Déor (father of Ælfwine)

From Tolkien Gateway
This article is about the father of Ælfwine. For the seventh King of Rohan, see Déor.
Déor
Anglo-Saxon
Biographical Information
PositionMinstrel
LocationLionesse
Kortirion
LanguageOld English
Family
SpouseÉadgifu
ChildrenÆlfwine
Physical Description
GenderMale

Déor was an English minstrel,[1] and the father of Ælfwine, according to the early version of the legendarium in the text called Ælfwine of England from The Book of Lost Tales.[2]

History[edit | edit source]

Déor came from somewhere in the south of Lúthien, though he also spent some time in Lionesse where he met his wife, whom he called Éadgifu.

Later, he moved to the city of Kortirion[note 1][3], ruled by the Prince of Gwar called Óswine, for he wished to be close to the Elves, who still lived around the city since Óswine was friendly to them. There, Éadgifu gave birth to their son Ælfwine, who inherited her mother's unquenchable longing for the sea.[2]

However, while Ælfwine was still a boy, a fierce people called the Forodwaith (i.e. Vikings) attacked Kortirion and laid siege to it, during which Déor died leading a "desperate sally" before the walls,[2] slain by Orm the sea-captain of the Forodwaith.[4]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

The name Déor is in Old English, meaning "brave, bold".[5]

In one occurrence, the character was called Heorrenda before being changed back to Déor.[6]

Genealogy[edit | edit source]

DÉOR
 
Éadgifu
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ælfwine
 
 

Inspiration[edit | edit source]

The character of Déor was probably inspired by the Old English poem Déor, which also features a minstrel as the eponymous main character. However, according to Christopher Tolkien, the only link between the two characters is their name.[1]

See also[edit | edit source]

Notes

  1. Kortirion was the Elvish name of the town of Warwick.

References