Description
By the time of the War of the Ring, the White Tower had graced the highest point of Minas Tirith for over a thousand years. The Tower of Ecthelion flew the plain white standard of the Stewards of Gondor from its pinnacle, and—during the Fourth Age the Royal Standard. It was 50 fathoms (300 feet) tall. The Tower stood in the center of the Citadel on the seventh level of the city. In front of the Tower was the Court of the Fountain where the White Tree of Gondor grew.
In the Tower Hall was the throne of the King of Gondor upon a dais, and at the foot of the dais on the lowest step was a black chair where the Steward of Gondor would sit. The palantír of Minas Tirith, also known as the Anor-stone, was kept in a secret room at the top of the tower.
Below the Hall was the buttery of Beregond's company, where the Citadel Guard (which Pippin became) would stay when not on duty.
History
King Calimehtar first built the White Tower in TA 1900 in order to house the palantír and commemorate his victory over the Wainriders. In TA 2698, the Tower was repaired and rebuilt by the Steward Ecthelion I, some three centuries before the War of the Ring, and for whom the Tower came to be named.
The elite military unit in Minas Tirith was called the Guard of the Citadel or the Guard of the Tower. At the time of the War of the Ring, Boromir and Faramir - the sons of the Steward of Gondor - successively bore the title Captain of the White Tower. Boromir, the Steward's heir, was also the High Warden of the White Tower.
On March 9, 3019, Peregrin Took got his first glimpse of the Tower of Ecthelion as he rode with Gandalf to Minas Tirith:
Pippin met Denethor II, the Steward of Gondor, in the Tower Hall. Denethor's son Faramir came to the Tower Hall the next day, and Pippin and Gandalf learned of his encounter with Frodo and Sam in Ithilien. When Faramir was brought back to the city gravely wounded on March 13, Denethor retreated to his chamber high in the Tower with his son and would not come down. In the secret chamber of the Tower, Denethor looked into the palantír and saw images manipulated by Sauron that caused him to despair.
After the defeat of Sauron the standard of the Stewards of Gondor was raised for the last time on May 1, 3019. That day Aragorn was crowned King and when he entered the Citadel; the standard of the Kings of Gondor bearing the White Tree and the Stars was unfurled on the pinnacle of the Tower of Ecthelion.
Etymology
It was often called the Tower of Ecthelion after the Steward Ecthelion I who rebuilt it. It was also called the Tower of Denethor during the reign of Denethor II.[citation needed]