Cuiviénen
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Cuiviénen | |
---|---|
Bay | |
"At Lake Cuiviénen" by Ted Nasmith | |
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 | Bay |
People and History | |
Inhabitants | Elves |
Events | Awakening of the Elves |
Gallery | Images of Cuiviénen |
- "In Cuiviénen sweet ran the waters under unclouded stars..."
- ― Fëanor in Quenta Silmarillion, "Of the Flight of the Noldor"
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 in Cuiviénen in approximately 1050 of the Years of the Trees. 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.
Geography
Cuiviénen was on the shores of a bay of the Sea of Helcar's eastern end. It lay at the foot of Orocarni near the Wild Wood. Cuiviénen was approximately 2,000 miles east of Beleriand's shoreline with Belegaer, as the crow flies, and it was about a 450 mile march east or southeast of the inland Sea of Rhûn.[2]
Etymology
The Quenya name Cuiviénen means "Water of Awakening", from cuivië ("awakening") + nen ("water").[3]
The Noldorin/Sindarin cognate was Nen Echui.[4][5]
See also
References
- ↑ 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, 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 Silmarillion, "Index of Names"
- ↑ 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-"