I found a handy-dandy explanation of the elves' multiple names thing that had us all (okay maybe just me) in a tizzy.
Basically, the (Noldor) elves have a "Sindarized" name which Tolkien mostly uses. Then they have father-names, mother-names, and a chosen name that happens when they're older.
So Maedhros is the Sindarized name, Nelyafinwe is his father-name, Maitmo is his mother-name, and Russandol is his chosen name.
Also, the twins (Amrod and Amras) have the same mother-name and just run around calling each other "Ambarussa." I think that's adorable.
3 comments:
Wow, I never knew that Elvish naming customs were that complex. Now I’m curious . . . are there any passages in Tolkien’s published stories (so not the History of Middle Earth) where some of these customs are directly mentioned?
I don't know! The thing is it may not be relevant to LOTR or TH because there are few Elves talking to Elves, and I think zero Noldorin Elves speaking to Noldorin Elves? That would be the situation where these other non-Sindarin names would come up, I would think.
That’s interesting. It sounds like Tolkien enjoyed coming up with customs for his characters even if some of those customs never made it (at least, noticeably) into a novel. I suppose that is one of the downsides about writing backstory and/or world-building –sometimes an author comes up with a fresh idea for a story’s world, but the readers don’t get the chance to see that idea directly.
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