Weathertop

Weathertop, Weathertop Hill, or Amon Sûl (Sindarin),The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, Ch. XI: "A Knife in the Dark", "His plan, as far as they could understand it without knowing the country, was to go towards Archet at first, but to bear right and pass it on the east, and then to steer as straight as he could over the wild lands to Weathertop Hill." was the southernmost and highest of the Weather Hills in Eriador. It stood a little away from the other hills, and its conical top was flattened.The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, Ch. XI: "A Knife in the Dark" Of old, it formed the boundary between Arthedain and Rhudaur, and upon it was the Tower of Amon Sûl, overlooking the East-West Road. Weathertop's summit was almost always windy, due to its prominence.
As represented in The Atlas of Middle-earth, Weathertop rose a thousand feet (approximately 300 meters) above the relatively level surrounding lands, and offered a commanding view in every direction. A path led from Weathertop northward to the other Weather Hills. The elevation of Weathertop itself above sea level was likely between 450 and 600 meters.The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings, "Weathertop"
== History ==
The Weather Hills lay at the center of the realm of Arnor, near the East-West Road that split Eriador.The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "Note on the maps"
The strategic importance of Weathertop was recognized very early on, as during the reign of Elendil, the Dúnedain of Arnor built a great watch-tower on its summit. It is said that in SA 3431, before the War of the Last Alliance, Elendil stood on the hill watching the hosts of Gil-galad making their way to join his forces in an alliance against Sauron.
In TA 861, after King Eärendur passed away and Arnor was divided into Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur, Weathertop stood at the junction of their borders, and was desired by all three of his sons, though they desired the palantír in the watch-tower rather than the hill itself. Nonetheless, Weathertop became the focus of a long-running territorial dispute between the three kingdoms, with frequent border skirmishes and minor wars. During this time, Weathertop may have changed hands on several occasions.The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenórean Kings", "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur"
In the days of Argeleb I, the royal lines of Cardolan and Rhudaur had failed and Rhudaur was now largely ruled by Hill-men allied with the Witch-king of Angmar. As tensions with Rhudaur and Angmar increased, Argeleb fortified his border, particularly on Weathertop. By the latter part of the 14th century, the line of defense was held by Arthedain and Cardolan, though Argeleb lost his life in battle with the Hillmen. Weathertop became the chief defense of the fortified border with Rhudaur.
In TA 1409, the forces of the Witch-king attacked Weathertop, burning the hill and destroying the fortifications on and around it. King Arveleg I was slain in defense of Weathertop alongside, or concurrent with, the last prince of Cardolan;The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, "Fog on the Barrow-downs", pp. 144-5; Index, "Cardolan, last prince of" the remaining Dúnedain of Arthedain retreated to their capital, Fornost Erain.The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, The Third Age
By the time of the Great War of the Ring many centuries later, only a ring of broken stonework remained on Weathertop. The Bree-landers paid little heed to it, and it faded into obscurity.
On October 3 of TA 3018,The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, The Third Age, The Great Years Gandalf and Shadowfax were discreetly stalked by the Ringwraiths until the night of October 3, when he was attacked by sixThe Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, "Flight to the Ford", pp. 187-9 or nineThe Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, "The Council of Elrond", pp. 251-3 of them, including the Witch King, on Weathertop. Gandalf put up a fiery battle against them which burnt the hill-top. Frodo Baggins and Aragorn saw a glimpse of the lights of that battle from their camp in the Midgewater Marshes.The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, "A Knife in the Dark", pp. 167-9 The Witch King, Khamûl, and three others remained, watching Weathertop and waiting for the Ring Bearer to come for two days thereafter.The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, "A Knife in the Dark", p. 169 On October 6, Aragorn, Frodo, Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck, and Peregrin Took arrived at Weathertop from the north, discovering a cairn with a message left there by Gandalf. They made camp in a dell below the summit, and in the evening, Aragorn sang to the hobbits of the tale of Tinúviel. At dusk, the five Ringwraiths who had been awaiting the Ring-bearer ascended Weathertop to attack them. During the skirmish, Frodo received his everlasting wound from the Morgul-knife of the Witch-king. As Frodo suffered from the spell of the wound, they rode hastily away from Weathertop the next day, but were soon pursued again by the Nazgûl. After fourteen days, they reached and crossed the Ford of Bruinen with Glorfindel, and were free of the Ringwraiths' pursuit.The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, Ch. XII: "Flight to the Ford"
== Etymology ==
Weathertop was the common Westron translation of the Sindarin name Amon Sûl, although it could also be translated as "Hill of the Wind", being a combination of amon ("hill") and sûl ("wind").The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 778
== In adaptations ==
=== The Lord of the Rings film trilogy ===
Weathertop is a place of action in Peter Jackson's 2001 film The Fellowship of the Ring. The summit of Weathertop is simplified from it's description in the book. When Aragorn and the four hobbits arrive, they make camp below the top of the hill, and Aragorn gives them a few daggers and swords, before he leaves to scout the surroundings. After nightfall, the hobbits see Ringwraiths approaching in the distance, who soon ascend the hill and attack the helpless hobbits amid the ruins at the summit. The Witch-king stabs Frodo with his Morgul blade, immediately before Aragorn returns and drives the Ringwraiths away with a torch.
=== The Hobbit film trilogy ===
In the film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Weathertop appears briefly as a meeting place for Yazneg, Fimbul, Azog and his Warg-riding hunters.
==== Filming location ====
Weathertop was filmed upon a hill in a large farm near Port Waikato, in the Waikato region of New Zealand. The surrounding area has many limestone cliffs and boulders, some of which contain fossils.
=== The Lord of the Rings Online ===
Weathertop is a playable location in The Lord of the Rings Online, portrayed as a significant hill within the Lone-lands.
== Gallery ==
Weathertop.jpg|Artist's portrayal of Weathertop Hill.
Nazgul at Weathertop.png|The Hobbits confront the Nazgûl on Weathertop Hill.
An Unexpected Journey Weathertop.jpg|Weathertop Hill in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
HNI_0002.jpg|The location used for Weathertop Hill in The Lord of the Rings films.
== Translations ==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Afrikaans 	Weertop
Basque 	Haizeen tontorra
Catalan 	Pica del Vent
Chinese (Hong Kong) 	風雲頂
Croatian 	Vjetrovrh
Czech 	Větrov
Danish 	Vindhøj
Dutch 	Weertop
Esperanto 	Veterverto
Finnish 	Viimapää
French 	Mont Venteux
Georgian 	ვეზერტოპი ? (Weathertop) ამონ სული (Amon Sûl)
German 	Wetterspitze
Hebrew 	פסגת הרוחות
Hindi 	मौसम का शीर्ष
Hungarian 	Széltető
Italian 	Colle Vento
Marathi 	हवामानशाळा
Nepalese 	मौसम शीर्ष
Norwegian 	Værhø
Blåstertopp
Persian 	ودرتاپ
Polish 	Wichrowy Czub
Portuguese 	Monte do Vento (Portugal) Topo do Vento (Brazil)
Romanian 	Țancul Vremii
Russian 	Ваветрень, Заверть
Slovak 	Vetristá
Spanish (Spain and Latin America)	Cima de los Vientos
Swedish 	Väderklint
Thai 	อะมอนซูล (Amon Sûl)
Turkish 	Fırtınabaşı
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Вітровий пагорб
== References ==
Category:Hills of Middle-earth
Category:Arnor
Category:Eriador
ca:Amon sûl
de:Amon Sûl
es:Amon Sûl
fr:Mont Venteux
it:Amon Sûl
nl:Amon Sûl
pl:Amon Sûl
ru:Амон Сул