Skip to main content

tolkiens legendarium - How did the destruction of the Ring cause Arwen to change from Evenstar to Morningstar?


Arwen Undómiel , also known as "Evenstar" (or Evening Star), became mortal by choice and her "fate became tied to the outcome of the ring" (words of Elrond in the movie, don't remember how that was conveyed in the book).


Once the ring is destroyed and the Fellowship is back at Minas Tirith, she is referred to as the Morningstar. How come?



Answer



It didn't


Gimli is only saying poetically that he prefers Galadriel to Arwen. Arwen is never referred to as "the Morningstar". You may be confused by the dialogue between Gimli and Éomer:



‘But first I will plead this excuse,’ said Éomer. ‘Had I seen [Galadriel] in other company, I would have said all that you could wish. But now I will put Queen Arwen Evenstar first, and I am ready to do battle on my own part with any who deny me. Shall I call for my sword?’


Then Gimli bowed low. ‘Nay, you are excused for my part, lord,’ he said. ‘You have chosen the Evening; but my love is given to the Morning. And my heart forebodes that soon it will pass away for ever.’



The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Many Partings, p. 305



Arwen's epessë ("after-name") is Undómiel, meaning "twilight star". It was translated into English as "Even[ing]star". There is no real explanation as to why Arwen was named "Evenstar", but my understanding (which may be wrong) is that it has two purposes:



  • It recalls Lúthien's own epessë: Tinúviel, "Daughter of Twilight" or "Nightingale". Note that Lúthien is Arwen's great-great-great-grandmother and it was said that in Arwen, "the likeness of Lúthien had come on earth again."

  • It shows nostalgia for the ages past, before Elves and their works started fading.


As for Gimli's answer above, it is a play on Arwen's epessë and the relative age between Arwen and Galadriel. At the time of the War of the Ring, Arwen is roughly 2,700 years old, but Galadriel is much older. Her age is not clear because she was born in Valinor before the Years of the Sun, but she could very well be over 10,000 years old.


Being born at the beginning of the Third Age, Arwen would represent the Elves' "evening", at the end of a long and tiresome day, while Galadriel would represent the Elves' "morning", when "the light of Aman was not yet dimmed in their eyes, and they were strong and swift, and deadly in anger, and their swords were long and terrible." Galadriel's golden hair also invokes images of a golden sun in the morning, compared to Arwen's dark hair.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

How do Pokemon trainers collect their winnings?

According to Bulbapedia , Prize money is the money that a Trainer pays out at the end of a battle. So we know that the money comes directly from the trainer that just lost, and not some third-party committee or sponsor. But how is this done? It can be easy seeing the random trainers who challenge you along the way wanting to wager and then, after admitting defeat, sticking to their word and handing over their hard-earned pokebucks. Then there are the likes of Team Rocket and Giovanni, who also give money once they lose. This doesn't seem like something people in a criminal organization would willingly do. From this it appears that trainers have no say in whether or not they cough up the dough after losing, but I can't find anything on how exactly the funds are transferred from loser to winner. So how do Pokemon trainers receive their winnings?
Post a Comment
Read more