The Encyclopedia of Arda - Elemmírë (original) (raw)

ALPHABETICAL RACES PLACES MISCELLANEOUS REFERENCE INTERACTIVE SHARE User guide Latest entries FAQ and e-mail Disclaimer and bibliography Awards Old and rare words Lexicon of names Excyclopedia of Arda Movie-goer's Guides: • The Fellowship of the Ring • The Two Towers • The Return of the King The Hobbit Viewer's Companions: • An Unexpected Journey • The Desolation of Smaug • The Battle of the Five Armies Tolkien links Book news Latest Chronicle Calendar Old and rare words Lexicon of names Links Random
Dates Made at the time of the awakening of the Elves Location A light in the sky Origins Created by Varda, Queen of the Stars Pronunciation elemmee'reh Meaning Apparently 'star jewel' Other names Some sources identify Elemmírë with the planet Mercury1 Indexes: Alphabetical: E Others About this entry: Updated 25 April 2021 This entry is complete A great light created by Varda One of the lights kindled by Varda far in the past, to welcome the Elves to Arda on their awakening. It is described in Quenta Silmarillion as a star, and indeed its name seems to mean 'star-jewel', but in fact it was most likely identified with one of the planets. Tolkien's notes on the subject are open to interpretation, but they appear to identify Elemmírë as the planet we know today as Mercury. Notes 1 In his introduction to the index of volume X of The History of Middle-earth, Christopher Tolkien reports a series of notes in which his father seems to have laid down the names of the planets in Elvish. These notes give a list of Elvish names, each marked with a letter or abbreviation that ties it to a modern planet name (for example 'Jup.' for Alcarinque is unmistakably 'Jupiter'). Two of these names are marked with an 'M', Elemmírë and Carnil, and given that Carnil contains the Elvish word for 'red', we can safely associate that name with Mars, leaving us with Elemmírë as an identity of Mercury. In apparent contrast to this idea, we have a passage in the Silmarillion that describes Eärendil's voyages among the skies, describing how his wife Elwing would at times fly up to meet him as he approached the world. Eärendil in this mythic context represents the shining planet Venus, so the sight of Elwing appearing nearby might be taken as an explanation of much fainter Mercury in the sky. This account of Elwing could be seen as offering an alternative and potentially contradictory identity for Mercury in Tolkien's legendarium. It should be noted, though, that this passage only says that Elwing was visible to 'the far-sighted among the Elves that dwelt in the Lonely Isle' (Quenta Silmarillion 24, Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath). If Elwing could only be seen by Elves with their extraordinarily keen eyesight, and even then only from the relatively nearby Lonely Isle, then this would not offer a realistic explanation for the appearance of Mercury, even in a mythical sense. Indexes: Alphabetical: E Others About this entry: Updated 25 April 2021 This entry is complete For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page. Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2004, 2021. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ. Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.Explore the history of the DISC profile, from ancient ideas about personality to modern theories, concepts and ideas.

The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien

ALPHABETICAL RACES PLACES MISCELLANEOUS REFERENCE INTERACTIVE

SHARE User guide Latest entries FAQ and e-mail Disclaimer and bibliography Awards Old and rare words Lexicon of names Excyclopedia of Arda Movie-goer's Guides: • The Fellowship of the Ring • The Two Towers • The Return of the King The Hobbit Viewer's Companions: • An Unexpected Journey • The Desolation of Smaug • The Battle of the Five Armies Tolkien links Book news Latest Chronicle Calendar Old and rare words Lexicon of names Links Random

Dates Made at the time of the awakening of the Elves Location A light in the sky Origins Created by Varda, Queen of the Stars Pronunciation elemmee'reh Meaning Apparently 'star jewel' Other names Some sources identify Elemmírë with the planet Mercury1 Indexes: Alphabetical: E Others About this entry: Updated 25 April 2021 This entry is complete A great light created by Varda One of the lights kindled by Varda far in the past, to welcome the Elves to Arda on their awakening. It is described in Quenta Silmarillion as a star, and indeed its name seems to mean 'star-jewel', but in fact it was most likely identified with one of the planets. Tolkien's notes on the subject are open to interpretation, but they appear to identify Elemmírë as the planet we know today as Mercury. Notes 1 In his introduction to the index of volume X of The History of Middle-earth, Christopher Tolkien reports a series of notes in which his father seems to have laid down the names of the planets in Elvish. These notes give a list of Elvish names, each marked with a letter or abbreviation that ties it to a modern planet name (for example 'Jup.' for Alcarinque is unmistakably 'Jupiter'). Two of these names are marked with an 'M', Elemmírë and Carnil, and given that Carnil contains the Elvish word for 'red', we can safely associate that name with Mars, leaving us with Elemmírë as an identity of Mercury. In apparent contrast to this idea, we have a passage in the Silmarillion that describes Eärendil's voyages among the skies, describing how his wife Elwing would at times fly up to meet him as he approached the world. Eärendil in this mythic context represents the shining planet Venus, so the sight of Elwing appearing nearby might be taken as an explanation of much fainter Mercury in the sky. This account of Elwing could be seen as offering an alternative and potentially contradictory identity for Mercury in Tolkien's legendarium. It should be noted, though, that this passage only says that Elwing was visible to 'the far-sighted among the Elves that dwelt in the Lonely Isle' (Quenta Silmarillion 24, Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath). If Elwing could only be seen by Elves with their extraordinarily keen eyesight, and even then only from the relatively nearby Lonely Isle, then this would not offer a realistic explanation for the appearance of Mercury, even in a mythical sense. Indexes: Alphabetical: E Others About this entry: Updated 25 April 2021 This entry is complete For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page. Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2004, 2021. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ. Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.Explore the history of the DISC profile, from ancient ideas about personality to modern theories, concepts and ideas.