White deer: Difference between revisions

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[[Image:Deer.jpg|thumb|''Tales of the Hunt'' by Pascal Yung]]
[[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 '''hind''' and fawns as snowy white as the hart had been dark.|[[Flies and Spiders]], [[The Hobbit]]}}</center>
<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>{{HM|H}}</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==
==Other writings==
Line 18: Line 18:
'''1982-97: ''[[Middle-earth Role Playing]]'':'''
'''1982-97: ''[[Middle-earth Role Playing]]'':'''
: The White Hart is the largest breed of deer found in northwestern Middle-earth (rumoured to have [[Fairies|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'').<ref>{{ICE|2012}}</ref><ref>{{ICE|2023}} (linguistic contributions by [[David Salo]] and [[Arden R. Smith]])</ref>
: The White Hart is the largest breed of deer found in northwestern Middle-earth (rumoured to have [[Fairies|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'').<ref>{{ICE|2012}}</ref><ref>{{ICE|2023}} (linguistic contributions by [[David Salo]] and [[Arden R. Smith]])</ref>
'''2013: ''[[The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug]]'':'''
: The Extended Edition includes a scene in which a white deer appears as the dwarves try to cross the river in Mirkwood. [[Thorin Oakenshield|Thorin]] tries to shoot it down with an arrow but he misses. The deer later flees.


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 08:00, 21 January 2015

Tales of the Hunt by Pascal Yung
"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]

2013: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug:

The Extended Edition includes a scene in which a white deer appears as the dwarves try to cross the river in Mirkwood. Thorin tries to shoot it down with an arrow but he misses. The deer later flees.

See also

References

  1. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "Flies and Spiders"
  2. Lars Noodén, "Animal Symbolism in Celtic Mythology" (paper for Religion 375 at the University of Michigan, 22 November 1992; accessed 12 March 2011)
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien; Douglas A. Anderson, (ed.), (2002) The Annotated Hobbit: Revised and Expanded Edition, pp. 200-1
  4. Ruth Sochard Pitt, Jeff O'Hare, Peter C. Fenlon, Jr. (1994), Creatures of Middle-earth (2nd edition) (#2012)
  5. Wesley J. Frank, et al. (1997), Arnor: The Land (#2023) (linguistic contributions by David Salo and Arden R. Smith)