White deer: Difference between revisions
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[[ | [[File:Pascal Yung - Deer.jpg|thumb|''Tales of the Hunt'' by Pascal Yung]] | ||
<center>{{quote|Suddenly on the path ahead appeared some white deer, a | <center>{{quote|Suddenly on the path ahead appeared some white deer, a hind and fawns as snowy white as the hart had been dark.|[[Flies and Spiders]], [[The Hobbit]]}}</center> | ||
'''White deer''' were a type of [[Deer|deer]] found in the forest of [[Mirkwood]]. Along with two fawns, such a hind surprised [[Bilbo Baggins|Bilbo]] and the [[Dwarves]] on the [[Quest of Erebor]] when they first entered [[Mirkwood]] forest.<ref>{{ | '''White deer''' were a type of [[Deer|deer]] found in the forest of [[Mirkwood]]. Along with two fawns, such a hind surprised [[Bilbo Baggins|Bilbo]] and the [[Dwarves]] on the [[Quest of Erebor]] when they first entered [[Mirkwood]] forest.<ref>{{H|8}}</ref> | ||
==Other writings== | |||
An encounter with a white doe occurs in "[[The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun]]", preceding Autrou's meeting with a witch. | |||
==Inspiration== | ==Inspiration== | ||
Magical animals of white colour were common in Celtic and Welsh mythology. The legends of King Arthur include a story about the pursuit of a large, white deer, leading to the arrival at the magical Sir Pellinore's well.<ref>Lars Noodén, "[http://www-personal.umich.edu/~lars/rel375.html Animal Symbolism in Celtic Mythology]" (paper for Religion 375 at the University of Michigan, 22 November 1992; accessed 12 March 2011)</ref> | Magical animals of white colour were common in Celtic and Welsh mythology. The legends of King Arthur include a story about the pursuit of a large, white deer, leading to the arrival at the magical Sir Pellinore's well.<ref>Lars Noodén, "[http://www-personal.umich.edu/~lars/rel375.html Animal Symbolism in Celtic Mythology]" (paper for Religion 375 at the University of Michigan, 22 November 1992; accessed 12 March 2011)</ref> | ||
[[Douglas A. Anderson]] has noted that the appearance of white deer in ''The Hobbit'' forebodes the approach by Bilbo and company to the [[Elves of Mirkwood|Wood-elven]] area of Mirkwood, as "''[i]n Celtic tradition, encounters with white animals (especially white deer) usually prefigure an encounter with beings from the Otherworld ([[Fairies|Faërie]])''".<ref>{{HM|AH}}, pp. 200-1</ref> | |||
==Portrayal in adaptations== | ==Portrayal in adaptations== |
Revision as of 15:08, 10 July 2012
- "Suddenly on the path ahead appeared some white deer, a hind and fawns as snowy white as the hart had been dark."
- ― Flies and Spiders, The Hobbit
White deer were a type of deer found in the forest of Mirkwood. Along with two fawns, such a hind surprised Bilbo and the Dwarves on the Quest of Erebor when they first entered Mirkwood forest.[1]
Other writings
An encounter with a white doe occurs in "The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun", preceding Autrou's meeting with a witch.
Inspiration
Magical animals of white colour were common in Celtic and Welsh mythology. The legends of King Arthur include a story about the pursuit of a large, white deer, leading to the arrival at the magical Sir Pellinore's well.[2]
Douglas A. Anderson has noted that the appearance of white deer in The Hobbit forebodes the approach by Bilbo and company to the Wood-elven area of Mirkwood, as "[i]n Celtic tradition, encounters with white animals (especially white deer) usually prefigure an encounter with beings from the Otherworld (Faërie)".[3]
Portrayal in adaptations
1982-97: Middle-earth Role Playing:
- The White Hart is the largest breed of deer found in northwestern Middle-earth (rumoured to have Faerie blood). The suggested Sindarin name of this type of deer was Nimfiara in the early publications from MERP, later revised to Nimmerais (sing. Nimmaras).[4][5]
See also
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "Flies and Spiders"
- ↑ Lars Noodén, "Animal Symbolism in Celtic Mythology" (paper for Religion 375 at the University of Michigan, 22 November 1992; accessed 12 March 2011)
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Douglas A. Anderson, (ed.), (2002) The Annotated Hobbit: Revised and Expanded Edition, pp. 200-1
- ↑ Ruth Sochard Pitt, Jeff O'Hare, Peter C. Fenlon, Jr. (1994), Creatures of Middle-earth (2nd edition) (#2012)
- ↑ Wesley J. Frank, et al. (1997), Arnor: The Land (#2023) (linguistic contributions by David Salo and Arden R. Smith)