Cows

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"Back to pasture, back to mead,
Where the kine and oxen feed!
"
Barrels Out of Bond[1]

Cows, also known by the archaic plural Kine and occasionally as Oxen, were pasture animals in Middle-earth.

History

Cows were domesticated for farm use in most of Middle-earth. They produced milk, which was used as a beverage in Gondor,[2] and the Shire.[3] Being generally stronger than horses, cows also pulled the heavier wagons and wains in Middle-earth.[4]

Yet still, there were undomesticated oxen. The wild-oxen of the East were, according to legend, descended from the Kine of Araw, the herd of Oromë.[5] Vorondil the Hunter hunted them in the far fields of Rhûn, and of their horns he made the great Horn of Gondor, which served as an heirloom to the House of Stewards until its destruction.[4]

Inspiration

Cows are a major source of food even in todays world. Their use as farm animals seems little more than logical. J.R.R. Tolkien spent most of his life in Oxford, and cows would also play a role in other stories, such as Farmer Giles of Ham, where the Giant steps on Farmer Giles' favourite cow, Galathea.[6]

Etymology

An "elvish" word for "bull" is mundo.[7] This is likely related to the Root MBUD, which lists among its derivatives a Quenya word mundo meaning "snout, nose, cape".[8]

Portrayal in adaptations

2001: Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring:

A cow can be seen being milked by a Hobbit.[9]

References