The Complete Tolkien Companion (78 page)

Parma
– The Quenya or High-elven word for ‘book'; also the title of Tengwa number 2, which represented the value of the sound
p
in those languages which required it.

Parmaitë
‘Book-handed' (Q.) – A name given to Tar-Elendil of Númenor, a great historian and loremaster.

Parmatéma
–
See
TÉMA
.

Parth Celebrant
‘Field of Silverlode' (Sind.) – The name given in Lórien to the area of grassland between the rivers Limlight and Celebrant (Silverlode), claimed as part of the Elven-land but in later years incorporated by soldiers of Gondor into their system of defence against invasions across the narrows (Undeeps) of Anduin.

Parth Galen
‘Green Field' (Sind.) – A swathe of cool greensward which lay between the river Anduin and the lower slopes of Amon Hen on its western bank, some little distance north of the Falls of Rauros.

Party Field
– The name given by local Hobbits to the large field which lay on the Hill of Hobbiton below the gardens of Bag End. In it stood a single tree, the ‘Party Tree', beneath which Bilbo Baggins erected an imposing marquee for his ‘private' dinner party on the day of his 111th birthday. The field was partially dug up during the War of the Ring by agents of Saruman and the Tree was wantonly cut down. It was later replaced by a single shapely Mallorn grown by Samwise Gamgee from a seed brought back from Lothlórien.

Pass of Aglon
– The ‘Narrow Pass' (the meaning of
Aglon
) which led from Himlad into Lothlann. On the west reared great sheer heights, the eastern walls of the Dorthonion plateau; to the east the hills were lower. The Pass itself was some six leagues long. For obvious strategic reasons, this defile was a potential weak point in the chain of kingdoms created by the Noldor after the Battle-under-Stars. The brothers Celegorm and Curufin, sons of Fëanor, therefore fortified the Pass and held large forces in Himlad, in a reserve capacity. Ten leagues to the east their elder brother Maedhros had his stronghold on the Hill of Himring, and beyond him Maglor's cavalry rode far out upon the plain.

Nonetheless, in the Dagor Bragollach all this great array was swept out of the North for the time being. But Maedhros held out on Himring, which formed the nucleus in the East for a later regrouping of the Sons of Fëanor and their hosts; and after a dozen years or so Aglon was re-captured, and held for a while. Then came the Nirnaeth Arnoediad; after that battle the reconstitution of the realms of the Noldor in the North was no longer a possibility. Aglon, and all the lands of the North, fell under the domination of Morgoth and were never recovered.

Pass of Anach
– The seven-league ravine which descended from western Dorthonion to Dimbar and Nan Dungortheb. On the west the peaks of the Encircling Mountains towered above the pass; to the east loomed the Mountains of Terror. The upper reaches of the Pass of Anach were captured by Morgoth after the fall of Dorthonion, and soon afterwards armies began to come down into Beleriand by means of this route. It was briefly recaptured before the Nirnaeth, but lost again soon afterwards.

Pass of Light
– The
CALACIRYA
.

Pass of Sirion
– The five-league defile which led into Beleriand from Ard-galen in the north. It was walled on the west by the Ered Wethrin, and on the east by the sheer edge of the Dorthonion plateau. Through the pass, in a southerly direction, ran the great river Sirion (the action of whose waters had carved the defile in ancient days). For the exiled Noldor the Pass of Sirion was of immense strategic importance; for it was the veritable western cornerstone of their defence against Morgoth. It had additional value as a natural redoubt because of the Fen of Serech – deliberately never drained by the Noldor – which covered any sudden approach from the north. Further to fortify the Pass of Sirion, Finrod son of Finarfin built a tall watch-tower (called Minas Tirith) on the island of Tol Sirion, in the middle of the river and squarely in the neck of the pass. Tol Sirion was captured shortly after the Dagor Bragollach, by Sauron the servant of Morgoth; indeed all the routes from north to south were taken from the Eldar at this time; but most – including the Pass of Sirion – were won back in the years immediately preceding the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. After which, of course, they were again lost, this time for ever.

