Moon: Difference between revisions

From Tolkien Gateway
m (Link to Lord of the Rings (which redirects to Lord of the Ring (title)) which should have been to The Lord of the Rings)
 
(71 intermediate revisions by 22 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{expansion}}
{{cleanup}}<!-- source conversion-->
{{objects
{{object infobox
| image=[[Image:Legolas arrow ringwraith viv lotr.JPG|250px]]
| name=Moon
| name=Moon
| othernames=Ithil, Rána, Isíl, Phainakelūth, Nīlū
| image=[[File:Lady Elleth - Tilion.png|250px]]
| derivation=
| caption="Tilion" by [[:Category:Images by Lady Elleth|Lady Elleth]]
| location=[[Menel|the sky]]
| pronun=
| ownedby=
| othernames=[[Moon#Other names|See below]]
| maker=[[Aulë]]
| location=[[Ilmen]] in [[Eä]]
| owner=[[Tilion]]
| type=Source of light
| appearance=
| appearance=
| references=
| creator=[[Aulë]]
|}}
| created={{YT|1500}}
<center>{{quote|The round Moon rolled behind the hill,<br>as the Sun raised up her head.<br>She hardly believed her fiery eyes;<br>For though it was day, to her surprise<br>they all went back to bed!|''[[The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late]]''<ref name="Man">[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], ''[[The Adventures of Tom Bombadil]]'', "[[The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late]]"</ref>}}</center>
| createdlocation=
| destroyer=
| destroyed=
| destroyedlocation=
| notablefor=
| gallery=the Moon
}}
<center>{{quote|The round Moon rolled behind the hill,<br>as the Sun raised up her head.<br>She hardly believed her fiery eyes;<br>For though it was day, to her surprise<br>they all went back to bed!|''[[The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late]]''}}</center>


'''Ithil''', the '''Moon''', is a celestial object seen in the skies of [[Arda]] at night.
'''Ithil''', the '''Moon''', is a celestial object seen in the skies of [[Arda]] at night.


==History==
==History==
After the [[Darkening of Valinor]] and the destruction of the [[Two Trees]], [[Telperion]] the [[White Tree]] bore one last [[Flower of Silver]] before its end. According to the lore of the [[Elder Days]], [[Aulë]] and his people made a vessel to carry to the silver flower aloft, and [[Tilion]], one of the hunters of [[Oromë]]; was granted the task of steering the new Moon through the sky.
[[File:Elena Kukanova - Varda and creation of Isil.jpg|thumb|left|''Varda and creation of Isil'' by Elena Kukanova]]
After the [[Darkening of Valinor]] and the destruction of the [[Two Trees of Valinor|Two Trees]], [[Telperion]], the White Tree, bore one last Flower of Silver before its end. According to the lore of the [[Elder Days]], [[Aulë]] and his people made a vessel to carry to the silver flower aloft, and [[Tilion]], one of the hunters of [[Oromë]], was granted the task of steering the new Moon through the sky.<ref name="Sil">Of {{HM|S}}, [[Of the Sun and Moon and the Hiding of Valinor]]</ref>


Tilion guided his charge up into the western skies just as [[Fingolfin]] entered [[Middle-earth]], and so marked the beginning the [[First Age]]. After seven lunar "days", [[Arien]], the Sun also rose. The Moon first rose above [[Valinor]] in the far West of the World, but [[Varda]] came to change this arrangement, so that the Moon would pass beneath the World, and arise in the east instead, as it does to this day.  
Tilion guided his charge up into the western skies just as [[Fingolfin]] entered [[Middle-earth]], and so marked the beginning the [[First Age]]. After seven lunar "days", the [[Sun]], also rose. The Moon first rose above [[Valinor]] in the far West of the World, but [[Varda]] came to change this arrangement, so that the Moon would pass beneath the World, and arise in the east instead, as it does to this day. <ref name="Sil"/>
[[File:Darryl Elliott - Moon.jpg|thumb|''Moon'' by Darryl Elliott]]
According to the legends of the [[Elves]], Tilion was an unsteady steersman, sometimes dwelling overlong beneath the Earth, or appearing in the sky at the same time as the Sun. He was drawn to the bright new Sun, launched from Valinor shortly after his own vessel,<ref name="Sil"/> and his coming too close to his fiery companion was said to account for the darkening of the Moon's face.


