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Taniquetil

Taniquetil, also known as Oiolossë and the Holy Mountain, was the highest peak in all of Arda's history. It was located near the coast of Valinor.

Taniquetil was part of the Pelóri, south of the Calacirya. At the peak of this mountain was Ilmarin, the dwelling place of Manwë and Varda. From there they could view all of Arda, even past Kalórmë and the Gates of Morning.

Taniquetil was raised 3,450 Valian Years (or 33,000 solar years) after the Valar arrived in Eä.

After the Two Lamps of the Valar were destroyed by Melkor in the distant past of the World, the Valar themselves withdrew from Middle-earth into a land on the far western edges of Arda. Along its eastern shoreline, they raised a great mountain range as a defence against the Dark Lord, and the greatest of all those mountains was Taniquetil.

On the peak of Taniquetil, Manwë and Varda had their halls of Ilmarin, from which they looked out across the World, and from those halls Manwë sent out his hawks and eagles to watch over Arda. Because the dwellings of the Elder King and his spouse were located on its summit, Taniquetil became known as the Holy Mountain. Due to the reverence of the Vanyar for the mountain, they abandoned their own city of Tirion and settled on the flanks of Taniquetil beneath the halls of Manwë.

Etymology​

In Quenya, Taniquetil means "High-Snow-Peak".

Other names​

  • Oiolossë, the "Everlasting whiteness"
  • Amon Uilos, the "Mount Everwhite", its Sindarin name
  • Dâhan-igwiš-telgûn (formal) or Dahanigwishtilgûn (informal), its Valarin name
  • Elerrína, Crowned with Stars
  • Hill of Ilmarin, a name mentioned in Bilbo Baggins's Song of Eärendil

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