The Complete Tolkien Companion (77 page)

Osgiliath
‘Citadel-of the-Stars' (Sind.) – The capital and chief city of Gondor from its founding in 3320 Second Age until 1640 Third Age, when it was superseded by the fortress-city of Minas Anor. In the centuries which followed it was gradually deserted and lost all its former eminence, and by the time of the War of the Ring the city was little more than a vast ruin upon either bank of the Great River, whose eastern side was occupied by forces of Sauron.

Yet at its beginning the Citadel of the Stars had been a proud, vast and populous city, where was kept the chief of the four
palantíri
(Seeing-stones) of the South-kingdom. It lay on both sides of the Anduin, where the road from Minas Anor to Minas Ithil crossed the river via a great stone bridge. But, like Minas Ithil, Osgiliath had been built at a time when Sauron of Mordor was still widely believed to have perished in the ruin of Númenor; and as a consequence it was unfortified, save for a few out-works, while its many bridges opened the way from the East into the heartlands of Gondor. Accordingly, when Sauron quietly returned to Mordor. and suddenly took Minas Ithil in a surprise attack at the end of the Second Age, Osgiliath lay virtually defenceless before his advance.

It has been recounted elsewhere (
see
LAST ALLIANCE
) how Anárion son of Elendil defended East Osgiliath with desperate courage while his elder brother Isildur brought aid from the North. Sauron was overthrown in that war, and for many years afterwards the glory of Osgiliath grew with the ascendancy of Gondor itself: for the first thousand years of the Third Age the South-kingdom flourished and extended its bounds, and the Kings ruled from Osgiliath, where the Great River flowed through beneath the broad stone bridge. But in 1432 Third Age a terrible civil war, the ‘Kinstrife', broke out, and in that war Osgiliath was besieged by the rebels; in 1437 the fugitive King Eldacar was forced to flee into the North, and Osgiliath was severely damaged by fire and sword: the Dome of Stars, beside the Great River, where the Palantír had been kept, was razed and the Stone was lost for ever in the waters of Anduin.

So began the decline of Osgiliath. Two hundred years later an even greater evil struck Gondor, when a foul pestilence came into the South-kingdom from the East. Osgiliath was sorely afflicted by the Plague, and most of its inhabitants died – save only those who fled north and west to spread the contagion elsewhere. King Telemnar and all his children perished and his nephew removed the royal seat to Minas Anor at the feet of the White Mountains further west. Yet the city lingered on, partly ruinous, for another thousand years of Gondor's slow decline – until the year 2745, when a new race of soldier-orcs appeared on the marches of Ithilien and swept across the narrow land to capture Osgiliath. They were finally driven out, but in that war the city was finally destroyed and its great bridge was broken. The west bank of Anduin then became a frontier of war: fortifications were thrown up and Men of Gondor remained permanently on guard. The far bank was shrouded in shadow and was filled with watchful eyes of another sort. So the situation remained until the War of the Ring, when the ruined city was again attacked – once in June of the year 3018 (when the assault was thrown back by Boromir son of Steward Denethor II), and again in March of the following year, when a great force from Minas Morgul forced the crossings and advanced towards Minas Tirith (Minas Anor). Although this army was decisively defeated at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, and Osgiliath was recaptured, the city was never rebuilt and was afterwards allowed to fall peacefully into final ruin.

Ossë
– The Maia of the Sea, the chief servant of Ulmo. His spouse was Uinen. He came into the World at the same time as Ulmo, and ever after lived in the Seas, notably the eastern reaches of Belegaer. Here he came to know the Quendi, of the Telerin kindred, the minstrels of the Elves; this Kindred he loved always, and grieved when the time came for them also to pass into the West. At his prayer they halted their voyage while still in the mouth of the Bay of Eldamar; and for an age longer Ossë retained their companionship. But then for the last time the summons came; and as a final gift the Sea-maia taught the Teleri the craft of shipbuilding, so enabling them to come to the last shores. He was everafter their patron and friend.

Note:
Ossë was known to the Sindar as
Gaerys,
‘the Awesome'.