According to the legends of the [[Elves]], Tilion was an unsteady steersman, sometimes dwelling overlong beneath the Earth, or appearing in the sky at the same time as the Sun. He was drawn to the bright new Sun, launched from Valinor shortly after his own vessel, and his coming too close to his fiery companion was said to account for the darkening of the Moon's face.
According to a tradition,<ref>{{HM|SM}}</ref><ref>{{HM|LR}}</ref> Melkor will discover how to break the [[Door of Night]], and will destroy both the Sun and the Moon.
 
According to a tradition,<ref>{{HM|SM}}</ref><ref>{{HM|LR}}</ref>, Melkor will discover how to break the [[Door of Night]], and will destroy both the Sun and the Moon.


==Lore of the Moon==
==Lore of the Moon==
===Númenóreans===
===Númenóreans===
For the Númenóreans, the Sun and the Moon - ''[[Ûri]]'' and ''[[Nîlû]]'', called collectively also ''[[Ûriyat]]'' ("two suns") or ''[[Ûrinîluwat|Ûrinîl(uw)at]]'' ("two sun-moon") - were personified entities, the [[Man in the Moon]] and the [[Lady in the Sun]].<ref name="Drowning">[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], [[Christopher Tolkien]] (ed.), ''[[Sauron Defeated]]'', "[[The Drowning of Anadûnê]]"</ref> They were the chief heavenly lights, and the enemies of the eternal Dark.<ref name="L347">[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], [[Humphrey Carpenter]], [[Christopher Tolkien]] (eds.), ''[[The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien]]'', [[Letter 347]] (dated [[December 17]], [[1972]])</ref>
For the Númenóreans, the [[Sun]] and the '''Moon''' - ''Ûri'' and ''Nîlû'', called collectively also ''Ûriyat'' ("two suns") or ''Ûrinîl(uw)at'' ("two sun-moon") - were personified entities, the [[Man in the Moon]] and the [[Lady of the Sun]].<ref name="Drowning">[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], [[Christopher Tolkien]] (ed.), ''[[Sauron Defeated]]'', "[[The Drowning of Anadûnê]]"</ref> They were the chief heavenly lights, and the enemies of the eternal Dark.<ref name="L347">[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], [[Humphrey Carpenter]], [[Christopher Tolkien]] (eds.), ''[[The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien]]'', [[Letter 347]] (dated [[17 December|December 17]], [[1972]])</ref>


This notion was carried over to [[Gondor]], where the sons of [[Elendil]] each had either of the lights in his name: [[Isildur]] and [[Anárion]], and with them their cities [[Minas Anor]] and [[Minas Ithil]], and the lands that lay about them, [[Ithilien]] and [[Anórien]].<ref name="L347"/>
This notion was carried over to [[Gondor]], where the sons of [[Elendil]] each had either of the lights in his name: [[Isildur]] and [[Anárion]], and with them their cities [[Minas Ithil]] and [[Minas Anor]], and the lands that lay about them, [[Ithilien]] and [[Anórien]].<ref name="L347"/>


===Hobbits===
===Hobbits===
When the [[Hobbits]] were still a [[Wandering Days|wandering]] people, their calendaric unit was not a 'week' , but a 'month', governed more or less by the Moon. However they adopted the weeks they had in the [[Shire Reckoning]] from alien peoples.<ref>{{HM|AD}}</ref>
[[File:Gail McIntosh - New Moon.jpg|thumb|''New Moon'' by [[:Category:Images by Gail McIntosh|Gail McIntosh]]]]
When the [[Hobbits]] were still a [[Wandering Days|wandering]] people, their calendaric unit was not a 'week' , but a 'month', governed more or less by the Moon. However, through contact with alien peoples (perhaps the [[Dúnedain of Arnor]]) they adopted the notion of weeks which formed the [[Shire Reckoning]].<ref>{{HM|AD}}</ref>


In Hobbit folklore, the moon was imagined to be inhabited by the [[Man in the Moon]]<ref name="Man"/>. Possibly this tradition was derived by the Dúnedain.
In Hobbit folklore, the moon was imagined to be inhabited by the [[Man in the Moon]].<ref name="Man">[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], ''[[The Adventures of Tom Bombadil]]'', "[[The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late]]"</ref>


