Peter Jackson’s movie trilogy, where it briefly appears
in The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
before being far more critical to the events of The Return of the King (2003). The city was designed by Weta
Workshop, based very closely on Tolkien’s descriptions and the work of artists
John Howe and Alan Lee (both experienced Tolkien artists for many years
standing). A highly-detailed CG model was built of not just the city but the surrounding
plains and mountains by Weta Digital for the battle sequences. However, a lot
of the city shots were accomplished by combining CG, close-ups of large chunks
of the city built in a quarry and a “bigature”, a massive miniature model.
Although visually stunning, the movie version of Minas
Tirith does have several variances from the book version: the outermost wall of
the city is white rather than black and is shown as being fairly weak rather
than indestructible. Most notably, the Rammas Echor is completely missing but,
confusingly, is mentioned in dialogue (by Theóden as he givens orders to Éomer).
The city appears in numerous video games, most notably The Battle for Middle-earth and its
sequel. Due to hardware limitations, the city is depicted as only having four
levels rather than seven (some later mods do return it to seven). Several
versions of the city have also been built by fans for the video game Minecraft.
Minas Tirith as depicted in the 1980 animated musical movie The Return of the King by Rankin Bass. This was the first major depiction of the film on screen and drew inspiration from Pauline Baynes's 1969 illustration, which was approved by Tolkien.
Influences and
Influenced
Tolkien was reportedly inspired by the Italian city of
Ravenna, although this is likely more in terms of general location (Tolkien
compared Gondor to Italy several times) rather than any geographic
similarities. Readers have drawn comparisons between Minas Tirith and the
dramatic, tripled-towered San Marino Castle, as well as Mont Saint-Michel in
France, but there is no record of Tolkien citing either as influences on his
own work. However, Mont Saint-Michel was studied carefully by Weta Workshop and
Weta Digital in their design of Minas Tirith for the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.
The Battle of the Pelennor Fields appears to be a nod to the
Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. Fought in 451 AD between the Roman Empire and
the invading Huns under Attila, this battle was the last major victory won by
the Romans before their eventual complete collapse. Although mostly inspired by
other sources, Tolkien was fascinated by this battle. The death of Theóden,
King of Rohan, during the battle fought valiantly for his allies echoes the
real-life death of Theodoric, King of the Visigoths, on behalf of his Roman
allies during the battle (both were also crushed to death by their horses on
the battlefield, and both were allegedly carried off the field to the cries of
woe from their soldiers).
Minas Tirith is one of the most famous cities in all of
fantasy literature, but it is also very distinctive, so direct copycats or
“tributes” are rare. The most notorious
is Tyrsis in The Sword of Shannara
(1977) by Terry Brooks, a multi-levelled, multi-walled city where the most
critical battle between good and evil is fought whilst the real struggle (Frodo
carrying the Ring to Mordor/Shea Ohmsford seeking the Sword of Shannara in the
Skull Kingdom) occurs elsewhere.
Other, considerably less overt, influences can be seen in
Tar Valon in The Wheel of Time
(complete with its own White Tower), Armengar in The Riftwar Saga, the High Tower of Oldtown in A Song of Ice and Fire (more arguable) and, at least in terms of
verticality, Mahala in Francis Knight’s Rojan
Dizon trilogy.
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