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Quenya colors

I’ll do Sindarin colors on another post and I’ll make a separate one as well for gold and silver as there’s so many!

1. Carnë meaning red ❤️❤️

See also runya meaning fiery red and úcarnë meaning not red which I love that Tolkien made a word for. There’s also mirucarnë meaning wine red

2. Culuma meaning orange 🧡🧡

Note: there’s actually only early Quenya words for orange so I took the older words and used the changes made to later Quenyan grammatical and spelling conventions

3. Malina meaning yellow 💛💛

4. Laica meaning green 💚💚

See also lairus meaning verdigris and sinë meaning pale blueish green

5. Luinë meaning blue 💙💙

Note: there’s actually so many words for blue especially in earlier Quenya forms, I’m actually going to make a separate post for them!

6. Purple is complicated. 💜💜

There’s no word for purple in Quenya besides helinwa in early Quenya which means pansy colored and is noted to mean blue purple colored. There’s also an archaic Sindarin word, caralluin, which can be written in Quenya as carnëluinë

7. Sinda meaning grey 🩶🩶

See also mísë meaning light grey and sindë meaning light, pale or silvery grey

8. Morna meaning black 🖤🖤

Note: this word was also noted to mean dark or specifically dark of hair

9. Fána meaning white 🤍🤍

Note: ninquë was also used to mean white especially when associated with snow

10. Varnë meaning brown or russet 🤎🤎

See also: quilë meaning hue or color generally (another word I’ve translated into later Quenya from earlier Quenya), kanwa meaning lurid

There’s also ninqueru which is the male personified form of white which honestly should also have its own post.

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updated thoughts on this also I made some very silly spelling mistakes on the original so! I got an ask about food or cooking related headcanons for Morwen or Aerin, I originally responded with the two together but I decided to post them separately because I have so many thoughts about this. My response to the ask with some Morwen thoughts is here!

I have several related posts including this one

Follow up I’m actually quite proud of

Warning for discussion of canon abuse

I have so many thoughts on Aerin and food actually, especially as some of the only canon details involve food; she risks her life to save Morwen from starvation, she holds onto some of her own culture by feeding the poor and other Hadorian slaves (I have a bost about this here but I really want to write more on it), In both the Narn and in the earlier Book of Lost Tales, her confrontation with Túrin happens at meals, there’s a chilling paragraph in BoLT about her hatred of Brodda’s feasts, etc

here I have one specific headcanon and one more general one

-I headcanon there is a tradition of beekeeping for both honey and wax though animal fat is also used for the latter. Aerin’s favorite food is clover honey and bread and she used to love watching the women who tended to the bees, begging them to teach her how. Aerin as a child never learned fully but they did tell her important facts of the trade. Post Nírnaeth the hives kept by the Hadorians mostly went neglected. Years later, Aerin tries once or twice to revive and then to release them, taking none of the precautions she was taught, receiving several stings upon bruised arms.

Note: @eilinelsghost made me absolutely gorgeous art of Morwen with a jar of honey that Aerin brought her

-Meals are some of the worst times of her captivity. During her childhood her family traveled with their horses and meals were often fairly chaotic, rations being padded around, children running between families. She remembers the grass beneath her feet and her mother making batches and batches of salted bread that could last weeks.

(Note: I headcanon that sections of the Hadorians are semi nomadic and travel with their horses along grazing routes. Aerin’s family was among those who traveled with them until she was about sixteen. She would usually spend a quarter to half the year traveling)

The loss of these aspects of her life and culture, the foods they would make for long travel, the songs they would sing at night, the ability to just sit with her horse in a meadow on a quiet afternoon…these grieve her as much as any part of her ordeal

She sits beside Brodda at meals, enduring the jeering of his men and the silence of her kin. She no longer protests or pleads when they are beaten in front of her. Perhaps if Brodda is preoccupied with another matter, she can help tend to them herself.

It is at these meals that the cruelty of her position sometimes feels the most acute, how she is both among her oppressed kin while also isolated from them through no choice of her own, how many steps she can take to aid them might mean submitting to the position that she has been forced into

It’s something I’ve tried to articulate over and over again (namely here and here) but I probably won’t ever be able to do so properly

Anyways I love Aerin so much and have so many thoughts about her and thank you to everyone for your patience with my rambling

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Flora of The Children of Húrin, another entry into my Tolkien plant boards tag!

