Welcome back to my series of posts exploring how J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Lord of the Rings differs from its film adaptations. Today I’ll answer a question people ask often: which two towers is the title The Two Towers referring to? In the film we get this line as an answer:
‘The world is changing. Who now has the strength to stand against the armies of Isengard and Mordor, to stand against the might of Sauron and Saruman and the union of the two towers?
The Two Towers (2002)
This is obviously implying that the two towers are Orthanc and Barad Dûr. The answer to this question, however, is slightly different in the book.
A History Lesson
So which two towers is the book’s title referring to? It took Tolkien himself a while to decide on the answer to this question, but eventually he decided on two. If we look closely at the cover Tolkien designed for the book, we can quite easily determine that they are not, in fact Orthanc and Barad Dûr.
When Tolkien was under pressure to make a deadline, he came up with the title The Two Towers. Since The Treason of Isengard and The Journey of the Ringbearers follow such different plotlines, The Two Towers was the closest he could come to summarizing the volume containing both books.
This left him needing to decide which towers the title would refer to. There are a number of towers that are important to the story, including (in alphabetical order) Barad Dûr, Cirith Ungol, the Hornburg, Minas Morgul, Minas Tirith, and Orthanc.
Examining the Cover
Tolkien considered leaving the title ambiguous, as well as many combinations including Minas Tirith and Barad Dûr. However, even if we ignore Tolkien’s notes confirming which two towers they are, we can tell simply by looking at the cover. And they’re not Minas Tirith and Barad Dûr.
First of all, the tower on the right should be easy to recognize. Anyone who’s read the book or seen the films will know immediately that it’s Orthanc. Tolkien’s original cover design even showed the sign of the White Hand of Saruman on the right.
The tower on the left is only slightly harder to discern, but it shouldn’t present that much of a challenge if you know your history. Above it is a waning crescent moon. Minas Ithil was the Tower of the Moon before it became Minas Morgul, and indeed, the eponymous Two Towers are the towers of Orthanc and Minas Morgul.
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