The New Notion Club Archives
Advertisement
The New Notion Club Archives

Amon Rûdh (S. "Bald Hill"; Kh."Sharbhund"), the Bald Hill, arose alone and prominently in the midst of the wild moorland of Talath Dirnen, the Guarded Plain, south of the forest of Brethil and west of Doriath, in Beleriand in the First Age. Its sides were steep bare rock, save for the red-flowering Seregon plants that crowned it.
Hidden near the summit, and virtually inaccessible except to those who knew the way, was Bar-en-Nibin-noeg, the "House of the Petty-dwarves", subterranean home of the old Petty-dwarf Mîm and his sons Khîm and Ibun.

History[]

Called Sharbhund by its Petty-dwarven inhabitants, Amon Rûdh long held a hidden dwelling of the Petty-dwarves, exiles from the eastern Dwarf-cities, who settled secretly among the lands of Beleriand. Indeed, they had been there long before the return of the Noldorin exiles.
After Mîm's capture and ransom by Túrin and his companions, it was also occupied by that outlaw band between 1A 487 and 1A 489, becoming (after the arrival of Beleg) the center of the "realm" of Dor-Cúarthol, the "Land of Bow-and-helm". But the treacherous Mîm betrayed his unwelcome "guests" to the Orcs of Morgoth, who then raided the place, destroying the outlaws and capturing Túrin. Although Mîm (and possibly Ibun) survived the raid, it seems that Bar-en-Danwedh (as the House had come to be called) and Amon Rûdh were abandoned afterwards, as they were clearly no longer secret nor safe.

Speculations[]

Topographically, Amon Rûdh is certainly an inselberg (aka monadnock, also koppie, bornhardt), although whether it's a volcanic plug like Devils Tower or Pico Cão Grande, or a metamorphic feature similar to Pilot Mountain, is not known. The presence of caves (extended by mining) and a spring would seem to favor a metamorphic origin (without however precluding fissuring and quarrying of a volcanic plug), while it's steep profile and solitary presence on an otherwise empty plain would seem to favor a volcanic origin.

Advertisement