Lindon

**Lindon** was a region of the Westlands. Initially populated by Laiquendi, in the following Ages, it became an important Elvish realm, known for its harbors and Elven Ships that would sail for the West.
Elves primarily from Lindon were there during the Last Alliance of Men and Elves. The Grey Havens, too, were located here

## Geography

Lindon was a name of Ossiriand, a region west of the Blue Mountains, in Eastern Beleriand. After the deluge of Beleriand in the War of Wrath, Lindon became the westernmost land of the continent of Middle-earth. The Gulf of Lune broke into Lindon and the Blue Mountains and divided the realm into *Forlindon* (North Lindon) and *Harlindon* (South Lindon). The eastern border of Lindon was the Lune, beyond which was Arnor.

Although Gil-galad's kingdom did not have clear bounds south of the Lune, the Elves of Lindon maintained an outpost at the Tower Hills.

After the War of the Elves and Sauron and the establishment of Imladris, the realm of Lindon was diminished and did not extend beyond the Blue Mountains any more.

In the tumult following the Downfall of Númenor, Lindon suffered great loss as "*the sea rode in upon the land*", and therefore had shrunk when the Third Age began.

## History

### First Age

The name Lindon was first used by the exiled Noldor for the region of Ossiriand, a fertile Elvish land beneath the Blue Mountains.

Other than a few highlands that survived as islands, Lindon was the only part of Beleriand that survived the War of Wrath as part of the mainland, the rest of the land having been submerged by the tumults. However, Belegaer the Great Sea broke through the mountain chain, creating the Gulf of Lhûn.

Many of the surviving Elves of drowned Beleriand, especially the exiled Noldor, relocated to Lindon by the beginning of the Second Age, where they were ruled by Gil-galad, who spent the majority of the First Age in the safety in the isle of Balar.

### Second Age

After the sack of Gondolin, Gil-galad became heir to the position of High-King of the Noldor and was therefore the overlord of the other Noldoring lords of Middle Earth: Celeborn and Galadriel initially ruled Forlindon (South Lindon) under his banner, before moving to Eregion (realm of Celebrimbor, himself subservient to Gil-galad) and eventually to Lothlorien.

The Elves of Eregion built the Havens (Mithlond, and also likely Harlond and Forlond) and many Elves left from there to Valinor.

Early in the Second Age, some of the Sindar, who were from Doriath, were uneasy living among the Noldor under Gil-galad and left for the east to establish kingdoms among the Silvan Elves, and in certain accounts, also the south. Among these was Oropher, who became Elvenking of Greenwood.

In SA 600, Entulessë, a ship from Númenor arrived in Mithlond where Gil-galad welcomed the Númenóreans, before reestablishing contact with their Mannish kin, the Middle Men.

During the War of the Elves and Sauron, Sauron had overrun Eriador. The Elves called that time Days of Flight as many fled to Lindon where Sauron could not enter, and thence over the Sea to the Uttermost West. Eventually Tar-Minastir sent ships to Lindon, responding to Gil-galad's plea. The combined army of Elves and Númenóreans drove Sauron's forces out of Eriador. Elrond, Gil-galad's warlord and heir apparent, established Rivendell as a haven for the refugees of Eregion, becoming its lord under Gil-galad, whose realm had shrunken to the vicinity of the Blue Mountains.

In the tumult following the Downfall of Númenor, Lindon suffered great loss as "*the sea rode in upon the land*", and therefore had shrunk when the Third Age began.

The Army of Lindon, along with the Men of Westernesse under Elendil, comprised the bulk of the forces of The Last Alliance of Men and Elves, which overthrew Sauron. In that battle, Gil-galad was killed. Elrond, his heir apparent, refused the position of High-King and remained Lord of Rivendell. Cirdan remained the only Lord of the Havens.

Lindon is the elven region ruled by Gil-galad from its capital, the Grey Havens, in the Second Age, and is considered Capital of the High Elves. First glimpsed in episode one, "A Shadow of the Past", it is here that Elrond meets Galadriel after returning from her hunt of remnants of Sauron's forces in Middle-earth.

### The Third Age

During the Third Age, the Elves of Lindon under Cirdan supported Arnor in the Angmar War. They assisted Arveleg and the men of Cardolan drive off the Hill-men from the Weather Hills. Later, with Círdan’s help, Arveleg's young son, Araphor, drove Angmar's armies from Fornost and the North Downs. Combining forces with Rivendell, and the Galadhrim who joined them from beyond the Misty Mountains, they subdued Angmar for some time.

In TA 1975, Elven sailors from Lindon brought a ship to Forochel to rescue the lost king Arvedui. The crew endured a perilous journey, but Arvedui rashly attempted to return that winter, and all aboard perished. In 2540, the elves joined with the Dúnedain in the victorious Battle of Fornost.

During the days of Kings, most of the High Elves that still lingered in Middle-earth were found in Lindon. Some Dwarves had dwelt in the eastern side of the Ered Luin, such as at Thorin's Halls, especially the part south of the Gulf. Men did not go to Lindon.

### The Fourth Age

Aside from Elves, Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggins also went to Valinor from the Grey Havens, and a family tradition held that Samwise Gamgee, having been himself a Ring-bearer, albeit briefly, did likewise, in the year FA 61.

In the Fourth Age, few Elves remained, if any at all. The Last Ship, carrying Cirdan and Celeborn, apparently sailed in the early Fourth Age.