November 22, 2002

I Say Anor, You Say Arnor
Brett C.

Lughaidh, Gandalf actually uses the word 'Anor', not Arnor. The latter, as you said, was the ancient realm of Elendil, sister kingdom to Gondor. Anor is an elvish name for the Sun, as recorded in the appendices of ROTK, though strangley it is often spelled Anar, as in the Silmarillion. It can also be seen in the name Minas Anor, Tower of the Sun, the original name for Minas Tirith when it was still the twin city to Minas Ithil, Tower of the Moon. Thus my reasoning that when Gandalf refer to the flame of Anor [the sun] he is speaking of Narya as having captured the flaming power of the sun. Further evidence of this theory may be offered in the fact that when Cirdan gave Narya to Gandalf, he said the it had the power to "rekindle hearts in a world that grows chill." The Silamrillion tells us that when the sun first rose in the First Age that it was sent forth by the Valar 'to illumine Middle Earth and with light to hinder the deeds of Melkor.'