S. Mindolluin loc. “Towering Blue-head”
The mountain on which Minas Tirith was built (LotR/751), translated “Towering Blue-head” in Tolkien’s “Unfinished Index” of The Lord of the Rings (RC/439). It is a combination of a shortened or root form of minas “tower” with dol(l) “head” and luin “blue” (SA/minas, dol, luin).
Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, this name first appeared as N. Tor-dilluin, perhaps beginning with N. taur² “high” (as suggested by Roman Rausch, EE/3.6), but it was soon revised to N. Mindolluin (WR/80).
References ✧ LotRI/Mindolluin, Mount Mindolluin; PMI; RC/439; SA/dol, luin, minas; SI
Glosses
Related
Elements
| minas | “tower, fort, city (with a citadel and central watch tower)” | |
| dol(l) | “head, hill” | ✧ SA/dol (dol) |
| luin | “blue” | ✧ SA/luin |
N. Mindolluin loc.
References ✧ PE22/126; SDI1/Mindolluin; TI/310; TII; WR/80; WRI/Mindolluin, Tor-dilluin
Element In
N. Tor-dilluin loc.
References ✧ WR/80; WRI
Changes
Elements
| taur² | “vast, mighty, overwhelming, awful, huge; high, sublime” | |
| till | “horn” | soft-mutation |
| lhûn | “blue” | soft-mutation |