Dwaling
From Tolkien Gateway
Dwaling | |
---|---|
Village | |
General Information | |
Location | Eastfarthing, the Shire |
Type | Village |
Inhabitants | Hobbits |
Gallery | Images of Dwaling |
Dwaling was a village in the far Northern parts of the Eastfarthing of the Shire, just north of the hills of Scary.[1]
Etymology
Dwaling seems to be a dialectal form of dwelling.
In a note to translators, Tolkien said, but without making clear if it was his intended meaning, that Dwaling "should be" a regular toponymic formation of a settlement's name, "the descendants of Dwale". Dwale would be a nick-name of one particular Hobbit, and the name was derived from Old English dwale, "dull".[2]
It is notable that dull and dwale (Gothic: dwals "fool") are cognates of Tol- in Tolkien (German: tollkühn, "foolhardy").[3] Tolkien himself has translated his own name into Gothic as Dwalakōneis.[2][4]
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "A Part of the Shire" map
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Undated note part of Nomenclature, cited in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. lviii
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 165, (undated, written June 1955), p. 218
- ↑ Mark T. Hooker, A Tolkienian Mathomium, pp. 49-52