Taniquetil
the highest peak; the throne of Manwë
Names and Geography
Taniquetil — “the Highest” — is the crown of the Pelóri, the great wall of Aman, the “highest of the mountains in the world” and the highest of Arda: its snowy peak, called Oiolossë (“Everlasting Snow”) or Amon Uilos, “the tower of snow” that ever shines, catches the first and last light. It is the throne and sign of the Elder King: Manwë and Varda dwell upon its summit in the halls of Ilmarin, and its peak is — the wise say that from Taniquetil one may see the ends of the flat earth — “the highest of the hearts of Men” — the Quenta: Manwë’s hall “most high above all the mountains”, whence the Sign looks upon the whole earth.
The King’s Seat
At its foot stood the fair elves’ city, where Ingwë’s Vanyar dwelt — the fairest kindred of the Elves, together with the gods.
The Sign of the West
In the poetry and war of the later ages, Taniquetil is the beacon of hope and the emblem of the unreachable West — the light on the mountain seen (in the deep times) from far Beleriand, and (in the returning quest-songs) the “tower of snow” beyond all the waves. Its name is one of the oldest of the legendarium (in the Lost Tales it is “Tinvegil”), and its snow-light outlasts in memory the loss of the Light.