Lórien

lórien

Lórien (from lor-, q.v.), place-name also used as the name of a Vala, properly the place where he dwells, whereas his real name is Irmo (WJ:402, LOS (ÓLOS, SPAN) ). Alternative forms Lorien (with a short o) and Lorion, MR:144.

lórien

proper name. *Dream Lands

The gardens of Irmo in Valinor, often used as the name of that Vala as well (S/28). Its initial element is lórë “dream”. Its final element -ien is seen in the names of other lands, such as Arvernien and Hildórien. This name was also used as the Quenya name for the forest-kingdom of Galadriel, S. Lórien, which appeared in the Quenya subtitle of the Namárië poem: Altariello nainië Lóriendesse “Galadriel’s lament in Lórien” (RGEO/58). This example also indicates that the stem form of this name was Lóriend-.

Conceptual Development: This name dates back to the earliest Lost Tales, but in its earliest manifestation, ᴱQ. Lórien was only the name of the Vala (LT1/66), glossed “King of Dreams” (QL/56). In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, ᴹQ. Lórien was still only the name of the Vala (LR/205) and the name appeared in The Etymologies as a derivative of ᴹ√LOS “dream” (Ety/LOS). His true name Irmo did not emerge until Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s (MR/150), at which point Lórien became the name of his lands.

Element in

• Q. Altariello nainië Lóriendesse “Galadriel’s lament in Lórien” ✧ RGEO/58

Elements

Word	Gloss
lórë	“dream, [ᴹQ.] slumber, *sleep; [Q.] dream”
-ien	“-land”

Variations

• Lorien ✧ MRI/Lórien

Irmo

desirer

Irmo masc. name "Desirer", name of a Vala; normally called Lórien, properly the place where he dwells (WJ:402)

lórien

place name. *Golden Lands

The forest ruled by Galadriel, originally named in Nandorin Lórinand “Valley of Gold(en Light)” (UT/253) but adapted into Sindarin (LotR/1127) in imitation of Q. Lórien (UT/253), the realm of Irmo in Aman.

Possible Etymology: In English, it was often called the “Golden Wood” (LotR/337), so its initial element is likely a variant of the prefixal form glor- of glaur “gold” (without the “g” due to its Nandorin origin), while its final element could be the plural -ien “lands” of the suffix -ian(d), hence: “✱Golden Lands”.

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s, the Gnomish equivalent of ᴱQ. Lórien was G. Luriel >> Lûrien (GL/55) while in The Etymologies from the 1930s, its Noldorin equivalent was N. Lhuien (Ety/LOS). When the forest was first named in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s it was Lórien (TI/234), which Tolkien indicated was a Lemberin name in drafts of the Lord of the Rings appendices (PM/36). The derivation given above was described in Tolkien’s later writings on the history of Galadriel (UT/253).

Changes

• Lorien → Lóriën ✧ MR/201

Derivations

• Nan. Lórinand “Valley of Gold(en Light)” ✧ NM/351; UT/253; UTI/Lórien²
  • ✶Laware-nde ✧ NM/351
  • Nan. Lindórinand “Vale of the Land of Singers” ✧ UT/253; UTI/Lórien²

Element in

• S. Lothlórien “Dreamflower, (lit.) Lórien of the Blossom” ✧ NM/350; SI/Lórien²; UT/253; UTI/Lothlórien

Elements

Word	Gloss
glaur	“gold [light or colour]”
-ian(d)	“-land, country”

Variations

• Lóriën ✧ MR/201
• Lorien ✧ MR/201

luien

lórien

(suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” Lhuien)