Morwen Steelsheen
Morwen | |
---|---|
Gondorian | |
Biographical Information | |
Other names | Morwen of Lossarnach |
Location | Lossarnach (Gondor) Rohan |
Birth | T.A. 2922[1] |
Death | Unknown (aged 41+) |
Family | |
Parentage | Unnamed father (descended from some previous Prince of Dol Amroth or one of his ancestors)[2] |
Spouse | Thengel |
Children | Théoden Théodwyn Three unnamed daughters |
Physical Description | |
Gender | Female |
Height | Tall |
Hair color | Dark |
Morwen Steelsheen was the queen to King Thengel of Rohan, and the mother of his renowned heir Théoden.[1]
History
Although Morwen dwelt in Lossarnach, she did not belong to the people of that land. In fact, her father was originally from Belfalas but had removed there for its flowering vales; he was a descendant of a former Prince of Dol Amroth and thus a kinsman of Prince Imrahil.[2]
In T.A. 2943, she was married to Thengel of Rohan in Gondor, though she was seventeen years younger than him. She bore him three children in Gondor, of whom Théoden, the second, was her only son. When his father Fengel died, Thengel inherited the Kingship of Rohan, and travelled with Morwen back to his own land. Morwen bore him two more daughters in Rohan; and the last, Théodwyn, was the fairest: she would become the mother of Éomer and Éowyn.[1]
Description
The epithet Steelsheen was given to her by the Rohirrim due to the grace and pride that she brought from Gondor.[1]
Being one of the Dúnedain of the South, and due to her high Númenórean heritage, her descendants were said to be considerably taller than most of the Rohirrim, especially Éomer, and some also inherited her dark hair.[2]
Morwen's granddaughter Éowyn was also slender and tall, and she too inherited the graceful and proud bearing of Gondor from her.[1]
Etymology
Morwen is the name of a famous member of the House of Bëor in the First Age. It translates from Sindarin as "Dark Maiden", from the root MOR- ("black, dark, darkness") + the female suffix -wen ("maiden").[3]
"Steelsheen" is presumably intended as a modernization of Old English stýle "steel" + scíene "beautiful."[source?]
Genealogy
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The House of Eorl", "The Kings of the Mark", pp. 1069-70
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields", "Appendix: Númenórean Linear Measures", p. 286
- ↑ Paul Strack, "S. Morwen f.", Eldamo - An Elvish Lexicon (accessed 8 August 2023)