Paths of the Dead
– The name given in Rohan to the Haunted Road under the Dwimorberg mountain which led from Dunharrow in the north to an unknown destination (actually the source of the river Morthond) in the south. It was constructed – for what purpose none could say – early in the Second Age by the Men of the White Mountains, and was part of the great megalithic complex known as Dunharrow.

Pelargir
‘Enclosure-of-[Royal] Ships' (Q.) – The most ancient port of Gondor, forty leagues upstream from the Mouths of Anduin, above the confluence with the Sirith. The haven was founded in the Second Age (2350) by mariners of Númenor and, though neither the greatest in size nor the most important, soon became the chief haven of those Númenoreans who called themselves the Faithful. Elendil himself landed there after the Downfall of Númenor.

For the first centuries after the founding of the realm of Gondor, Pelargir was allowed somewhat to fall into disrepair, and it was not until the reign of the first ‘Ship-king' that Gondor attempted to regain any of her ancestral naval might. The second ‘Ship-king', Eärnil I, repaired the ancient harbour and enlarged the basin to take the massive fleets that the Dúnedain then began to build: for to the south, the older and larger Haven of Umbar was filled with seafaring folk unfriendly to the Dúnedain, and Eärnil had determined to end the threat they posed. Gondor indeed conquered Umbar, and held it, and for a while both harbours were filled with the warships of Gondor. The South-kingdom extended her influence along the coasts north, south and west, and soon reached the summit of her power.

With the Kin-strife of the middle Third Age the navy of Gondor became rebellious, and Pelargir was then controlled by the disloyal elements who were opposed to King Eldacar. Even after these rebels had been soundly defeated at the Battle of the Crossings of Erui (1447) Pelargir still held out against the lawful King; and in the end the rebels took the fleets and sailed away to Umbar, which they made into a seafaring city-state opposed to the rule of Gondor.

Nonetheless Pelargir remained the chief port of the South-kingdom although its exposed position and rich commercial traffic made the harbour especially vulnerable to seaborne raiding. During the War of the Ring the Haven was once more assailed by the Corsairs – but in the nick of time they were defeated and their ships seized for another purpose. The port remained in Gondor's control throughout the War and, in the Fourth Age which followed, once again prospered in the manner of earlier times.

Pelendur
– A Steward of Gondor, descended from Húrin of Emyn Arnen and, in a sense, Gondor's first ‘Ruling Steward'. It was Pelendur's lot to govern the South-kingdom during the one-year interregnum (1944–45 Third Age) following the untimely death in battle of King Ondoher and his two sons. The situation was further complicated by the strong claim to the Throne of Gondor made by King
ARVEDUI
of Arthedain. In his capacity as temporary ruler, Pelendur was chiefly responsible for Gondor's rejecting Arvedui's claim, although his own choice seemed wise enough: Eärnil, a victorious General of proven ability and acceptable antecedents. Eärnil duly became King – and his own son Eärnur became the last King of the Line of Anárion. After Eärnur's death (2050), the descendants of Pelendur took office as (hereditary) Ruling Stewards, maintaining this weighty responsibility until the ending of the Age and the Return of the King.

Pelennor
‘Enclosed-lands' (Sind.) – The fenced townlands of Minas Tirith.
See also
BATTLE OF THE PELENNOR FIELDS
.

Pelóri
‘Mountains of Defence' (Q.) – The Mountains of Valinor, tallest in the World and impassable save by a single ravine, the Pass of Calacirya, through which the ancient Light of the Two Trees flowed from Valimar into Eldamar and the long shorelands of the Blessed Realm. The highest of the Pelóri was
Oiolossë
(older name
Taniquetil,
‘High-white-peak'), sometimes also called the Hill of Ilmarin. Upon its summit, at the roof of the world, stood the
Oromardi
(‘High halls') of the Lord of the Valar and his spouse, the Lady Elbereth (Varda).

People of the Great Journey
– The
ELDAR
.

