Hawks

From Tolkien Gateway

Hawks were the swiftest birds of prey, smaller than Eagles, but just as sharp-eyed.

History[edit | edit source]

Spirits in the shapes of hawks and eagles were the servants of Manwë Súlimo, continually flying over Middle-earth to gather information for their master.[1] Above many flocks of crebain, Aragorn noticed hawks, flying high in the sky, during the War of the Ring.[2]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

Christopher Tolkien noted that one of two possible readings for the unintelligible entry PHI in The Etymologies could be "hawk" (the other being "haste").[3] Carl F. Hostetter and Patrick H. Wynne argue that "hawk" is the more likely reading, especially given the onomatopoeic suitability of the form of the base to the cry of a hawk, and the possible relation to the root PHILIK, "small bird".[4] The Quenya word for "hawk" would then be fion, plural fiondi.[3]

In a linguistic manuscript dating from the 1930s, appears the Qenya gloss haro ("hawk").[5]

External links[edit | edit source]

References