Anórien is a region and fiefdom of Gondor, called Sunlending by
the Rohirrim. The name does not refer to the West but is
'heraldic', related to the name and the emblem of Anárion, son
of Elendil: the land is immediately attached to the Minas Anor.
During the Elder Days, the region was occupied by Pre-Númenórean
Men. These were separated relatives of the House of Haleth while
the Edain migrated to the west during the First Age. The Woses
fled to the forests of that region, hunted by the Men of
Darkness. During the War of the Ring, when Sauron released a
secondary force from the Morannon, they overwhelmed the
defenders of Cair Andros, and used the island to cross into
Anórien. They blocked the eastward progress of the Rohirrim as
they rode to Gondor's aid, though after the Battle of the
Pelennor Fields, Elfhelm chased them down and pushed them back
out of Anórien. Anórien lay north of Minas Tirith and the line
of the White Mountains, and was the only part of the northern
half of the realm, Calenardhon, which wa