The Encyclopedia of Arda - Witchwife (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 Morwen lived c. I 443 - I 501 ([58 years](../chronicle.html?startyear=443&startage=1&endyear=501&endage=1&c=The Lifetime of Morwen the Witchwife)); she became known as the 'Witchwife' after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad of I 472 Race Men Division Edain Culture Men of Dor-lómin Family Morwen was descended from the House of Bëor and married into the House of Hador Settlements The house of Húrin, a homestead in the southern regions of Dor-lómin Meaning A reference to Morwen's association with the Elves1 Title of Morwen Eledhwen Indexes: Alphabetical: W Men About this entry: Updated 28 September 2024 This entry is complete The Easterlings’ name for Morwen Years of the Trees First Age I Second Age II Third Age III Fourth Age IV Baragund MorwenWitchwife Húrin Thalion Túrin Turambar Lalaith Niënor Níniel After Húrin was lost in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, his wife Morwen remained in their house in Dor-lómin, though that land was now overrun by Easterlings in the service of Morgoth. Morwen herself they suspected of consorting with the Elves, whom they feared, and so they gave her the title 'Witchwife'. Though the Easterlings stole most of her possessions, their fear of the Elves kept her and her daughter Niënor safe until they could eventually escape across the Mountains of Shadow and find refuge in Doriath. Notes 1 The word 'witch' comes from Old English wiccian, 'to practice magic', hence wicce 'a woman who practices witchcraft'. The Easterlings who gave Morwen this title did so not because they thought that she was literally a witch, but because of her association with the Elves, who they saw as a dangerous magical beings (this same sense of eldritch magic would also later appear in the Mannish names like 'Witch-king' or 'Witch-realm'). The element 'wife' here probably relates to the broader Old English sense of wif as simply a 'woman' (though doubtless influenced by the fact that Morwen was the wife of Húrin, who had been a close ally of the Elves). In combination, then, the name of 'Witchwife' would means something like 'woman who consorts with strange powers'. As old Sador said, when Túrin encountered him on his return to Dor-lómin, 'Witchwife' was equivalent to 'Elf-friend' in the twisted language of the invading Easterlings. Indexes: Alphabetical: W Men About this entry: Updated 28 September 2024 This entry is complete For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page. Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2007, 2024. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ. Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.Find out how DISC profiling can make a real difference to the way you work with people.

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 Morwen lived c. I 443 - I 501 ([58 years](../chronicle.html?startyear=443&startage=1&endyear=501&endage=1&c=The Lifetime of Morwen the Witchwife)); she became known as the 'Witchwife' after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad of I 472 Race Men Division Edain Culture Men of Dor-lómin Family Morwen was descended from the House of Bëor and married into the House of Hador Settlements The house of Húrin, a homestead in the southern regions of Dor-lómin Meaning A reference to Morwen's association with the Elves1 Title of Morwen Eledhwen Indexes: Alphabetical: W Men About this entry: Updated 28 September 2024 This entry is complete The Easterlings’ name for Morwen

Years of the Trees First Age I Second Age II Third Age III Fourth Age IV Baragund

MorwenWitchwife

Húrin Thalion

Túrin Turambar Lalaith Niënor Níniel After Húrin was lost in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, his wife Morwen remained in their house in Dor-lómin, though that land was now overrun by Easterlings in the service of Morgoth. Morwen herself they suspected of consorting with the Elves, whom they feared, and so they gave her the title 'Witchwife'. Though the Easterlings stole most of her possessions, their fear of the Elves kept her and her daughter Niënor safe until they could eventually escape across the Mountains of Shadow and find refuge in Doriath. Notes 1 The word 'witch' comes from Old English wiccian, 'to practice magic', hence wicce 'a woman who practices witchcraft'. The Easterlings who gave Morwen this title did so not because they thought that she was literally a witch, but because of her association with the Elves, who they saw as a dangerous magical beings (this same sense of eldritch magic would also later appear in the Mannish names like 'Witch-king' or 'Witch-realm'). The element 'wife' here probably relates to the broader Old English sense of wif as simply a 'woman' (though doubtless influenced by the fact that Morwen was the wife of Húrin, who had been a close ally of the Elves). In combination, then, the name of 'Witchwife' would means something like 'woman who consorts with strange powers'. As old Sador said, when Túrin encountered him on his return to Dor-lómin, 'Witchwife' was equivalent to 'Elf-friend' in the twisted language of the invading Easterlings. Indexes: Alphabetical: W Men About this entry: Updated 28 September 2024 This entry is complete For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page. Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2007, 2024. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ. Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.Find out how DISC profiling can make a real difference to the way you work with people.