===Dwarves===
===Dwarves===
It is not known if the Moon had any significance in the [[Dwarves|Dwarven]] folklore and tradition. It is known however that the Dwarves had earlier based their calendar on the Moon. The Dwarven year begun with the first day of the last moon of Autumn on the threshold of Winter<ref>{{HM|H}}, [[A Short Rest]]</ref>. However it seems that by the late [[Third Age]] the Dwarves adopted the [[Stewards' Reckoning]]<ref>{{HM|AD}}</ref>, and few had the skill to calculate the [[Durin's Day]].
The [[Dwarves]] based their calendar on the Moon. The Dwarven year began with the first day of the last moon of Autumn on the threshold of Winter.<ref>{{H|Rest}}</ref> However it seems that by the late [[Third Age]] the Dwarves adopted the [[Stewards' Reckoning]],<ref>{{App|D}}</ref> and few had the skill to calculate the [[Durin's Day]].


==Other names==
*'''''Isil''''': a ([[Quenya|Q]], pron. {{IPA|[ˈisil]}}) or '''Iþil''' ([[Vanyarin|VQ]], pron. {{IPA|[ˈiθil]}}) was a name given to the Moon in [[Quenya]] by the [[Vanyar]].  It is said to mean "the Sheen".<ref name="Sil"/>
*'''''Rána''''': although the name given to the Moon in [[Valinor]] was Isil, the [[Noldor]] preferred a name of their own, ''Rána'', the Wayward.<ref>{{S|Sun}}</ref> ''Rána'' (or ''Rana''), meaning "The Wanderer"<ref>{{S|Index}}</ref> or "the wayward",<ref>{{MR|P2p}}, p. 130</ref> is a [[Quenya]] word derived from the [[Common Eldarin]] [[Sundocarme|root]] [[RAN]] ("wander, stray, meander").<ref name=VT>{{VT|42a}}, p. 13</ref> In the ''[[The Etymologies|Etymologies]]'' appears the [[Qenya]] form ''Rana'', and [[Noldorin]] ''Rhân''. Both are descendant forms of [[Primitive Quendian]] ''Ranā'' ("Moon").<ref>{{LR|Etymologies}}, p. 383 (entry RAN-)</ref>
*'''''Ithil''''': a [[Sindarin]] word meaning "the moon" or "(full) moon".<ref>{{HM|UI}}, p. 232  form: ''ithil''</ref><ref>{{PE|17}}, pp. 30, 39, 121 (form: ''Ithil''</ref> The word can be found in ''[[Minas Ithil]]'', ''[[Ithilien#Etymology|Ithilien]]'', and ''[[Ithildin#Etymology|ithildin]]''. In the ''[[The Etymologies|Etymologies]]'', [[Noldorin]] ''Ithil'' ("(poetic name of the) Moon") derives from the [[Sundocarme|roots]] THIL/SIL.<ref>{{LR|Etymologies}}, pp. 361, 385, 392 (entries I-, SIL- and THIL-)</ref>
*'''''Elfaron''''': Meaning "Star-hunter" being a coumpound of [[EL]] and PHAR.<ref>{{LR|Etymologies}} (entry PHAR)</ref>
*'''''Phanaikelūth''''': The oldest recorded name of the Moon was its [[Valarin]] name, ''Phanaikelūth''. This was said to mean "bright mirror";<ref name="QaE">{{WJ|Quendi}}, p. 401</ref> making it the only name to accurately describe the origin of moonlight.
*[[Gollum]] referred to the Moon as ''The White Face''.<ref>{{TT|IV1}}; {{TT|IV2}}; {{TT|IV6}}. Cfr. "Yellow Face" ([[Sun#Names_of_the_Sun|the Sun]] by Gollum).</ref>
*The full moon of mid-[[November]] was referred as the '''[[Wikipedia:Hunter's moon|Hunter's Moon]]'''.<ref>{{FR|II3}}</ref>


==Other versions of the legendarium==
===Early concepts===
In the early versions of the [[legendarium]] as described in ''[[The Book of Lost Tales Part One]]'', the Moon was described in great detail as an immense island of crystal (''vírin'').<ref name=LT1VIII/> The spots on the Moon were also explained by telling that the Rose of [[Silpion]] fell because [[Irmo|Lórien]] did not want to pick it from the Tree.<ref name=LT1VIII/>


==Inspirations==
The phases of the Moon were explained that: first, like the earlier Silpion, the Rose needed to be watered with its shining dew and created it in greater quantities, and the heavy dew had to be removed; second, the Moon had to stay within the lower layers of [[Ilwë]] and the winds made it wobble.<ref name=LT1VIII/>
===Gender===
The fact that the Moon in Tolkien's legendarium is connected to a male entity or person (like Tilion or the Man in the Moon), is obviously derived from the Germanic mythology where the Old Norse [[Wikipedia:Máni|Máni]] is a male lunar god.


