Hawks were the swiftest birds of prey,[1] smaller than Eagles, but just as sharp-eyed.
History
Spirits in the shapes of hawks and eagles were the servants of Manwë Súlimo, continually flying over Middle-earth to gather information for their master.[2] During the War of the Ring, Aragorn noticed hawks flying high in the sky above many flocks of crebain.[3]
Etymology
Christopher Tolkien noted that one of two possible readings for the unintelligible entry PHI in The Etymologies could be "hawk" (the other being "haste").[4] Carl F. Hostetter and Patrick H. Wynne argue that "hawk" is the more likely reading, especially given the onomatopoeic suitability of the form of the base to the cry of a hawk, and the possible relation to the root PHILIK, "small bird".[5] The Quenya word for "hawk" would then be fion, plural fiondi.[4]
In a linguistic manuscript dating from the 1930s, appears the Qenya gloss haro ("hawk").[6]
External links
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Treebeard"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Beginning of Days"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Ring Goes South"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies", Root PHI
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies — Part Two" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter and Patrick H. Wynne), in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 46, July 2004, p. 9
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Qenya Noun Structure", in Parma Eldalamberon XXI (edited by Christopher Gilson, Patrick H. Wynne and Arden R. Smith), p. 8