Rivendell - Geography

Geography

Rivendell is located at the edge of a narrow gorge of the river Bruinen (one of the main approaches to Rivendell comes from a nearby ford of Bruinen), but well hidden in the moorlands and foothills of the Hithaeglir or Misty Mountains.

The climate is cool-temperate and semi-continental with moderately warm summers, fairly snowy — but not frigid — winters and moderate precipitation. Seasons are more pronounced than in areas further west, such as the Shire, but less extreme than the places east of the Misty Mountains. Like Hobbiton, it is located at about the same latitude as Tolkien's hometown Oxford.

Rivendell was founded in Second Age 1697 when a force sent by Gil-galad from Lindon and led by Elrond rescued the refugees of Eregion from Sauron's army and was driven into the hills of Rhudaur. Sauron's forces subsequently laid siege to the refuge for three years until a relief army sent by Gil-galad attacked the besieging force in conjunction with the defenders and annihilated it. Rivendell was next attacked in the fourteenth century of the Third Age when the Armies of the Witch-king of Angmar attacked the refuge. After some years they were driven off when reinforcements were sent from Lothlórien. Rivendell is protected by the powers of its lord, Elrond Half-elven, and his ring Vilya.

In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins stopped off at Rivendell with the dwarves on the way to the Lonely Mountain and also on the way back to the Shire with Gandalf.

In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo Baggins and his Hobbit companions journeyed to Rivendell, where they met with Bilbo, who had retired there after his 111th birthday, spending his time on his memoirs, There and Back Again. Several other Elves, Dwarves and Men also arrived at Rivendell on separate errands; at the Council of Elrond they learned that all of their errands were related to the fate of the One Ring, and they should decide what to do about it. In the end, it was the Hobbits who influenced the decision.

Elrond lived in Rivendell with his family — his wife Celebrían, their sons Elladan and Elrohir and their daughter Arwen. Elrond also fostered the young Aragorn, who dwelt with them in secret until adulthood. However, Celebrían was captured and tormented by Orcs, and received a poisoned wound. Her sons rescued her; but her experiences under the orcs left her so traumatized that eventually she left Middle-earth for Valinor. Arwen lived with her maternal grandparents Galadriel and Celeborn in their realm of Lórien for a time, but moved back to Rivendell; she eventually left Rivendell to become Aragorn's queen after he was crowned king of Gondor.

At the beginning of the Fourth Age Elrond left Rivendell and for a while it was lived in by Elladan and Elrohir, joined later by Celeborn. It is not known when Rivendell was finally abandoned.