The Encyclopedia of Arda - Fifth Gate (original) (raw)
The location of the Fifth Gate within the Orfalch Echor (not to scale)
To a traveller approaching Gondolin along the Orfalch Echor, after passing the Fourth Gate, or Gate of Writhen Iron, they would follow a pathway that led on towards two further gates that followed related designs. These were the Fifth and Sixth Gates, each dedicated to one of the Two Trees of Valinor. The Fifth Gate was themed around the elder Tree Telperion and Telperion's last flower, which became the Moon.
The Tree Telperion shone with a silver-white light, and so the Fifth Gate of Gondolin was the Gate of Silver. As its name suggests, the Gate was wrought from silver, and also from pearl, into a circular form that mirrored the patterning on the face of the Moon. The Gate was set in a low marble wall, and along the top of the wall were five marble globes. On the central globe, directly above the Moon Gate, stood an image of Telperion itself. The White Tree of Valinor was recreated in silver, with malachite for the green of the Tree, and pearls for its glistening flowers.
Like all the Gates that guarded Gondolin, the Fifth Gate had its contingent of wardens. Because they guarded the Gate of Silver, these wardens were armoured in silver mail, and on their heads they wore helms crested in silver. Their chosen weapon was the bow, and these archers watched the road approaching their gate from atop its marble wall.
If a traveller were allowed to pass the Fifth Gate, they faced a long journey to the Sixth, the last of the original six Gates. As the Fifth Gate was dedicated to Telperion, the Sixth Gate was dedicated to the other of the Two Trees of Valinor, the Golden Tree Laurelin.
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- Updated 28 June 2022
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