A minor northern river of Beleriand during the First Age, Malduin rose - like many other northern rivers - in the foothills of the long curving mountain range known as Ered Wethrin, the Mountains of Shadow. Malduin's sources were in the lands westward and southward of the Pass of Sirion, near the source of another lesser river named Glithui.
Malduin and Glithui ran southwards together in very approximate parallel for about eighty miles, before both emptied their waters into the stronger current of the river Teiglin. Glithui joined Teiglin first and then, some twenty miles downstream, Malduin also ran into the stronger river. Just a few miles beyond Malduin's inflow, Teiglin reached the woods of Brethil and the deep Ravines of Teiglin.
Eastward of Malduin, between that short river and the upper stretches of Sirion, was a narrow empty land bordering Brethil to the north. This small land between the two rivers was one of the areas of Beleriand that was occupied by Morgoth after he began to extend his power into Beleriand in earnest. Malduin's only other appearance in the histories of the First Age was during the Fell Winter of I 495, when Tuor and Voronwë crossed over the frozen river as they made their way to Gondolin.
Notes
1 |
Malduin's name seems to mean 'river of gold', though the significance of this is not explained. One possibility is that, like the faraway Gladden River, its banks were lined with golden water-flowers. An alternative possibility, and perhaps a rather less likely one, is that traces of actual gold could be found in the river's waters.
|
Indexes:
About this entry:
- Updated 23 August 2026
- This entry is complete
For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.
Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 1997-2026. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.
SHARE
