Talk:Gandalf/Names

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Latest comment: 26 January by LorenzoCB

Is this article really necessary? I think it is useful, but needs a lot of work and the same idea should be applied to other characters with many names, like Túrin, Sauron and Morgoth. --LorenzoCB 12:32, 25 December 2020 (UTC)Reply[reply]

It seems like it could be effectively compiled in the names section within the Gandalf article, in the same format as is being used for the Sauron names section. Otherwise, we might have to get into the mess of how many names are enough to warrant an individual page, and how the pages should be organized.--Grace18 18:00, 25 December 2020 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Yes, I do think it is better for it being in the same article, though I do understand the intention of this kind of page, to give some room to develop descriptions and explanations. This method is probably move effective to write about the history and etymology of each name (when pertinent) rather than having the standard Etymology and Names headings. Some issues I have looking at Sauron's name section is that it giving the etymology of Gorthaur in the Names section but there is Etymology section already so shouldn't it belong there or is it only reserved for the name Sauron? Gaetano 10:37, 26 December 2020 (UTC)Reply[reply]
As I propose in Forums:Names in separated pages, the "Etymology" section is for the main name of the article. The "Other names" section is for other names, and an etymology of them can be included there as well as an explanation of their origin. This avoids that the "Etymology" section becomes a hotchpotch like many articles still have. --LorenzoCB 15:09, 26 December 2020 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Article moved into section and now to be deleted. Thanks to JR Snow for taking the initative. LorenzoCB (talk) 12:38, 26 January 2024 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Gandalf's Westron name[edit source]

In the article it is speculated, that Gandalf's name in Westron begins with a G-. This is not necessarily the case. In the quoted sentence there is a Tengwar G and a rune. The rune is number 19 in the chart of the Angerthas given in Appendix E. There it has the value "g". This is the value, the Dwarves have given this rune. But the value given to this rune in Gondolin was "Dh" (cf. PE XV, p. 111). This could be "Tharkun". Or even easier: On the map of Thror - as given in the "Hobbit" - Tolkien was simply using the historical values of the runes and the language was English. As he is explaining in Appendix F II, he is using English for Westron names. So this rune just gives the first letter of Gandalf's English name. That "Gandalf" is a substitution is explicitly stated in UT p. 399 and it means "Staff-elf". That Tolkien was using English as a substitution for the Common Speech, even when written in runes, is further confirmed in the Book of Mazarbul, cf. HoME vol. 12, p. 298. So any guess from this rune about Gandalf's Westron name is in vain. Ptolemaios (talk) 07:00, 18 January 2024 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Agree. Any case, this whole article needs revision, or even to be deleted. --LorenzoCB (talk) 08:26, 18 January 2024 (UTC)Reply[reply]