Tavrobel

From Tolkien Gateway
Tavrobel
Village
J.R.R. Tolkien - Taurobel.png
Heraldic device by J.R.R. Tolkien
General Information
Other namesTathrobel
LocationTol Eressëa
TypeVillage
DescriptionA place beside the rivers Afros and Gruir which joined at the bridge of Tavrobel
People and History
InhabitantsElves; (also Eriol/Aelfwine)
EventsWanderings of Eriol/Ælfwine
GalleryImages of Tavrobel

Tavrobel or Tathrobel was a village on Tol Eressëa, the home of Pengolodh when he returned to the West, and where Ælfwine saw and translated the Annals.[1]

Etymology

In the Etymologies, the name is envisioned as Noldorin and is reinterpreted to contain the Noldorin words tavr ("woodpecker") and gobel ("encircled village").[1][2]

Other versions of the legendarium

Tavrobel appears in the earliest phases of the legendarium as a town on the western part of Tol Eressëa.[3] The Tower of Tavrobel was beside the rivers Afros and Gruir which joined at the bridge of Tavrobel, Tram Nybol. Nearby the bridge was the Gilfanon's home, the House of the Hundred Chimneys. Around the land, the Gnomes lived as one people.[4][5] It was located a league away from the Heath of the Sky-roof.[6]

In Tolkien's notes, Gilfanon hosted Ottor Wǽfre (Eriol) in his House, where he compiled the Golden Book with the tales he had heard, and then was allowed to drink limpe. Eriol died in Tavrobel. One of his sons, Heorrenda afterwards settled Tavrobel, and it became Great Haywood.[6]

Tavrobel was also considered to be the name of a settlement in Brethil of the Woodmen and Túrin. See: Amon Obel.[1][2]

In the early Gnomish Lexicon, the name is said to mean "wood-home", including the Gnomish words taur, tavros ("forest") from root TAVA; and pel ("village, hamlet, -ham").[7][1]

Inspiration

Tavrobel is identified as Great Haywood, or more specifically Staffordshire village. Tolkien was stationed in a camp near Great Haywood and Edith Tolkien lived there after their marriage. Tolkien was again in Great Haywood in the winter of 1916-7, after his return from France.[8]

G. L. Elkin, the Acting Director of the Shugborough Estate, has further suggested to Christopher Tolkien that Gilfanon's House of Hundred Chimneys may have been based on the Shugborough Hall at the Great Haywood, and likewise the bridge of Tavrobel may have been based on the Essex Bridge that crosses River Trent 100 metres of its confluence with River Sow. The nearby Heath of the Sky-roof, the site of a battle among Men, was perhaps inspired by Hopton Heath, the site of the Battle of Hopton Heath.[1]

Christopher Tolkien notes that as Great Haywood is near the confluence of Sow and Trent, the two Tavrobels are also near the confluence of two rivers: Afros / Gruir (Tol Eressea) and Taiglin / Sirion (Brethil).[1]

See also

References