Dates

A Shadow descended on this forest in about III 1050; it was cleansed and renamed the Wood of Greenleaves in III 3019

Location

Rhovanion, to the east of the Vales of Anduin

Origins

The Greenwood became known as Taur-e-Ndaedelos after Sauron established himself at Dol Guldur in the south of the Forest

Settlements

The Shadow of Fear within the Forest emanated from Dol Guldur in the south; the Woodland Realm of the Elves lay to the north, and Woodmen dwelt within its western borders, as (at one time) did the Wizard Radagast at Rhosgobel

Source

The Enchanted River rose in the Mountains of Mirkwood in the middle of the Forest

Outflow

The Enchanted River emptied into the Forest River that flowed on into the Long Lake

Important peaks

Amon Lanc, The Mountains of Mirkwood

Pronunciation

tow'r-e-ndae'delos (tow here rhymes with English 'now'; ae is pronounced like English 'eye')

Meaning

'Forest of the Great Fear'

Other names

Sometimes spelt with he alternative hyphenation Taur-e-Ndaedelos;¹ the forest was also variously known as the Forest of the Great Fear, Forest under Nightshade, Mirkwood, Taur-nu-Fuin; at other times in its history it was given the names Eryn Galen, Eryn Lasgalen, The Forest, The Great Wood, Greenwood the Great, The Wood, Wood of Greenleaves

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Updated 27 September 2021
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Taur e-Ndaedelos

The Forest of the Great Fear

Years of the TreesFirst AgeISecond AgeIIThird AgeIIIFourth AgeIV

The great forest of central Rhovanion had traditionally been known as Greenwood the Great for much of Middle-earth's history. After about a thousand years of the Third Age, a Shadow began to fall on the wood with the emergence of the Necromancer at Dol Guldur, and its name changed, to 'Mirkwood'. Two Elvish forms of this new name are recorded: Taur-nu-Fuin is almost directly equivalent to 'Mirkwood', but a further name, apparently more common, was Taur e-Ndaedelos, the Forest of the Great Fear.

Notes

Within Unfinished Tales, Christopher Tolkien consistently spells the name Taur-e-Ndaedelos (that is, with a hyphen between Taur and e) and this is indeed the usual structure for Elvish names of this form. The name also appears in Appendix F to The Lord of the Rings and there, however, it is spelt Taur e-Ndaedelos (with a space, not a hyphen, between the first two words). The version in The Lord of the Rings has retained that spelling across multiple editions without amendment and, as such, we prefer that 'spaced' version of the name here. Nonetheless, the hyphenated form is also regularly seen.

Taur e-Ndaedelos

The Forest of the Great Fear

Notes

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