Ossiriand
‘Land of the seven rivers' (Sind.) – The name given by the Sindar of Beleriand to all the country between the river Gelion and the Blue Mountains, south of and including the river Ascar, down whose northern shore the Dwarves first came into Beleriand. But Ossiriand was never a land of Dwarves, nor of Men (save one). Long empty, it was given by Thingol of Beleriand to Denethor lord of the Nandor (the Green-elves) who had come at length into Beleriand, last of all the Telerin peoples to make the journey to the West of Middle-earth. Here the people of Denethor afterwards dwelt, though Denethor himself was slain in the First Battle of Beleriand. But at the end of the Age, tumults and inundations overwhelmed most of Beleriand beyond the Ered Luin, and only remnants of Ossiriand and Thargelion (to the North) were left. Ossiriand was then re-named
Harlindon,
(‘South-Lindon'), and so it remained. (
Lindon,
‘Land-of Song', had been the name originally given by the exiled High-elves to all the Land of the Seven Rivers: a green and secret country into which none of them ever journeyed while the First Age lasted.)

Ossiriand was sixty leagues long by fifty broad (at its widest). Its northern boundary was the Ascar and its southern the Adurant with its island of Tol Galen, once the home of Beren and Lúthien. The Seven Rivers were Ascar, Thalos, Legolin, Brilthor, Duilwen, Adurant, and the Gelion, into which the first-named six all shed their waters.

Ost-in-Edhil
‘Fortress-of the-Eldar' (Sind.) – The name given in tradition to the (fortified) city built by those Noldor led by Celebrimbor who, in 750 Second Age, journeyed to Eregion near the Misty Mountains, to found a realm near the Dwarvish city of Moria. Ost-in-Edhil was the capital city of Eregion, and though its whereabouts have never been disclosed on available maps, it must have stood near Moria Gate. It was captured and razed by forces of Sauron during the War of the Elves and Sauron, in 1697 Second Age.

Ostoher
– From 411–92 Third Age, the seventh King of Gondor. It was this King who rebuilt the city of Minas Anor to make it a suitable summer dwelling of Gondor's royalty.

Otho Sackville-Baggins
– The son of Longo Baggins and Camellia Sackville, and the first of the short-lived Sackville-Baggins family. Otho is better remembered as the ill-tempered husband of the formidable Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, and as the father of the worthless and unfortunate Lotho (‘Pimple').

Outer Ocean
–
See
EKKAIA
.

‘Outsiders'
– The Shire-hobbits' term for any folk who suffered the misfortune of having originated elsewhere. To guard against unwarranted intrusion on the part of such ‘Outsiders', Hobbits maintained the custom of ‘beating the bounds', thus ensuring that few intruders were able to penetrate the Shire-dwellers' rustic idyll.

Overbourn Marshes
– A low-lying area south of the Eastfarthing in the Shire, between the rivers Brandywine (Baranduin) and Shire-bourn.

Over-heaven
– The three separate aspects of the Creation were: Over-heaven, Middle-earth and the Underworld. Between Over-heaven and Middle-earth were the Undying Lands of the West, home of the Valar and the Eldar from time immemorial.

Overhill
– One of the three villages of the Westfarthing which clustered close to the Hill of Hobbiton and the Bywater Pool. Overhill lay north of The Hill.

Overlithe
– The name given to Leap Year's Day in the Shire Calendar. Hobbits celebrated Leap Years by observing four Lithedays (instead of the usual three), of which the third, Overlithe, was an extra day in the calendar and did not normally appear. The four Lithedays were: I Lithe, Mid-year's day, Overlithe and 2 Lithe.