On the contrary, other mythologies of the world had connected the Moon with the feminine, like the Greek/Roman deities [[Wikipedia:Luna|Luna]], [[Wikipedia:Selene|Selene]], [[Wikipedia:Hecate|Hecate]] and others.  
[[Silmo]] wanted to steer the Moon but could not do it, so [[Manwë]] appointed [[Ilinsor]], who was joined by other air spirits. The [[Man in the Moon]] is described in those writings as being an old Elf who secretly hid on the island of the Moon, and built his minaret there.<ref name=LT1VIII/> This is alluded to further in Tolkien's ''[[Roverandom]]'', where the Man in the Moon also lives in a Minaret.


The gender of the celestial deity, is mirrored also in the gender of the noun for "Moon" in these languages (eg. French ''la Lune'' but German ''der Mond''). This was also perhaps the case with some of the [[languages]] of [[Arda]].
Other Elvish names in this fase were:
*'''''Celebron''''': [[Gnomish]] name for "Moon".<ref name=Telimpe>{{LT1|Appendix}}, entry "Telimpë"</ref>
*'''''Crithosceleg''''': Gnomish name meaning "disc of glass".<ref name=LT1VIII>{{LT1|VIII}}</ref>{{rp|192}}
*'''''Gilthalont''''': unclear [[Gnomish]] name with the elemnent ''giltha'' ("white metal").<ref name=Ilsalunte></ref>
*'''''Ilsaluntë''''': [[Qenya]] name meaning "silver boat".<ref name=Ilsalunte>{{LT1|Appendix}}, entry "Ilsaluntë"</ref>
*'''''Minethlos''''': Gnomish name meaning "argent isle".<ref name=LT1VIII>{{LT1|VIII}}</ref>{{rp|192}}
*'''''Rána''''': Qenya name for "Moon" used by the Gods.<ref name=LT1VIII>{{LT1|VIII}}</ref>{{rp|192}}
*'''''Sil''''': Qenya name for "Moon" used by the fairies, literally "Rose".<ref name=Silindril>{{LT1|Appendix}}, entry "Silindril"</ref>
*'''''Silindril''''': Qenya name meaning "Moon-cauldron".<ref name=Silindril></ref>


===Phases===
===Later concepts===
Tolkien was very careful in the moon phases described in his works, so that they fit the passing of days realistically. Tolkien was remodelling the phases while reviewing the book in [[1944]] so that he preserves the consistency. The moon phases described in the ''[[Lord of the Rings]]'' correspond to the phases of years [[1941]]-[[1942|2]] and its probable that he used a recent calendar for reference<ref>http://shire-reckoning.com/moon.html</ref>. Unfortunately, some minor errors (that can be detected only after thorough measurement and astronomical knowledge) slipped his attention (for example cf. [[September 22]])
In the [[Round World version of the Silmarillion|Round World]] version of the legendarium, the Sun and the Moon were not the fruit of the Two Trees, but actually preceded the creation of the Trees. Instead, the Trees preserved the light of the Sun before it was tainted by Melkor when he ravished [[Arien]].


===Calendar===
==Inspirations==
The mention that Hobbits and Dwarves based their year and months on the Moon, mirrors the [[Wikipedia:lunar calendar|lunar calendar]] used by several ancient cultures through history, such as the Hebrews. The observation of the Moon was very useful to calculate the months; the words are even related etymologically in some languages (cf. the English words "Moon" and "month")
===Gender===
[[File:Mani and Sol.jpg|thumb|A depiction of the Norse god Máni and the goddess Sól (Lorenz Frølich, 1895) who could be the inspirations of Tilion and [[Arien]]]]
The fact that the Moon in Tolkien's legendarium is connected to a male entity or person (like Tilion or the Man in the Moon), is obviously derived from the Germanic mythology of which Tolkien was an expert; for example the Old Norse [[Wikipedia:Máni|Máni]] is a male lunar god and [[Wikipedia:Sól|Sól]] is a female solar goddess.


