Minor Places in Middle-earth - G

G

Gram

See Mount Gram

Goblin Town

A goblin (or orc) dwelling which lay under the High Pass in the Misty Mountains, ruled by the Great Goblin. It was a series of tunnels and caverns, which led all the way through the mountains, with a "back door" near the Eagles' eyrie in Wilderland. The cave of Gollum was close to this door.

During the journey to Erebor Bilbo Baggins was captured by the goblins of Goblin Town together with the Dwarves of Thorin Oakenshield. They were brought before the Great Goblin, who accused them of spying, and was enraged to find out Thorin was carrying the sword Orcrist "Orc-cleaver". With the help of Gandalf, Bilbo and the Dwarves escaped and killed the Great Goblin, after which a frantic pursuit occurred.

The Golden Perch

An inn situated in the village of Stock in the Eastfarthing of the Shire. It was credited by Peregrin Took for having "the best beer in the Eastfarthing".

Gorgoroth

A plateau in north-western Mordor, in the midst of which stands the volcanic Mount Doom. To the northeast of Mount Doom upon a spur of the Ered Lithui, Sauron constructed his fortress of Barad-dûr. During the War of the Ring, Gorgoroth was the location for the mines and forges that produced Mordor's arms and armour. The plateau was covered in volcanic ash with little to no plant growth. Human settlement or habitation of the plateau was considered impossible.

A similar name was given to a range of mountains in Beleriand, Ered Gorgoroth.

The Green Dragon

An inn at Bywater, the last building on the side of the village nearest to Hobbiton.

At the beginning of the Quest of Erebor, Thorin Oakenshield with his company went ahead to The Green Dragon to make preparations and await Bilbo Baggins. The inn was also the site of a conversation between Samwise Gamgee and Ted Sandyman about the strange things that had been happening, such as queer folk passing through the Shire and a "Tree-man" seen by Halfast of Overhill. When Frodo Baggins and the others returned to Bywater from Gondor, they found the inn "lifeless and with broken windows", as it was not maintained under Saruman's men.

In The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, The Green Dragon is the employer of Rosie Cotton, who works there as a bar maid. This is where Samwise Gamgee approaches her following the Fellowship's return from Gondor. The inn was also not vandalized by Saruman's men in the films, because the Scouring of the Shire is only shown as an alternate future in Galadriel's mirror. It is featured twice, in brief interludes near the beginning and end of the three movies. The largest size of ale featured by The Green Dragon is half a pint.

Merry and Pippin sing a song about The Green Dragon in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King:
Oh, you can search far and wide
You can drink the whole town dry
But you'll never find a beer so brown
As the one we drink in our hometown
You can keep your fancy ales
You can drink 'em by the flagon
But the only brew for the brave and true
Comes from The Green Dragon!

The song is mostly invented by the film's writers, though the phrase "a beer so brown" appears in "The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late", an actual Tolkien poem found in The Fellowship of the Ring and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.

In The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, the inn is not simply vandalized, but utterly destroyed by the goblins of Gorkil in the Evil Campaign. "The Green Dragon Inn" is also seen in the Shire map for skirmish mode, where it functions as a normal inn once captured.

Gulf of Lune

A sea-arm that broke through the range of the Ered Luin into Eriador. The Gulf of Lune, named after the river Lhûn or "Lune", was created during the War of Wrath when Beleriand was broken. In the midst of Ossiriand, Belegaer broke through the mountains, creating the Gulf of Lune. The remnant of Beleriand north of the gulf became known as Forlindon, and the part south of it as Harlindon (North and South Lindon). At the eastern end of the Gulf the Grey Havens of Mithlond were established.

During the Second Age the ships of the Númenóreans first came to the Gulf of Lune to visit the Noldor and Sindar under Gil-galad who remained behind, and during the Third Age from it the ships of the Eldar passed into the West.