...It is a long tale...
 | |
| Region/bay | |
| Cuiviénen | |
|---|---|
| General Information | |
| Pronunciation | koo-i-vee-eeh-nen |
| Other names | Nen Echui (S) |
| Location | The distant East of Middle-earth, on the eastern shores of the Sea of Helcar |
| Type | Region/bay |
| People and History | |
| Inhabitants | Elves |
| Events | Awakening of the Elves |
| Gallery | Images of Cuiviénen |
In Cuiviénen sweet ran the waters under unclouded stars...
Cuiviénen was a land on the shores of the inland Sea of Helcar in the far east of Middle-earth where the first Elves awoke.[1]
History
Ilúvatar awoke the first Elves, the Quendi as they came to call themselves, by Cuiviénen in 1050th Year of the Trees,[2][3] and thus the First Age at last began.[4][5] From the first they were divided into three groups: the Minyar, Tatyar, and Nelyar. They dwelt in Cuiviénen for more than fifty Valian Years before the first sundering. Many of the Elves, particularly of the Minyar and Tatyar, journeyed west to Valinor and, if they did not tarry in Middle-earth, saw its light and became known as the Eldar. Those who remained were called the Avari, the unwilling, for they did not desire to see the beauty of that land, but preferred the starlight of Cuiviénen. After the War of Wrath and the Changing of the World, Cuiviénen was destroyed and could no longer be sought out by the Eldar.[1]
Geography
Cuiviénen lay on the shores of a bay on the inland Sea of Helcar's eastern end, at the foot of Orocarni near the Wild Wood. Located in the central regions of Middle-earth, Cuiviénen was far to the west of where the first Men later awoke in Hildórien.[6] It was approximately 2,000 miles east of Beleriand's shoreline with Belegaer at Eglarest, as the crow flies, and it was about a 450 mile march east or southeast of the inland Sea of Rhûn.[7] On the east side of the lake near which the Elves woke was a great cliff from which a waterfall came down. Near the lake was a green valley, a second larger valley, a third deeper and wider valley, a grove of birches by a stream and a firwood on a hill-side.[8]
Etymology
The Quenya name Cuiviénen means "Water of Awakening",[9] from cuivië ("awakening") + nen ("water").[10]
The Noldorin/Sindarin cognate was Nen Echui.[11][12]
Other versions of the legendarium
In the early version of the legendarium in The Book of Lost Tales, the "Waters of Awakening" were named Koivië-Néni in Qenya, and Nenin a Gwivros in Gnomish.[13]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Morgoth's Ring, "Part Two. The Annals of Aman: First section of the Annals of Aman", entry 1050, §§ 36-9, pp. 71-2
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Jewels, "Part One. The Grey Annals", entry "VY 1050", §3, p. 5
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Morgoth's Ring, "Part Two. The Annals of Aman: First section of the Annals of Aman", §10, p. 51
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Carl F. Hostetter (ed.), The Nature of Middle-earth, "Part One. Time and Ageing: XVII. Generational Schemes", p. 123
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Carl F. Hostetter (ed.), The Nature of Middle-earth, "Part One. Time and Ageing: VI. The Awaking of the Quendi", p. 38
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Carl F. Hostetter (ed.), The Nature of Middle-earth, "Part One. Time and Ageing: VII. The March of the Quendi", pp. 47, 49
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Jewels, "Part Four. Quendi and Eldar: Appendix: The legend of the Awaking of the Quendi (Cuivienyarna)", pp. 422-3
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Index of Names", entry "Cuiviénen"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin Names", entries cuivië, nen
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, "Appendix: II. The List of Names", p. 406
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies", entry "KUY-"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, Appendix: Names in the Lost Tales – Part I, entry "Koivië-néni"