Two Grey ⛰️Mountains

[Kahmûl]

I know that there were the Grey Mountains in the north of ME but in the first and second age there were mountains in Harad which were also called the Grey Mts even though there were still Grey Mts in the north and i would like to know if in the third age the Mts in Harad were still called the Grey Mts and why there were two ranges with the same name?

 

[YayGollum]

Maybe the two different peoples that named the two different ranges never knew about the other ones? Not that big of a deal, is it?

 

[Melko Belcha]

I know I have read this but what book is it in?

 

[olorin the maia]

I seem to recall two different ranges too, but can only find the one north of Mirkwood on the map in UT. The Index in UT names only one range. A puzzlement.....

 

[Ithrynluin]

All the places in Arda (mountains, rivers, cities,...etc) are not named by one all knowing person, but usually by the people that dwell near it who give it a name according to some unique characteristic.

In many instances, the same name is given to a certain because
of some historical connection with it (e.g. Minas Tirith). These two mountain ranges are very VERY far apart and the people living in each of these regions are extremely different. They have both named these mountains "grey" simply because of some "greyish" feature.

The Grey mountains begin in the Far Harad and extend far into the South of an "Africa-like" continent. They may have been changed during the sinking of Beleriand, but whether they were completely gone? I find it a bit unlikely.

 

[Kahmûl]

It show you them in the atlas of Middle-Earth.

 

[Melko Belcha]

Ok.

The stuff in the Atlas covers stuff up through HoME IX. In volume IV Tolkien drew a ruff map of the whole world, not just Beleriand, and this is were the info for the full world maps was gotten from.

The five mountain ranges at that time were the Iron Mtns. in the North, the Blue and Grey Mtns. in the West and the Red and Yellow Mtns. in the East.

When Tolkien wrote The Hobbit he reused the name Grey Mtns., but at this time The Hobbit was not part of The Sil legends.

When he made the map for LOTR be the land East of the Blue Mtns, he made the Grey Mtns. from The Hobbit to be the remains of the Iron Mtns. that were not destroyed during the War of Wrath.

The map in volume IV no longer fit into the rest of the world and was set to the side and probaly forgot about.

Still I really like these additions to the Atlas and have no complaints about them being put in there.

But check out HoME IV The Shaping of Middle-earth.