These primarily involve Túrin with a lot around Amon Rûdh which has some of the most detailed descriptions of flora!

as always please feel free to request things!

x x x  x x x  x x x 

common birch grew around Amon Rûdh and of course throughout Brethil and Doriath with Brethil meaning silver birch

Lalaith’s hair is likened to yellow lilies (lilium rhodopaeum shown),

Beleg and Gwindor bring the unconscious Túrin to a thicket of thorny trees understood to be hawthorns after rescuing him from his captors. hawthorns also appear in the scene where Forweg is killed along with hazel

English stonecrop doesn't itself appear in the book but it is the closest reference to the flower seregon I can get as it's also a reddish color from the family the flower is based on

pine trees are mentioned briefly when Beleg searched for Túrin in Dorthonion (now tar nu fuin) 

rowan or mountain ash, hazel and alder trees also appears near Amon Rûdh

Mîm gives the group of outlaws a yam like root. 

in a thicket of holly (ilex aquafolium), Túrin and his outlaws hide when they first see the dwarf Mîm

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Wild Vegetables of Beleriand: Leaves

Nut trees of Beleriand Edible berries of Beleriand more on my ecology masterlist and beleriand tag

There are hundreds of species of plants, both herbacious and woody that have leaves edible to elves and humans in Beleriand. For this list I'm primarily focusing on species that are also edible to humans because, as I've talked about on my poisonous plant posts, toxicity risks differ between elves and humans. These are all wild grown species however many are cultivated in their natural habitat or grown in gardens and other agricultural settings as well.

Bog Myrtle, also known as sweet willow grows in Dorthonion around Tarn Aeulin. It's leaves are edible and, due to their sweetly resinous scent, are also used as a natural repellent to biting insects by the Bëorians who in turn learned these from the Avarin elves. The leaves can be eaten raw but are more commonly used in tea.

Salt spearbrush grows in arid conditions in Himald and north of Beleriand as well as various locations east of the Ered Luin. The Noldorin hosts of Himlad use it as salads and garnishes, often alongside pheasants and other game bird, especially when wild spinach is scare in the drier areas in the northern and eastern edges.

Glasswort grows in coastal Beleriand in saltmarshes and often as a result has a salty taste. It's gathered by the Falathrim and used in broths to flavor it. It also appears in Falathrim poetry, espeially written after the destruction of the Havens of Falas. Sea beet grows on the western coast of Beleriand where its leaves are eaten with fish.

Sow thistle is another one of the most common leafy vegetable in eastern Beleriand. It's gathered by the green elves

Dandelion leaves are one of the most common leaf vegetables in western Beleriand, harvested commonly by both Noldorin and Silvan elves who occasionally eat them but also use them to feed sheep and other animals.

Tansy is used in Hithlum, specifially Dor-lómin as a yellow dye, as part of the beekeeping process as a smoker, and in juices and salads, often served with sheeps milk cheese.

In Doriath, Brethil and Nargothrond, brooklime, common verbana, stinging nettles and various species of trillium are all used as teas

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Once more taking requests for environmental posts tomorrow! Otherwise will probably do another spring flower game entry!

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Elven word of the day, 331/?

Sarofarn from early Sindarin

Meaning “seashore” 🐚☀️

From two older Sindarin words, saros meaning surf or sea and farn meaning boundary

Note: saros here is not related to Saeros, which is a Nandorin name, related to earlier Silvan languages

Falas is the most common Sindarin word for shore or beach however in earlier Sindarin it referred more literally to the literal line between the land and ocean, with its first translation being “sea marge, sea margin”

Note: I personally love the sound of Sarofarn

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I really hope this is going to make sense but I’ve just been thinking about my previous post about how Morgoth spreads fear sometimes through rumor and sewing mistrust and it led me to thinking about the rumors sewn among the Noldor prior to Fëanor confronting Fingolfin

…Of the many catastrophic mistakes and misdeeds by the Noldor in The Silmarillion, they spiraled from such a small place and in such a human way.

Here, I’m specifically thinking of the elves outside Fëanor’s circles who spread Melkor’s lies during the years of the trees, often doing so for innocuous or non malicious reasons

The description in The Silmarillion is quite vivid

"Nothing of his malice could yet be seen in the semblance that he wore". The chapter details how slow the process was, and the number of people who were required for this scheme to work. For while we’re told that Melkor had no trouble finding someone somewhere who might spread such tales for whatever reason, it was much time before the stories and rumors reached their intended targets and began to cause the intended consequences

It’s just so human, what happened to the Noldor here. They heard stories and they shared them. Perhaps some didn’t even believe the rumors but found them amusing or curious and the friend or cousin or fellow artisan they shared it with perhaps put more stock into them. And they spread and spread.

