Archet
| Archet | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 | |
| Map of Archet from The Lord of the Rings Online | |
| General Information | |
| Location | Bree-land, Eriador |
| Type | Town |
| Description | A settlement that lay to the east of Bree |
| Inhabitants | Men and Hobbits |
Archet was the most remote of the settlements of the Bree-land, set among the trees on the northern edge of the Chetwood, somewhat to the east of Bree itself.[1]
History
A few hobbits lived at Archet, but the inhabitants were predominantly Big Folk.
During the latter War of the Ring, there was a fight within Bree in which some Bree-landers were killed. After the fight the robbers took to hiding in the woods beyond Archet. When the hobbits and Gandalf returned to Bree after their journey south, Barliman Butterbur told them the news.[2]
Etymology
Archet is an "English place-name of Celtic origin.[3]
The name Archet has been modelled on a relic of a "British" (i.e. Celtic) name that was chosen for its meaning, because the survival of traces of the older language of the Bree-men resembled the survival of Celtic elements in England. The element chet means "wood".[4][3] [J.R.R. Tolkien]] stated that the name Archet was descended from British *ar(e)cait- and that Welsh argoed means "trees" or "edge of forest".[5]
Mark T. Hooker suggests that the element Ar- is a prefix meaning "nearby", found in several Welsh place-names. The meaning of Archet would thus be "near the woods", which Hooker notes describes its geographic position "on the edge of the Chetwood".[6]
David Salo suggests that Archet means "by the wood" and that it is equivalent to Welsh Argoed.[7]
The real-life Welsh place-name Argoed means "by a wood".
Portrayals in Adaptations
2007: The Lord of the Rings Online:
- Archet is the settlement players start at if they are Hobbits or of the Race of Man. During the Introduction of the Shadows of Angmar it comes under attack by Blackwold brigands who burn many of the homes to the ground. The settlement is commanded by Captain Brackenbrook, a retired sell-sword, but command passes on to his son, Jon Brackenbrook, when his father is killed in the attack.
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "At the Sign of the Prancing Pony", p. 195
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "Homeward Bound"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings" in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, entry Archet, p. 765
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F, "On Translation", p. 1135
- ↑ Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 765 citing from J.R.R. Tolkien, manuscript version of Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings, entry Archet
- ↑ Mark T. Hooker, A Tolkienian Mathomium, p. 8
- ↑ David Salo, "Hobbitish Place-names" dated 23 November 1998, Elfling (accessed 22 September 2022)
