Menel was a general term for both the sky and the heavens above Arda. The term was devised by Quennar to mean the "firmament" and "heavens".[1]
Tar-menel was the highest region of Menel,[2][3] being the dwelling place of the stars.[4]
Mentions
Menelrond, the throneroom of Thingol, was named after Nur-menel,[5] both of which contain the word Menel.[6]
During Húrin's imprisonment by Morgoth in the First Age, he defied the Dark Lord by saying that he was and never would be the Lord of Men even if the whole of "Arda and Menel" were to fall to him.[7]
In the Second Age, Númenórean mariner Aldarion and his wife Erendis once looked up and observed the "blue Menel" above them,[8] implying that Menel can refer to the common sky.
In the late Third Age recovering in Rivendell, Frodo Baggins overheard Elves singing, "A Elbereth Gilthoniel o menel aglar elenath".[9] Once while Samwise Gamgee was alone, he uttered in Elvish a saying he did not understand, which mentioned Menel: "o menel palan-diriel".[10]
References
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon XXI, "Qenya Noun Structure", pg. 84
- ↑ A Tolkien Compass, "Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings"
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon XVII, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", pgs. 19, 22
- ↑ Unfinished Tales, Index
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Morgoth's Ring, pg. 388
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, The Peoples of Middle-earth, Chapter XII: "The Problem of Ros", p. 371
- ↑ Unfinished Tales, Narn i Chîn Húrin
- ↑ Unfinished Tales, "Aldarion and Erendis: The Mariner's Wife"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, "Many Meetings"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Book Four, "The Choices of Master Samwise"