Paladin (II) Took
– From 1415–34 Shire Reckoning (3015 Third Age-Year 13 Fourth Age), the thirty-first Thain of the Shire, and father of the illustrious
PEREGRIN TOOK
. Paladin held office during the War of the Ring, at the time of the occupation of the Shire by agents of Saruman; and until the return of the Ring-bearers he was the only clan-leader to offer serious resistance to these ruffians. The Tooks indeed refused all dealing with the invaders, barring their folkland and shooting any who attempted to force entry. Thus, when the time came for a general uprising in the Shire, a sizeable body of armed and experienced Hobbitry was available for military purposes. Paladin then put all the forces he could spare under Pippin's leadership and sent them to take part in the Battle of Bywater, while he himself cleared the southern part of the Shire with the remainder of his forces. He held office as Thain until the year of his death, being succeeded by Peregrin, his only son.

Palantír
‘That-which-looks-far-away' (Q.) – The eight Seeing-stones of Eldamar, made by Fëanor of the Noldor during the Elder Days, seven of which were given by his House to the Lords of Andúnië in Númenor during the Second Age. They were kept as heirlooms until the Fall of Númenor, after which the Seven Stones were brought to Middle-earth in nine ships carrying the Faithful, led by Elendil the Tall.

Each of the
palantíri
was in fashion like a globe of crystal, in the heart of which flickered a tiny flame.
1
One who gazed into the Stone saw this light expand until the surface of the globe became a mass of spinning colour, into which the mind might cast itself, to be transported whithersoever the gazer wished, unrestricted by time or space.
2
The Stones were all in accord with each other, but some were more potent than others and one was the master of them all. After their arrival in Middle-earth they were distributed throughout the Númenorean realms-in-exile, being kept at Annúminas, Amon Sûl and the Tower Hills in Arnor; and at Osgiliath, Orthanc, Minas Ithil and Minas Anor in Gondor. Each
Palantír
had different characteristics and performed according to the nature of the person who commanded it; but they responded best when the user (or his agent) was of the true descent of Elendil. Using the Seven Stones, the Dúnedain were long able to guard and unite the Realms in Exile; but with the passing of time, many of the
palantíri
were lost or were taken by enemies of the Dúnedain.

The
Palantír
of Osgiliath disappeared when the Dome of Stars was destroyed during the Kin-strife (1437 Third Age); the Stones of Amon Sûl and Annúminas were lost in the waters of the Ice Bay with King Arvedui of Arthedain in 1974; the Stone of Minas Ithil was captured by Sauron in 2002, when the Tower of the Moon was taken by his servants, the Ringwraiths (though this was not known for many years); the
Palantír
of Orthanc fell into the clutches of the traitor Saruman (
c.
3000); and finally, the Stone of Minas Anor (Minas Tirith) fell virtually under the control of Sauron (who used it to break the mind of Denethor II, last Ruling Steward). By the time of the War of the Ring, only the
Palantír
of the Tower Hills remained untouched by evil. (Since it ‘looked' only towards the Far West, it was quite useless to those struggling for power, and it had long been in the keeping of the High-elves.) As for the eighth of the stones, the ‘Master-stone' or Chief
Palantír,
this had never left the Undying Lands; it stood in the Tower of Avallónë, in Eressëa, and was in direct accord with the Stone of the Tower Hills, which was the Master-stone of the Seven, though subservient to the
Palantír
of Eressëa. During the War of the Ring the Ithil-stone, long before taken by Sauron, was destroyed in the Fall of Barad-dûr, and that of Minas Tirith rendered completely unusable (save by a person with an iron will). Only the Orthanc-stone, recovered from Saruman by a strange mischance, remained to the new King of Gondor for use during the Fourth Age; for the
Palantír
of the Tower Hills was secretly put aboard Master Elrond's ship by Círdan the Shipwright, and so passed over Sea back to Eressëa at the end of the Third Age.

Palantír (Tar-Palantír)
–
See
INZILADUN
(
AR-INZILADUN
).

Palarran
‘Far-wanderer' (Q.) – The first great ocean-going ship designed and built by Prince Anardil, later King Tar-Aldarion of Númenor. His earlier vessel
Eämbar
had been a floating palace rather than a ‘blue-water' argosy.

Pallando
– A name for one of the ‘Blue Wizards', Istari who came to Middle-earth in the third Age and then passed away into the East. He is said to have been of the Maiar of Oromë.