I’ve seen several posts talking about Celebrimbor choosing to trust in part because it was his father and grandfather and people’s mistrust and discourse that brought so much strife, and the tragedy of that, and I’m thinking of the betrayal of trust here, of trust in friends but also simply towards the words they speak. That wariness must never truly leave

That’s not at all to say no one acted maliciously of course or to mitigate the very real dangers of rumors and misinformation, I’m more just thinking about how completely unprepared the Eldar were to grapple with this scheme and how quickly it spirals

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Heyy I drew you Morwen after I stumbled over your post where Aerin brings food for Morwen 🥺

I'm still feeling her out and it's in my sketchbook but I wanted you to know I always like to see your post ❤️

So a little gift from me

I added a burn scar and some little braids because of your hc ~

Oh my gosh this is so kind and makes me so happy! The colors are really really cool and I’m so happy you used my hcs about her scar and braids it really means a lot to me. Your art is so beautiful and I love seeing it

I’m also really happy you liked my post about morwen and Aerin! (I think the linked one is the one you meant but as you’ve probably noticed I talk about that subject quite a lot, all the more reason your art is so important to me!)

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Elven word of the day, 330/?

Mirmilë from older Quenya

Meaning “ripple of laughter”

Mirmila means rippling

Lala- is the verbal form of laugh in both later Quenya and Sindarin

Source: Quenya Lexicon

Personal note: I just thought it was such a lovely word

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Elves and synesthesia thoughts part one (updated)

I mentioned this in my list of speculative biology ideas for elves here!

Synesthesia is a neurological phenomena where two or more senses are combined causing an overlap in sensory stimuli. For example, a person with auditory to visual synesthesia, also known as chromesthesia might see colors when hearing sounds. These stimuli are automatic, involuntary, consistent over time, and simple; seeing red when hearing a chair moved, smelling spices when touching fabric, or even seeing number lines visualized as three dimensional shapes. 

I have synesthesia myself and find it really fun for world building

Another sensory post

I have a lot of thoughts on elves and senses including synesthesia. I think most stimuli and input for elves is experienced through multiple senses for example being able to feel sound (obviously humans can through vibrations but some elves are more attuned to this). Synesthesia of the kind humans experience is more common in elves and other kinds unique to them also exist.

-Most elves experience some form of synesthesia though most do not experience all forms and most have some control over how much they consciously process. I talked about this year when I talked about the additional signs of sensing growth and change in the environment but I believe they more control than humans over how they process this sensory information. Especially because they experience it more strongly than humans seem too it makes sense that they would have control over this processing, at least in most cases.

-Mirror touch synesthesia, a rare form in humans, is experienced by many elves. This is phenomena where experiences sensations that one witnesses, for example, feeling a pain in one’s head seeing someone’s truck there. This can be extremely distressing to humans experiencing it, unlike other forms of synesthesia. For elves, this is such a common experience it doesn’t register as particularly distressing, except for an extreme cases, and for those unable to have any control over how they process this information. Most do not experience extreme pain, even witnessing severe injuries.

-Just like with humans, it appears frequently in their art. A lot of abstract art and music is inspired by synesthesia! Especially among the Noldor where there is more specific study of the phenomenon including Noldorin scientists who spend their lives charting what color twelve thousand different people see the number eight, the letter for the eh sound, the feeling of a stinging cut, etc

-For those with particularly strong bonds, Óswane can be communicated through synesthesia, that is, emotions, intentions, etc being shared through color, shape, or even taste, physical sensations

-synesthesia for many elves will not process fully during severe depression or lack of movement. Oppressive environments like Angband will often effect the senses in a variety of ways (some discussed here!) including synesthetic perception. A small number of elves in Angband lose this phenomenon completely. Some temporary, others permanently. This is due to a variety of external and environmental factors.

-Just a general sensory thought in general though I will make a separate post for this I think. Sensory games and building exercises are common across elven cultures. Games involving the identification and sorting of items solely by one sense without the use of any of the others are common among the Noldor and Vanyar. Sindar children in Doriath will learn to travel to certain locations by the sounds of the forest and the feeling under their feet alone.

-I headcanon both Morwen and Tuor have rare forms of synesthesia (which makes sense as it often has a genetic component). Tuor has smells as colors and often used it in private art in his later life, especially when depicting aspects of his childhood and captivity. Morwen has a form of spatial sequence synesthesia, possibly with time. She’s likely never spoken about it.

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Elven word of the day, 329/?

Úrui from Sindarin and Úrimë from Quenya

These are the elven names for August, both meaning hot one

Úr as a root usually relates to fire. urulócë is the Quenya word for fire breathing dragons

See also, this word for pleasant warmth, which I much prefer to the heat of this month here

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Fangorn Forest

Part of my series of forests beyond Beleriand where I also have Mirkwood and Lothlórien

x x x x x x x x x

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Tulips in Beleriand And Valinor

Continuing my spring flower game from last year! More in the spring flower game tag! This was a request from @sparrowsarus

There are about 75 species of tulips and several others that were originally classified as tulips but no longer are. Dozens of species can be found in Beleriand and elsewhere in Middle Earth and others can be found in Valinor.

