The Pelennor Fields

The Pelennor Fields are the great townlands of Minas Tirith in Gondor, the broad enclosed fields that spread before the city between its walls and the river Anduin. It was upon the Pelennor that the greatest battle of the War of the Ring was fought, the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, in which the besieging host of Mordor was met and broken by the defenders of Gondor and the Riders of Rohan.

The Pelennor was the rich farmland and pasture that fed the White City, dotted with homesteads, gardens, and walled fields, and enclosed by a great defensive wall, the Rammas Echor, that ran in a wide circuit to guard the townlands.

Geography

The Pelennor Fields lie between the city of Minas Tirith, built against the White Mountains, and the river Anduin, which flows past on the eastern and southern sides. The whole circuit of the fields was ringed by the Rammas Echor, an outer wall built to keep the townlands secure, pierced by the causeway and gate where the road came up from Osgiliath and the river. Within the wall lay farms, fields, and the homes of those who served the city, with the great paved road running across the fields to the Great Gate of Minas Tirith. Near the river stood the landings and the ruined bridges of Osgiliath beyond.

History

The Pelennor was for ages the peaceful breadbasket of Minas Tirith, its fields tilled in the shadow of the great city. As the threat of Mordor grew, the Rammas Echor was raised to defend the townlands, though by the time of the War of the Ring it had fallen into some disrepair and was hastily mended as the enemy approached.

In the story

When the armies of Mordor, led by the Lord of the Nazgûl, cross the Anduin and lay siege to Minas Tirith, they break through the Rammas Echor and spread across the Pelennor, ringing the city with fire. The Battle of the Pelennor Fields is joined when Théoden and the Riders of Rohan arrive at dawn and charge the enemy host, breaking the siege. In the battle Théoden falls, but his niece Éowyn, with the hobbit Merry, slays the Lord of the Nazgûl, fulfilling the prophecy that no man should be his bane. Aragorn arrives by the ships of the Corsairs, bringing the men of the southern fiefs, and the host of Mordor is utterly defeated upon the Pelennor, though at grievous cost.