File:J.R.R. Tolkien - Dunharrow.jpg

Summary

By J.R.R. Tolkien, the original of this picture in crayon bears a note on the back:

'No longer fits story'. It was published in The Lord of the Rings 1977 Calendar, accompanied by the following note:

This picture of the Firienfeld and the climbing road marked at each angle by the carved Pukel-men was done at a time when the conception of the Dark Door (leading to the Paths of the Dead) was somewhat different from the description in the published work. There it is said:

'Dividing the upland into two there marched a double line of unshaped standing stones that dwindled into the dusk and vanished in the trees. Those who dared to follow that road came soon to the black Dimholt under Dwimorberg, and the menace of the pillar of stone, and the yawning shadow of the forbidden door.' (The Return of the King, Book V, Chapter 3, The Muster of Rohan). In the picture there is no sign of the dark wood (the Dimholt), or the pillar of stone; it seems that the Dark Door lies in the cleft at the end of the double line of stones across the Firienfeld.

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