Fenmarch
The Fenmarch[1][2] was a marshy border-land along the Mering Stream[3] in the east of Rohan. It stretched from the Firien Wood to the confluence of the Mering Sream with the river Entwash, and was therefore located along a part of Rohan's eastern border with Gondor.[4]
Etymology[edit]
Fenmarch is a name in the language of Rohan.[3] The first element fen means "marsh",[3] probably a reference to the marshlands along the Mering Stream. The second element march is an old word for "borderland",[3] probably a reference to the border with Anórien. It has the same meaning as the element mark in Riddermark, a "borderland", especially one that serves as a defence of the inner lands of a realm[5].
Other versions of the legendarium[edit]
J.R.R. Tolkien wrote in his Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings, which he had nearly completed by 2 January 1967 after the publication of the second edition of The Lord of the Rings in October 1965, that the Fenmarch should have been called the Fenmark, but that he had retained the name Fenmarch, because the name Fenmarch had been used in the text of The Lord of the Rings and in the Map of Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor. He wrote that the name Fenmark should not be translated in translations of The Lord of the Rings into other languages.[3]
J.R.R. Tolkien already used the name Fenmarch in his manuscripts of what would later become the chapter The Muster of Rohan[6] and on his draft map of Rohan, Gondor and Mordor[7].
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Muster of Rohan", pp. 803-804
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Unfinished index for The Lord of the Rings", in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, entry Snowbourn, p. 538
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 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 Fenmarch, p. 770
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "Map of Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "Cirion and Eorl and the Friendship of Gondor and Rohan", "(iii) Cirion and Eorl", p. 306
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Ring, "Part Three: Minas Tirith", "VII. The Ride of the Rohirrim", text D, p. 349 and Note 9 to text E, p. 356
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "J.R.R. Tolkien's manuscript map of Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor", bibloklept.org (accessed 7 January 2023)