According to [[Andreas Moehn]], the orbital period of the moon as described by Tolkien, indicates that it was about 20 minutes shorter/faster than today<ref>[http://lalaith.vpsurf.de/Tolkien/Durin%27s_Day.html The Moon and Durin's Day]; However she doesn't explain her mathematical calculations that led her to this conclusion.</ref>. It is not known if this was deliberate by Tolkien to mirror the astronomical fact that the moon has slowed down over the millennia by the tidal friction.
On the contrary, other mythologies of the world had connected the Moon with the feminine, like the Græco-Roman deities [[Wikipedia:Luna|Luna]], [[Wikipedia:Selene|Selene]], [[Wikipedia:Hecate|Hecate]] and others.  


==Other versions of the legendarium==
The gender of the celestial deity is mirrored also in the gender of the noun for "Moon" in these languages (eg. French ''la Lune'' but German ''der Mond''). This was also perhaps the case with some of the [[languages]] of [[Arda]] ([[Ghân-buri-ghân]] refers to the Sun as a woman).
===Early concepts===
In the early versions of ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' as described in [[The Book of Lost Tales Part 1]], a part of the [[The History of Middle-earth|History of Middle-earth]] series, the Moon was described in great detail as an immense island of crystal. It was also said there that the youth Tilion was said to secretly be in love with [[Arien]], the maiden who guided the [[Sun]], and that because he steered the Moon too close to the Sun the Moon was burned, causing the darker spots on the Moon which in reality are caused by the great basalt plains known as Lunar maria.


The [[Man in the Moon]] is even described in those writings, as being an old Elf who secretly hid on the island of the Moon, and built his minaret there. This is alluded to further in Tolkien's [[Roverandom]], where the Man in the Moon also lives in a Minaret.
:''See also [[Sun#Inspiration|Sun: Inspiration]]''


In writings which are older than the material from which the publised ''Silmarillion'' was drawn, the Moon was described at one point rather as being created by [[Morgoth]] as a mockery of [[Arda]] the world, but this notion was abandoned.
===Phases===
{{quote|...my moons in the crucial days between Frodo's flight and the present situation (arrival at Minas Morghul) were doing impossible things, rising in one pan of the country and setting simultaneously in another.|[[J.R.R. Tolkien]]'s letter to [[Christopher Tolkien]], [[24 April]] [[1944]]<ref>{{L|69}}, p. 80</ref>}}
Tolkien was very careful in the moon phases described in his works, so that they fit the passing of days realistically. Tolkien was remodelling the phases while reviewing the book in [[1944]] so that he preserves the consistency. The moon phases described in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' correspond to the phases of years [[1941]]-[[1942|2]] and it is probable that he used a recent calendar for reference.<ref>http://shire-reckoning.com/moon.html</ref> Unfortunately, some minor errors (that can be detected only after thorough measurement and astronomical knowledge) slipped his attention (for example cf. [[22 September|September 22]])


===Later concepts===
===Calendar===
The mention that Hobbits and Dwarves based their year and months on the Moon, mirrors the [[Wikipedia:lunar calendar|lunar calendar]] used by several ancient cultures through history, such as the Hebrews. The observation of the Moon phases formed the months; the words are even related etymologically in some languages (cf. the English words "Moon" and "month").


In the [[Round World version of the Silmarillion|Round World]] version of the legendarium, the Sun and the Moon were not the fruit of the Two Trees, but actually preceded the creation of the Trees. Instead, the Trees preserved the light of the Sun before it was tainted by Melkor when he ravished [[Arien]].
==Portrayal in adaptations==
[[File:The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (video game) - Legolas firing an arrow.JPG|200px|thumb|The Moon in [[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game)|''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' (video game)]]]]
'''1978: [[The Lord of the Rings (1978 film)|''The Lord of the Rings'' (1978 film)]]:'''
:The moon appears in the background of various scenes. In a notable animation error, it is visible behind both [[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] and [[Boromir]] when the latter tries to persuade Frodo to give the Ring at [[Amon Hen]].<ref>''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077869/goofs Goofs]'', [http://www.imdb.com/ IMDb.com]</ref>


