Dwaling

From Tolkien Gateway
Dwaling
Village
The Lord of the Rings Online - Dwaling.jpg
Dwaling in The Lord of the Rings Online
General Information
LocationEastfarthing, the Shire
TypeVillage
InhabitantsHobbits
GalleryImages 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[edit | edit source]

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]

Portrayal in adaptations[edit | edit source]

2008: The Lord of the Rings Online:

Dwaling is the northernmost settlement of the Shire, located within the in-game Evendim region. It is the first Shire settlement to be overrun by southern ruffians, who have already moved in and began pusing out the Hobbits by October of Third Age 3018.

References