Gulls
- "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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Jewels, "Part Four. Quendi and Eldar", pp. 379, 418 (note 8)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, "III. The Fall of Gondolin"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "Aldarion and Erendis: The Mariner's Wife"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Last Debate"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies" (Root MIW)
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies — Part One" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter and Patrick H. Wynne), in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 45, November 2003, p. 24
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, "Part Two: Valinor and Middle-earth before The Lord of the Rings, VI. Quenta Silmarillion", p. 215
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Christina Scull, Wayne G. Hammond (eds.), Roverandom, "[Chapter] 2"
