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I have a feeling I have asked this before, but I would like to ask again just in case.

Tolkien stated that there were six towers altogether, but the two towers that the title would relate to were Orthanc and Cirith Ungol.
I do not know all six, and if I do, then I would like a list anyway, so I can check I had them right.
Also, could somebody please state their significance and/or role? If I know all the towers, then I may already have an idea, but again I would like to check. The significance of Orthanc and Cirith Ungol are already obvious, but I would like to know about the other four.
Thanks.

Barad-dur: Sauron's fortress, the strongest tower in Middle-earth

Orthanc and Cirith Ungol: You already spoke of these.

Minas Tirith: The White Tower, raised in Gondor at the beginning of the Third Age, and chief stronghold of Men in the South in the War of the Ring.

Minas Morgul: Gondorian in descent, it was stolen and corrupted by the Witch-king of Angmar and the Ringwraiths. Located in Morgul Vale.

[ July 18, 2003: Message edited by: Lord of Angmar ]

But that is only five. Unless I miscounted. [img]smilies/confused.gif[/img] Does Amon Sul count as one? For it was a watch tower. But what about Dol Guldur? That was a tower too.

The sixth may have been the tower in Helms Deep, the Hornburg.
I might be wrong but I think Dol Gulder was Sauron's fortress on top of a hill in Mirkwood.

*White Towers- contained a Palantir, West of the Shire
*Annuminas-contained a Palantir, North of the Shire

Does anybody know if Rhosgobel was a tower.

Quote:

I might be wrong but I think Dol Gulder was Sauron's fortress on top of a hill in Mirkwood.

You're not wrong.

I looked up Rhosgobel, but all it said was that it was a house, rather than a tower.

The main towers were Cirith Ungol, Barad-dur, Orthanc, the Tower of Ecthelion and Minas Morgul. Are you sure it was six? Because I can only think of 5 relevant ones.

On the front cover of my book of TTT the towers of Minas Morgul and Orthanc are illustrated. However, the movie uses Barad-dur and Orthanc, which also makes sense.

Somewhere I read that Tolkien didn't like the title the Two Towers because he didn't know what two towers they should be. I'll try and find a quote.

Quote:

"I am not at all happy about the title 'the Two Towers'. It must if there is any real reference in it to Vol II refer to Orthanc and the Tower of Cirith Ungol. But since there is so much made of the basic opposition of the Dark Tower and Minas Tirith, that seems very misleading."
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien No 143, dated 1954

Here's another, taken from the Encyclopedia of Arda's TTT movie goers guide.

Quote:

Tolkien also considered at least five other combinations of the towers of Barad-dûr, Cirith Ungol, Minas Morgul, Minas Tirith and Orthanc, and it seems that he never settled on a definitive identity for the eponymous towers.

Hope that helped!

[ July 20, 2003: Message edited by: Daisy Brambleburr ]

In regards, to that Tolkien quote, I always found the title of the Two Towers very misleading. Tolkien said that this title was pushed for by his publisher, who said that it would leave people with any number of ideas about which two towers he was talking about - Cirith Ungol and Orthanc? Orthanc and Barad-dur Minas Tirith and Barad-dur? - etc. I noticed in a movie trailer that they said something along the lines of 'an alliance is growing between Orthanc, fortress of the wizard Saurman, and Barad-dur, stronghold of the Dark Lord Sauron.' This is misleading in two ways. First of all, I don't believe that the Two Towers was meant to mean Orthanc and Barad-dur, since Sauron plays a minimal part in the Two Towers (at least with regards to the storyline of Saruman). Secondly, there really was no formal "alliance" between Orthanc and Barad-dur. In the book, it was made clear that Saruman was being subversive and unloyal to Sauron, but that is never established in the movie. Sorry to go off the topic of the thread (and for that matter, off the topic that I originally started). [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

Quote:

"I am not at all happy about the title 'the Two Towers'. It must if there is any real reference in it to Vol II refer to Orthanc and the Tower of Cirith Ungol.

I think that's the part I read. Or something similar. I can't remember where, though.

I'm sure it said six towers, or it wouldn't have been stuck in my mind all this time. Perhaps it was only five, after all.

And yes, that helps a great deal! Thanks!

Six towers in Middle-Earth or in Arda...i mean wasn't there some kind of tower near to Valinor?
Or maybe it's just my strange imagination

The tower of Avallone was on the eastern part of Tol Eressa, and island near Valinor.

Yep, that's what I meant. But I was re-reading the Númenor part in UT and found out that in the island of Númenor there was a tower too (Aldarion comes from a long journey and his men see the tower...I still don't have english edition so I can't quote).