==Portrayal in Adaptations==
'''2002: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game)|''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' (video game)]]:'''
'''1978: ''[[Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings]]'':'''
:The Moon - or rather, an image of the near side of the moon in the plenilune - is used as a backdrop for scenes playing at night, and appears recognizably in the sky in cut scenes. It appears behind [[Aragorn|Strider]] as he finds [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]] in the streets of Bree,<ref>[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game)|''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' (video game)]], "Bree"</ref> behind the [[Watcher in the Water]], <ref>[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game)|''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' (video game)]], "Hollin Gate"</ref> and behind the [[fell beast]] in the final cut scene.<ref>[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game)|''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' (video game)]], "Amon Hen"</ref>
:The moon appears in the background of various scenes. In a notable animation error, it is visible behind both [[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] and [[Boromir (son of Denethor II)|Boromir]] when the latter tries to persuade Frodo to give the Ring at [[Amon Hen]].<ref>''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077869/goofs Goofs]'', [http://www.imdb.com/ IMDb.com]</ref>


'''2002: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game)|Vivendi's The Fellowship of the Ring]]'':'''
==In other stories==
:The Moon - or rather, an image of the near side of the moon in the plenilune - is used as a backdrop for scenes playing at night, and appears recognizably in the sky in cut scenes. It appears behind [[Aragorn II|Strider]] as he finds [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]] in the streets of Bree,<ref>''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game)]]'', "Bree"</ref> behind the [[Watcher in the Water]], <ref>''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game)]]'', "Hollin Gate"</ref> and behind the [[fell beast]] in the final cut scene.<ref>''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game)]]'', "Amon Hen"</ref>
The moon is an important location in [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]]'s children's story ''[[Roverandom]]''. After being turned into a toy dog, the wizard [[Psamathos Psamathides]] summons his postman [[Mew]] (a seagull) to take [[Rover]] to the moon to see the [[Man-in-the-Moon]].<ref name="Roverandom">{{HM|R}}</ref>{{rp|17 ff}} One side of the moon is white with a dark sky and tall mountains, whilst the dark side of the moon is dark with a light sky and deep valleys.<ref name="Roverandom" />{{rp|40}} Although home to spiders, the main enemy on the moon is the White Dragon (later renamed the Mottled Monster).<ref name="Roverandom" />{{rp|34-6}}


==See also==
==See also==
* [[Man in the Moon]]
* [[Man in the Moon]]
==External links==
* [http://shire-reckoning.com/moon.html The Moon phases in the Lord of the Rings]
{{references}}
{{references}}
==External links==
{{cosmology}}
*[http://shire-reckoning.com/moon.html The Moon phases in the Lord of the Rings]
[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Creations of the Valar]]
[[Category:Creations of the Valar]]
[[Category: Cosmology]]
[[Category:Roverandom]]
[[de:Mond]]
[[fi:Kuu]]

Latest revision as of 21:00, 10 March 2024

"I shan't call it the end, till we've cleared up the mess." — Sam
 This article or section needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of article quality.
Moon
Source of light
Lady Elleth - Tilion.png
"Tilion" by Lady Elleth
Other namesSee below
LocationIlmen in Eä
OwnerTilion
CreatorAulë
Y.T. 1500
GalleryImages of the Moon
"The round Moon rolled behind the hill,
as the Sun raised up her head.
She hardly believed her fiery eyes;
For though it was day, to her surprise
they all went back to bed!"
― The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late

Ithil, the Moon, is a celestial object seen in the skies of Arda at night.

History[edit | edit source]

Varda and creation of Isil by Elena Kukanova

After the Darkening of Valinor and the destruction of the Two Trees, Telperion, the White Tree, bore one last Flower of Silver before its end. According to the lore of the Elder Days, Aulë and his people made a vessel to carry to the silver flower aloft, and Tilion, one of the hunters of Oromë, was granted the task of steering the new Moon through the sky.[1]

Tilion guided his charge up into the western skies just as Fingolfin entered Middle-earth, and so marked the beginning the First Age. After seven lunar "days", the Sun, also rose. The Moon first rose above Valinor in the far West of the World, but Varda came to change this arrangement, so that the Moon would pass beneath the World, and arise in the east instead, as it does to this day. [1]

Moon by Darryl Elliott

According to the legends of the Elves, Tilion was an unsteady steersman, sometimes dwelling overlong beneath the Earth, or appearing in the sky at the same time as the Sun. He was drawn to the bright new Sun, launched from Valinor shortly after his own vessel,[1] and his coming too close to his fiery companion was said to account for the darkening of the Moon's face.

According to a tradition,[2][3] Melkor will discover how to break the Door of Night, and will destroy both the Sun and the Moon.

