Guard of the Citadel

The Guards of the Citadel were the royal guards of the Kings of Gondor, and afterward the Stewards of Gondor. They were the special protectors of the high grounds of Minas Tirith and were also called Guards of the Tower of Gondor.

The Captain of the Citadel leads them, which the King or Steward would appoint based on combative abilities or aristocracy. Their permanent station is the court of Minas Tirith, the place of the White Tree of Gondor, and the palace fountains. But they would also accompany the Steward of Gondor on his duties and travels.

In the Battle of Pelennor Fields, Minas Tirith and Gondor's bold stand in the War of the Ring, the Guards of the Citadel held their ground in defending the Steward and the White Tree of Gondor. During the Siege of Gondor, Sauron's army, including the Fell Beasts, ravaged and scorched the city, but they never left their position. Peregrin Pippin Took joined the Guards of the Citadel as he presented himself to the Steward of Gondor, in reparation for Boromir's death while saving them. He reported under Beregond of the Third Company and attired himself with their armor. He then attended the Steward as his distinguished servant and did not leave his side to join other Guards in their responsibilities. But in the Battle of Pelennor Fields, Pippin left his position to find Gandalf and rescue Faramir, who was about to be burned by his deranged Steward father. Beregond also abandoned his appointment and loyalty to the Steward to prevent the blaze from reaching Faramir. He also eliminated another guard and stripped of his rank, as he attempted to buy time for Gandalf's arrival. When the siege of Gondor ended, the Guards joined the battle at Mordor's Black Gates along with King Aragorn.

The few named members of the Guards of the Citadel included Boromir, Beregrond, and also Peregrin Took as a unique case. Boromir was the Captain of the Citadel in the War of the Ring, but he died during the Fellowship quest. Beregond was another guard leader around the same time. Lastly, Peregrin Took volunteered to serve Boromir's father, the Steward of Gondor, and considered among the Citadel Guards.

The Guards of the Citadel wielded swords in battle. They adorned themselves with a specially made armor designed by Dwarves as a present to Gondor a long time ago. The suit resembled that of Gondor's warriors but with higher quality. A chapter in the Lord of the Rings detailed the royal guards as garbed with a black, loose robe worn over their armor, embellished in a white sewn design of a blooming tree with a crown and multiple pointed stars. They wear lengthened, sharp-tipped helmets of Mithril, indestructible and passed on from past generations. It had a design of the wings of a seabird honoring their sea sailing ancestors in Numenor, with elevated edges as protection at the face's side. Peregrin Took also wore a Citadel Guard armor. He used a chain body armor and black clothing over it, with a silver embroidery of the White Tree of Gondor. He wore a helmet with designed wings of a raven and a star at the crown. He held a sword from Barrow-downs with a length suitable for his small size.

In the third installment of The Lord of the Ring [1] movies by Peter Jackson, they featured two kinds of Guards of the Citadel. The primary Guards of the Citadel appear during Faramir's burning by his father Denethor and on a scene of Faramir's past where Denethor was in Osgiliath, surrounded by his protectors. They wore a battle armor similar to the description of the books. The secondary ones were labeled Guards of the Fountain, showing four guards in each scene where they appear. As stationed in the courts, their garb was more refined with a long, black coat over their armor, a black cloth covering their face except for their eyes, and mighty, large wings on their helmets.

In The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth, [2] it featured the Guards of the Citadel as spear warriors of the Gondor company. It also features the character of Berethor included with the Citadel Guards. In The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth 2, the gameplay includes them as pikemen on the Men of the West's assembly. While in the expansion The Rise of the Witch-king, they were superior-level pikemen in the Men of the West company. The Guards of the Citadel have a higher value than regular warriors and acquired only in the Gondor Barracks' second level. They have two varying battle positions in the game. The first is the fixed position of moving warriors as a line side by side.

The second one is a mighty barricade with their interlocking shields, which significantly enhance armor level but costs to lose speed status. In The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, [3] Berethor also appears in the gameplay as a Citadel Guard. In The Lord of the Rings: Online, the Citadel Guards are the Order of the Tower Guard's moving subjects in the Landrover network. Their character world and history center on the Third Age development to Fourth Age, including Elven origins from Celeborn's lordship of Tol Ereassea and the secrets of the White Trees of Gondor.

1. ^The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
2. ^The Lord of the Rings™, The Battle for Middle-earth™.
3. ^The Lord of the Rings™, The Third Age™.