Closed Door

A door in the western arc of the sixth tier of Minas Tirith, below the Citadel on the tier above. The door opened onto a winding road that led down to the Tombs of Minas Tirith on the Silent Street beneath the mountain of Mindolluin. It was known as the 'Closed Door' (from Elvish Fen Hollen) because it was kept closed and locked at all times, except during the funerals of those who were to be buried in the Tombs below, or if the Steward of the City, or the tenders of the Hallows, wished to pass.

The Closed Door was guarded by a porter, who was armed and ready to defend the door with his life. In the heights of the City, beneath the shadow of the Citadel, this formal guard must rarely have been called on to draw his weapon. The porter was driven to action, however, on 15 March III 3019, after Steward Denethor, maddened with despair, had his servants carry his son Faramir down through the door to be burned on a pyre. His son in fact still lived, but when Beregond sought to pass the Closed Door to rescue Faramir, the porter denied him entry. When the porter drew his sword to defend the way, Beregond cut him down and took the key. He would regret this action for the rest of his life, but it did allow him to pass down onto the Silent Street and hold Denethor's servants long enough for Gandalf to arrive and prevent Faramir's death.