Lore of the Moon[edit | edit source]

Númenóreans[edit | edit source]

For the Númenóreans, the Sun and the Moon - Ûri and Nîlû, called collectively also Ûriyat ("two suns") or Ûrinîl(uw)at ("two sun-moon") - were personified entities, the Man in the Moon and the Lady of the Sun.[4] They were the chief heavenly lights, and the enemies of the eternal Dark.[5]

This notion was carried over to Gondor, where the sons of Elendil each had either of the lights in his name: Isildur and Anárion, and with them their cities Minas Ithil and Minas Anor, and the lands that lay about them, Ithilien and Anórien.[5]

Hobbits[edit | edit source]

New Moon by Gail McIntosh

When the Hobbits were still a wandering people, their calendaric unit was not a 'week' , but a 'month', governed more or less by the Moon. However, through contact with alien peoples (perhaps the Dúnedain of Arnor) they adopted the notion of weeks which formed the Shire Reckoning.[6]

In Hobbit folklore, the moon was imagined to be inhabited by the Man in the Moon.[7]

Dwarves[edit | edit source]

The Dwarves based their calendar on the Moon. The Dwarven year began with the first day of the last moon of Autumn on the threshold of Winter.[8] However it seems that by the late Third Age the Dwarves adopted the Stewards' Reckoning,[9] and few had the skill to calculate the Durin's Day.

Other names[edit | edit source]

Other versions of the legendarium[edit | edit source]

Early concepts[edit | edit source]

In the early versions of the legendarium as described in The Book of Lost Tales Part One, the Moon was described in great detail as an immense island of crystal (vírin).[22] The spots on the Moon were also explained by telling that the Rose of Silpion fell because Lórien did not want to pick it from the Tree.[22]

The phases of the Moon were explained that: first, like the earlier Silpion, the Rose needed to be watered with its shining dew and created it in greater quantities, and the heavy dew had to be removed; second, the Moon had to stay within the lower layers of Ilwë and the winds made it wobble.[22]

Silmo wanted to steer the Moon but could not do it, so Manwë appointed Ilinsor, who was joined by other air spirits. The Man in the Moon is described in those writings as being an old Elf who secretly hid on the island of the Moon, and built his minaret there.[22] This is alluded to further in Tolkien's Roverandom, where the Man in the Moon also lives in a Minaret.

Other Elvish names in this fase were:

  • Celebron: Gnomish name for "Moon".[23]
  • Crithosceleg: Gnomish name meaning "disc of glass".[22]:192
  • Gilthalont: unclear Gnomish name with the elemnent giltha ("white metal").[24]
  • Ilsaluntë: Qenya name meaning "silver boat".[24]
  • Minethlos: Gnomish name meaning "argent isle".[22]:192
  • Rána: Qenya name for "Moon" used by the Gods.[22]:192
  • Sil: Qenya name for "Moon" used by the fairies, literally "Rose".[25]
  • Silindril: Qenya name meaning "Moon-cauldron".[25]

Later concepts[edit | edit source]

In the Round World version of the legendarium, the Sun and the Moon were not the fruit of the Two Trees, but actually preceded the creation of the Trees. Instead, the Trees preserved the light of the Sun before it was tainted by Melkor when he ravished Arien.

Inspirations[edit | edit source]

Gender[edit | edit source]

A depiction of the Norse god Máni and the goddess Sól (Lorenz Frølich, 1895) who could be the inspirations of Tilion and Arien

The fact that the Moon in Tolkien's legendarium is connected to a male entity or person (like Tilion or the Man in the Moon), is obviously derived from the Germanic mythology of which Tolkien was an expert; for example the Old Norse Máni is a male lunar god and Sól is a female solar goddess.

On the contrary, other mythologies of the world had connected the Moon with the feminine, like the Græco-Roman deities Luna, Selene, Hecate and others.

The gender of the celestial deity is mirrored also in the gender of the noun for "Moon" in these languages (eg. French la Lune but German der Mond). This was also perhaps the case with some of the languages of Arda (Ghân-buri-ghân refers to the Sun as a woman).

See also Sun: Inspiration

Phases[edit | edit source]

"...my moons in the crucial days between Frodo's flight and the present situation (arrival at Minas Morghul) were doing impossible things, rising in one pan of the country and setting simultaneously in another."
― J.R.R. Tolkien's letter to Christopher Tolkien, 24 April 1944[26]

Tolkien was very careful in the moon phases described in his works, so that they fit the passing of days realistically. Tolkien was remodelling the phases while reviewing the book in 1944 so that he preserves the consistency. The moon phases described in The Lord of the Rings correspond to the phases of years 1941-2 and it is probable that he used a recent calendar for reference.[27] Unfortunately, some minor errors (that can be detected only after thorough measurement and astronomical knowledge) slipped his attention (for example cf. September 22)

Calendar[edit | edit source]

The mention that Hobbits and Dwarves based their year and months on the Moon, mirrors the lunar calendar used by several ancient cultures through history, such as the Hebrews. The observation of the Moon phases formed the months; the words are even related etymologically in some languages (cf. the English words "Moon" and "month").

