The Encyclopedia of Arda - Elfinesse (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 Elves established themselves in Beleriand at the end of the Great Journey, and remained there until its destruction at the end of the First Age1 Location The domains of the Elves, especially those in Beleriand and its bordering lands Race Elves Divisions The name referred to lands occupied by the Sindar, and later also by the Noldor Pronunciation Probably 'E'lfiness'2 Meaning Probably 'lands of the Elves'3 Other names Elvenesse, Elvenhome;4 related to Elvendom Indexes: Alphabetical: E Lands, Realms and Regions About this entry: Updated 11 November 2022 Updates planned: 1 The lands of the Elves Years of the Trees First Age I Second Age II Third Age III Fourth Age IV An early name referring to the lands occupied by the Elves. It was ultimately abandoned by Tolkien in favour of the form Elvenesse, though it does survive in a single historical usage in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth. Notes 1 The name Elfinesse belongs to an early phase of Tolkien's writing, before he had considered the wider world of Middle-earth in the Ages beyond the First. Elfinesse in this original sense belonged to the realms of the Elves in Beleriand, but it might reasonably be extrapolated to incorporate lands such as Lindon or Lórien in later times. (Indeed Lórien is described as belonging to 'Elvendom', a word that unmistakably recalls the earlier Elfinesse.) 2 The -ness ending has two valid pronunciations, and in early Middle English would be have been pronounced as something like 'nesseh', with the final e sound individually pronounced. This final e sound was later lost (so -ness would pronounced simply as 'ness'). We can be sure that Tolkien intended this later, simplified pronunciation from examples in his poetry (for example, he rhymes 'Elfinesse' with 'tenderness' and 'sorrowless'). 3 The ending -nesse appears in the name Westernesse in the chivalric romance of King Horn, which possibly refers to a land on a western promontory (from Old English naess), but may be taken more broadly as 'western land' or 'western realm'. Tolkien preferred the broader interpretation of 'land' or 'realm', and applied the same name to the island kingdom of Westernesse or Númenor in the Great Sea. In this broader sense of -nesse, the ending is used in Elfinesse (also given as Elvenesse) for the lands of the Elves. 4 The name 'Elvenhome' is almost always used for Eldamar in the West (and indeed 'Elvenhome' is a direct translation of Elvish Eldamar). We do, however, have a single exception, in Aragorn's song of Tinúviel beneath Weathertop, where 'Elvenhome' is used of a land of the Elves eastward of the Great Sea, and in that particular sense its usage is comparable with the name Elfinesse. See also... Elvenesse Indexes: Alphabetical: E Lands, Realms and Regions About this entry: Updated 11 November 2022 Updates planned: 1 For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page. Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2007, 2022. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ. Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.Discus DISC Candidate Matching helps find the optimum personalities for any role in moments.

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 Elves established themselves in Beleriand at the end of the Great Journey, and remained there until its destruction at the end of the First Age1 Location The domains of the Elves, especially those in Beleriand and its bordering lands Race Elves Divisions The name referred to lands occupied by the Sindar, and later also by the Noldor Pronunciation Probably 'E'lfiness'2 Meaning Probably 'lands of the Elves'3 Other names Elvenesse, Elvenhome;4 related to Elvendom Indexes: Alphabetical: E Lands, Realms and Regions About this entry: Updated 11 November 2022 Updates planned: 1 The lands of the Elves

Years of the Trees First Age I Second Age II Third Age III Fourth Age IV An early name referring to the lands occupied by the Elves. It was ultimately abandoned by Tolkien in favour of the form Elvenesse, though it does survive in a single historical usage in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth. Notes 1 The name Elfinesse belongs to an early phase of Tolkien's writing, before he had considered the wider world of Middle-earth in the Ages beyond the First. Elfinesse in this original sense belonged to the realms of the Elves in Beleriand, but it might reasonably be extrapolated to incorporate lands such as Lindon or Lórien in later times. (Indeed Lórien is described as belonging to 'Elvendom', a word that unmistakably recalls the earlier Elfinesse.) 2 The -ness ending has two valid pronunciations, and in early Middle English would be have been pronounced as something like 'nesseh', with the final e sound individually pronounced. This final e sound was later lost (so -ness would pronounced simply as 'ness'). We can be sure that Tolkien intended this later, simplified pronunciation from examples in his poetry (for example, he rhymes 'Elfinesse' with 'tenderness' and 'sorrowless'). 3 The ending -nesse appears in the name Westernesse in the chivalric romance of King Horn, which possibly refers to a land on a western promontory (from Old English naess), but may be taken more broadly as 'western land' or 'western realm'. Tolkien preferred the broader interpretation of 'land' or 'realm', and applied the same name to the island kingdom of Westernesse or Númenor in the Great Sea. In this broader sense of -nesse, the ending is used in Elfinesse (also given as Elvenesse) for the lands of the Elves. 4 The name 'Elvenhome' is almost always used for Eldamar in the West (and indeed 'Elvenhome' is a direct translation of Elvish Eldamar). We do, however, have a single exception, in Aragorn's song of Tinúviel beneath Weathertop, where 'Elvenhome' is used of a land of the Elves eastward of the Great Sea, and in that particular sense its usage is comparable with the name Elfinesse. See also... Elvenesse Indexes: Alphabetical: E Lands, Realms and Regions About this entry: Updated 11 November 2022 Updates planned: 1 For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page. Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2007, 2022. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ. Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.Discus DISC Candidate Matching helps find the optimum personalities for any role in moments.