.jpg) | |
| Road | |
| Causeway | |
|---|---|
| General Information | |
| Location | Gondor, running from Osgiliath to the Causeway Forts |
| Type | Road |
| People and History | |
| Inhabitants | Gondorians |
| Events | War of the Ring |
The Causeway in Gondor was the walled[1] road that ran west from Osgiliath to the Causeway Forts in the Rammas Echor that surrounded the Pelennor Fields.[2][3]
History
It is possible that the Causeway was built before the Causeway Forts.[4]
On 12 March T.A. 3019,[5] the attacking Morgul-host[6] that was led by the Witch-king and outnumbered the defenders ten times managed to cross the Anduin on a large number of floats and barges that they had secretly built on the eastern side of Osgiliath so that Faramir retreated up the Causeway and rallied his men to the Causeway Forts.[7]
In the early hours of 13 March T.A. 3019,[8] the attackers wrecked the Causeway Forts and blasted breaches in the Rammas Echor.[9]
On 18 March T.A. 3019,[10] the Host of the West[11] left Minas Tirith and passed "down the great road to the Causeway" to Osgiliath.[3]
Other versions of the legendarium
The causeway was originally unnamed when it first appears in an earlier manuscript of what would later become the chapter "Minas Tirith".[12] In an earlier manuscript of what would later become the chapter "The Siege of Gondor", the Causeway Forts are described as guarding "the entrance of the causeway into the townlands" and Faramir is said to "have paid dearly for the causeway" instead of "for the crossing".[13] The name of the road was first capitalized as Causeway in an earlier version of the chapter "The Last Debate".[14]
Portrayal in adaptations
2015: The Lord of the Rings Online:
- The Causeway is a short road leading from Osgiliath's "Gates of the Sun" to the Causeway Forts.[15] It is part of the Great West Road.[16]
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "Minas Tirith"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Siege of Gondor", p. 807
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Black Gate Opens"
- ↑ Mark Fisher, "The Causeway" 4 July 2025, The Encyclopedia of Arda, accessed 6 August 2025
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Great Years", entry for the year 3019, March 12, p. 1093
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Great Years", entry for the year 3019, March 10
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Black Gate Opens", p. 817
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Great Years", entry for the year 3019, March 13, p. 1093
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Black Gate Opens", pp. 818-20
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Great Years", entry for the year 3019, March 18
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Steward and the King"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Ring, "Part Three: Minas Tirith", "III. Minas Tirith", p. 278
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Ring, "Part Three: Minas Tirith", "VI. The Siege of Gondor", p. 330-1
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Ring, "Part Three: Minas Tirith", "XII. The Last Debate", p. 416
- ↑ "Gates of the Sun" 13 January 2017, Lotro-Wiki.com, accessed 6 August 2025
- ↑ "North-South Road#Great West Road" 8 July 2011, Lotro-Wiki.com, accessed 6 August 2025