Portrayal in adaptations[edit | edit source]

The Moon in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game)

1978: The Lord of the Rings (1978 film):

The moon appears in the background of various scenes. In a notable animation error, it is visible behind both Frodo and Boromir when the latter tries to persuade Frodo to give the Ring at Amon Hen.[28]

2002: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game):

The Moon - or rather, an image of the near side of the moon in the plenilune - is used as a backdrop for scenes playing at night, and appears recognizably in the sky in cut scenes. It appears behind Strider as he finds Merry in the streets of Bree,[29] behind the Watcher in the Water, [30] and behind the fell beast in the final cut scene.[31]

In other stories[edit | edit source]

The moon is an important location in Tolkien's children's story Roverandom. After being turned into a toy dog, the wizard Psamathos Psamathides summons his postman Mew (a seagull) to take Rover to the moon to see the Man-in-the-Moon.[32]:17 ff One side of the moon is white with a dark sky and tall mountains, whilst the dark side of the moon is dark with a light sky and deep valleys.[32]:40 Although home to spiders, the main enemy on the moon is the White Dragon (later renamed the Mottled Monster).[32]:34-6

See also[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Of J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, Of the Sun and Moon and the Hiding of Valinor
  2. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Shaping of Middle-earth
  3. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings
  4. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Sauron Defeated, "The Drowning of Anadûnê"
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 347 (dated December 17, 1972)
  6. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix D
  7. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, "The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late"
  8. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "A Short Rest"
  9. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix D
  10. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Sun and Moon and the Hiding of Valinor"
  11. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Index of Names"
  12. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Morgoth's Ring, "Part Two. The Annals of Aman: Sixth and last section of the Annals of Aman", p. 130
  13. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter), in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 42, July 2001, p. 13
  14. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies", p. 383 (entry RAN-)
  15. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Unfinished index for The Lord of the Rings", in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 232 form: ithil
  16. ↑ 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), pp. 30, 39, 121 (form: Ithil
  17. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies", pp. 361, 385, 392 (entries I-, SIL- and THIL-)
  18. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies" (entry PHAR)
  19. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Jewels, "Part Four. Quendi and Eldar", p. 401
  20. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Taming of Sméagol"; J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Passage of the Marshes"; J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Forbidden Pool". Cfr. "Yellow Face" (the Sun by Gollum).
  21. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Ring Goes South"
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 22.6 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "VIII. The Tale of the Sun and Moon"
  23. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, Appendix: Names in the Lost Tales – Part I, entry "Telimpë"
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, Appendix: Names in the Lost Tales – Part I, entry "Ilsaluntë"
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, Appendix: Names in the Lost Tales – Part I, entry "Silindril"
  26. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 69, (dated 14 May 1944), p. 80
  27. ↑ http://shire-reckoning.com/moon.html
  28. ↑ Goofs, IMDb.com
  29. ↑ The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game), "Bree"
  30. ↑ The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game), "Hollin Gate"
  31. ↑ The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game), "Amon Hen"
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 J.R.R. Tolkien; Christina Scull, Wayne G. Hammond (eds.), Roverandom
Middle-earth Cosmology
 Constellations  Anarríma · Durin's Crown · Menelmacar · Remmirath · Soronúmë · Telumendil · Valacirca · Wilwarin
Stars  Alcarinquë · Borgil · Carnil · Elemmírë · Helluin · Luinil · Lumbar · Morwinyon · Nénar · Star of Eärendil · Til 
The Airs  Aiwenórë · Fanyamar · Ilmen · Menel · Vaiya · Veil of Arda · Vista
Narsilion  Arien · Moon (Isil, Ithil, Rána) · Sun (Anar, Anor, Vása) · Tilion
See also  Abyss · Arda · Circles of the World · Eä · Timeless Halls · Two Lamps · Two Trees · Void
Retrieved from "https://tolkiengateway.net/w/index.php?title=Moon&oldid=387299"