The Encyclopedia of Arda - Inglorion (original) (raw)
Gildor introduces himself to Frodo
The Fellowship of the Ring I 3
Three is Company
The surname given to himself by the Elf Gildor when he met Frodo and his companions in Woody End in the Shire. Inglorion is a patronymic, and means 'son of Inglor'.
This interpretation means that Gildor was potentially a very important Elf indeed, because at the time these words were written, Inglor was the name of the Elf-lord called 'Finrod' in The Silmarillion, and the name Finrod belonged to his father (known in The Silmarillion as 'Finarfin'). This suggests that Gildor was of very noble descent, and was in fact the son of the founder of Nargothrond.
It's hard to tell whether or not this was Tolkien's intention when he chose the names. In The Silmarillion, it's stated categorically that Finrod (equivalent to Inglor in this context) had no wife or children, which seems to contradict Gildor's claim. This may simply be a case of Tolkien using an existing name without intending any particular significance (as he did, for example, with 'Glorfindel'), but it's possible to speculate that the name Inglorion carries much more meaning than might appear on the surface.
Indexes:
About this entry:
- Updated 15 July 2012
- This entry is complete
For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.
Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2004, 2012. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.