Gulls: Difference between revisions

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<center>{{quote|To the Sea, to the Sea! The white gulls are crying,<br>The wind is blowing, and the white foam is flying.|[[Legolas]]<ref>{{RK|VI4}}</ref>}}</center>
__NOTOC__
[[Image:Gulls (Ted Nasmith).jpg|thumb|Excerpt from illustration by [[Ted Nasmith]]]]
[[File:Eric Faure-Brac - Tuor.jpg|thumb|250px|''Tuor'' by [[:Category:Images by Eric Faure-Brac|Eric Faure-Brac]]]]
<center>{{quote|To the Sea, to the Sea! The white gulls are crying,<br>The wind is blowing, and the white foam is flying.|From [[To the Sea, to the Sea! The white gulls are crying|the poem]] sung by [[Legolas]] in ''[[The Return of the King]]'', "[[The Field of Cormallen]]"}}</center>
'''Gulls''' or '''mews''' were birds found on all shores in [[Arda]].
'''Gulls''' or '''mews''' were birds found on all shores in [[Arda]].
==History==
==History==
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Their association with the sea caused a great sense of longing for the journey to [[Valinor]] among [[Elves]] that were not familiar with their sound. One of those was [[Legolas]].<ref name="tLD"/>
Their association with the sea caused a great sense of longing for the journey to [[Valinor]] among [[Elves]] that were not familiar with their sound. One of those was [[Legolas]].<ref name="tLD"/>
==Other versions of the Legendarium==
The [[House of the Wing]] wore [[swans|swan]] or gull-like feathers on their helmets.<ref name="Fall"/> The [[Lindar]] were at one point considered the "Lords of the Gulls" among many other names.<ref>{{LR|Quenta}}, p. 215</ref>


==Etymology==
==Etymology==
In the ''[[The Etymologies|Etymologies]]'', one [[Noldorin]] and one [[Quenya]] word for "gull" appear, both from the same root: ''[[maew]]'' and ''[[maiwë]]''.<ref>{{LR|Etymologies}} ([[Sundocarme|Root]] [[MIW]])</ref> A later recorded [[Sindarin]] word is ''[[mŷl]]'',<ref name="QaE">{{WJ|Quendi}}, pp. 379, 418 (note 8)</ref> which replaced ''[[gwael]]''.<ref name="QaE"/>
In the ''[[The Etymologies|Etymologies]]'', one [[Noldorin]] and one [[Quenya]] word for "gull" appear, both from the same root: ''[[maew]]'' and ''[[maiwë]]''.<ref>{{LR|Etymologies}} ([[Sundocarme|Root]] [[MIW]])</ref> A later recorded [[Sindarin]] word is ''[[mŷl]]'',<ref name="QaE">{{WJ|Quendi}}, pp. 379, 418 (note 8)</ref> which replaced ''gwael''.<ref name="QaE"/>


In manuscripts related to the ''Etymologies'' Tolkien also experimented with the Noldorin form ''cuen'', glossed as "small gull, petrel".<ref>{{VT|45a}}, p. 24</ref>
In manuscripts related to the ''Etymologies'' Tolkien also experimented with the Noldorin form ''cuen'', glossed as "small gull, petrel".<ref>{{VT|45a}}, p. 24</ref>
==Other versions of the legendarium==
In the earliest version of the [[legendarium]] in ''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'', the [[house of the Wing]] wore [[swans|swan]] or gull-like feathers on their helmets.<ref name="Fall"/>
In the [[1937]] ''[[Quenta Silmarillion (Lost Road)|Quenta Silmarillion]]'', the [[Lindar]] were at one point considered the "Lords of the Gulls" among many other names.<ref>{{LR|Quenta}}, p. 215</ref>


==Other fiction==
==Other fiction==

Latest revision as of 20:49, 15 March 2024

"To the Sea, to the Sea! The white gulls are crying,
The wind is blowing, and the white foam is flying.
"
― From the poem sung by Legolas in The Return of the King, "The Field of Cormallen"

Gulls or mews were birds found on all shores in Arda.

History[edit | edit source]

Gulls were common in all sea-bordering lands (perhaps especially abundant on the cape of Bar-in-Mŷl, the "Home of the Gulls", in the land of the Falas[1]), and for that, they were often attributed to Ossë.[2] The Teleri that dwelt in the Havens were very fond of them, and their mewing welcomed Tuor to their land.[3] They were also known in Númenor[4] and Gondor.[5]

Their association with the sea caused a great sense of longing for the journey to Valinor among Elves that were not familiar with their sound. One of those was Legolas.[5]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

In the Etymologies, one Noldorin and one Quenya word for "gull" appear, both from the same root: maew and maiwë.[6] A later recorded Sindarin word is mŷl,[1] which replaced gwael.[1]

In manuscripts related to the Etymologies Tolkien also experimented with the Noldorin form cuen, glossed as "small gull, petrel".[7]

Other versions of the legendarium[edit | edit source]

In the earliest version of the legendarium in The Book of Lost Tales, the house of the Wing wore swan or gull-like feathers on their helmets.[2]

In the 1937 Quenta Silmarillion, the Lindar were at one point considered the "Lords of the Gulls" among many other names.[8]

Other fiction[edit | edit source]

In the story Roverandom, a seagull named Mew brings the dog Rover to the moon. On their way, Mew stops to visit other sea-birds, among them the "oldest and most important of all the Blackbacked Gulls".[9]

References