People of Haleth
– The
HALADIN
.

People of the Stars
– A translation of
ELDAR
.

Peredhil
(sing. -
edhel
) ‘Half-elven' (Sind.) – A term applied by the Elves to the brethren Elros and Elrond, sons of Eärendil (the Mariner) and the Lady Elwing the White; also, less specifically, to all those of mixed Eldarin and Mannish descent: Eärendil himself; Dior Eluchíl; Dior's children, Eluréd, Elurin and Elwing; and Elrond's children, Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen Evenstar.
See also
LINES OF DESCENT
.

Peregrin Took
– From Year 13–63 Fourth Age (1434–84 Shire Reckoning), the thirty-second Thain of the Shire, and one of the most notable Hobbits of his day, being renowned both as a member of the Fellowship of the Ring and as one of the Captains who led the uprising of the Shire-folk against the agents of the renegade Wizard Saruman at the end of the War of the Ring. Peregrin – more usually known as Pippin – later became a Counsellor of the reconstituted North-kingdom and remained a close personal friend of King Elessar (Aragorn II) throughout his life.

Peregrin was born in Tuckborough in the year 1390 Shire Reckoning (2990 Third Age) and was therefore only in his late twenties (having not yet ‘come-of age') when the great events of that time began to unfold. Both he and his kinsman Meriadoc Brandybuck learned somewhat of the Ring-bearer's plans before Frodo had even left the Shire, and thus were able to pressure him into accepting their company on the road East. At that time Frodo's plans led no further than Rivendell, and it must be said that his two young kinsmen did not particularly distinguish themselves during this part of the journey. Nonetheless, when the time came to allot the places in the Fellowship of the Ring with an infinitely more dangerous journey ahead, Gandalf the Grey supported their inclusion in the Company. And later on both Peregrin and Meriadoc came into their own, influencing great events far beyond their understanding at the time. The story of Pippin's role in the War of the Ring is told in great detail elsewhere, and needs only brief recapitulation in these pages. Like his kinsman Meriadoc, he was separated from Frodo at Parth Galen on February 26th 3019, and thereafter his adventures took him across the plains of Rohan (in captivity); to Fangorn Forest (as a guest of Treebeard the Ent); to Isengard (where he witnessed the destruction of Saruman's fortress); to Dol Baran at the southern end of the Misty Mountains (where he foolishly ‘abstracted' the
Palantír
of Orthanc and inadvertently misled Sauron), and finally, in company with an exasperated Gandalf, to the city of Minas Tirith – where he impulsively swore allegiance to the Steward Denethor II and was made a Guard of the Citadel.

While in Minas Tirith Peregrin witnessed the Siege of the City and was instrumental in saving Faramir, Denethor's Heir, from an untimely death. He afterwards marched away with the Host of the West to the Black Gate and fought honourably in battle there, slaying a giant Troll-chief and thus saving his comrade Beregond son of Baranor from death under the creature's claw.

Peregrin was knighted by King Elessar for his services to Gondor and afterwards returned to the Shire with his three original companions, playing a crucial part in the uprising which ensued. He personally rode through the night of November 2nd in order to bring reinforcements from his father, Thain Paladin II, and with this aid turned the tide at the Battle of Bywater the following day. For this feat both he and Meriadoc were afforded great honour among their kinfolk – and unlike Frodo and Samwise, they never really rejected any opportunities to parade around in fine style, wearing the arms and armour of Gondor and Rohan. Their splendid appearance (and their relatively enormous size, thanks to certain draughts quaffed while they had been guests of Treebeard the Ent) impressed the Shire-folk to a great extent, and of course both young Hobbits duly succeeded their fathers in positions of responsibility. Peregrin became Thain in 1434 Shire Reckoning, having already wedded Mistress Diamond of Long Cleeve (a descendant of Bullroarer Took, whom Peregrin had always greatly admired). That same year both he and Meriadoc (and Samwise Gamgee, now Mayor of the Shire), were appointed Counsellors of the North-kingdom.