Dorwinion
| Dorwinion | |
|---|---|
| Region | |
| General Information | |
| Location | On the northwest side of the Sea of Rhûn |
| Type | Region |
| Description | A land of vineyards |
| Inhabitants | possibly Elves |
| Gallery | Images of Dorwinion |
 | Dorwinion.mp3 |
| By Ardamir. (Help; more articles) | |
| Dorwinion2.mp3 |
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Dorwinion or Dor-Winion was a land which lay on the northwestern shores of the Sea of Rhûn, surrounded by the river Celduin.[1] In Dorwinion was made a heady wine, which was strong enough to let even Elves get drunk and fall asleep.
Dorwinion is mentioned as the place where the special wine of the Elven-king comes from, and the crates are returned by way of the Forest River to Lake-town on Long Lake.[2]
Etymology
The name is Sindarin meaning "Young-land country" (or "Land of Gwinion") from dor and gwain plus the geographical ending -iond being a "testimony to the spread of Sindarin" according to Tolkien.[3][4]
Before the publication of Parma Eldalamberon 17, it had been suggested by Tolkienists that the name may come from an Avarin or Nandorin tongue. The element -Winion was understood as apparently meaning "wine", without any probable origin in any known etymology;[5] thus pointing to an obscure (like Avarin) origin.
Other versions
Dorvinion or Dor-Winion is mentioned in the The Lay of the Children of Húrin; its wine was famous among the Dwarves of Nogrod and Menegroth. It is said there to lie in the "Burning south" (of Beleriand)[6], which might suggest it was a different "Dorwinion", or may just have referred to the fact it came from the more southern lands of Rhovanion by way of the Dwarf-road of Beleriand.
While writing the Quenta Silmarillion, Tolkien once mentioned Dorwinion as a location of Tol Eressea.[7] Tolkien reused the name and the wines in The Hobbit, establishing thus that it is somewhere in or near the Wilderland.
References
- ↑ A Map of Middle-earth
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "Barrels Out of Bond"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, John D. Rateliff (ed.), The History of The Hobbit
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", in Parma Eldalamberon XVII (edited by Christopher Gilson), p. 54
- ↑ Didier Willis, Dorwinion, pays de cépages
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lays of Beleriand, "I. The Lay of the Children of Húrin: I. Túrin's Fostering" lines 223, 425
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, "Part Two: Valinor and Middle-earth before The Lord of the Rings, VI. Quenta Silmarillion", p. 338