Tulips of a variety of species grow in steppe and mountain regions, primarily in Eastern and middle Beleriand. Species were originally hybridized or cultivated in places like Gondolin and Nargothrond. Over thirty species could be found in Beleriand with more in regions east of the Ered Luin and in

Eyed tulips, deep red flowers, can be found in the foothills around Tirion and Valmar. Vanyarin tapestries of the mountains often include these.

The lady tulip, a star like often white tulip 🌷 grew in the foothills of the Crissaegrim and were cultivated and picked for Gondolin’s festival at the beginning of spring.

Tulipa alberti grows in the foothills of the Ered Gorgoroth, one of the only prominent flowers there. Its presence is used by the Sindar and Avarin elves to indicate calmer springs in the typically tumultuous mountains.

The wild or woodland tulip grows in the hills in the region of Nargothrond, particularly in drier areas. It has a short flowering period and thus is sometimes associated with impermanence or the ephemeral.

Gardener's tulips can also be found in the region on Nargothrond. They have a much longer period of blooming and are sometimes cultivated in gardens. Their bulbs are also eaten ground in cereals and other flour based foods.

Tulips alongside other flowers appear in Hadorian architecture, in wood cuts and paintings typically upon wooden beams and rafters. I've written about this before but wildflowers, specifically ones of alpine meadows and foothills are a common motif in Hadorian architecture and embroidery. Several species of the flowers grow in the foothills of the Ered Wethrin and the meadows of Dor-lómin. They are gathered and placed upon tables, in bouquets tied to fences and trees, and held by young children during the Hadorian spring celebrations. Indeed this similarity was something that Húrin and Huor found comfort in during their time in Gondolin.

On the subject of Dor-lómin, one of Aerin’s first memories is of sitting among tulips by her uncle’s house

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I love Morwen so much and while I’m sad the scene where she confronts and mocks Glaurung didn’t make it into the later version, if I had to choose, I’d prefer the versions where she’s accused of witchcraft and everything that comes with that. But in an idea world I’d get both…

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Elven word of the day, 328/?

Weldë from early Quenya

Meaning “bubble” 🫧🫧🫧🫧

See also “welba” meaning boiling, bubbling and welwë meaning spring of water

Sindarin cognate: gwelch or gwelc

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Got tagged in a WIP game, I can’t exactly remember when, this is very late, but I believe it was from @thescrapwitch

this is a kind of dark few sentences of an Aerin fic, warning for discussion of physical violence;

It is not the first time she has sat with another, stoking a fire to heat water or aiding in the use of a cleanly folded cloth to staunch the flow of blood. It was not always Brodda who had left the others in such a state but it sometimes was. There were those who blamed her for these others, she knew.

(Note: kind of touched upon this a little here)

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follow up to my previous post on the Noldor (and other's) memories of Morgoth before the war in Beleriand but I wanted to write a bit more about the Finwëan's experience with it (note/disclaimer: some of this is pulled from a post of mine from a couple of years ago

I think Morgoth's harassment of Fëanor must have begun before their more overt confrontation

I firmly believe that Melkor enjoyed approaching Fëanor’s sons as children and young adults just to watch Fëanor’s discomfort and anxiety when he witnessed or heard about it. Melkor never directly harms them and would always act benignly surprised if confronted with it by Fëanor. It didn’t matter if his surprise that Fëanor would be angered by this was utterly unconvincing. It didn’t matter that his eyes would glitter with malice as his grip on young Maedhros’s shoulder tightened just enough to be painful (he’s not used to interacting so closely with the incarnates, after all! He forgets their fragility! Why didn’t the poor child say something!).

He knows that for now, at least, he can get away with more than Fëanor can and that the latter’s fury will reflect poorly on Fëanor. Of course it would come out sooner than Melkor realizes with the reveals after the sword incident but before that?

He is fully utilizing rumors of Fëanor’s instability (mental or spiritual, made worse by the compounding factor of the rumors of Melkor’s role in that! With Míriel’s death and Naro’s birth called a marring, etc) to get away with his blatantly bad faith actions

Melkor of course takes a special enjoyment in turning others against each other, in sewing paranoia and exploiting existing vulnerabilities

Maedhros has been approached by Melkor on numerous occasions for this purpose. Finwë I think did not often discuss the fear he grew up in, the fear of the black rider and the shadows that his kinsmen vanished into, the fear that he came to Valinor to escape. But he knew, even from an early age that the Vala called Melkor had a different dwelling once.

The first time he was barely old enough to remember though he can certainly recall his fear and confusion upon seeing the look on his father’s face. The second time he was more wary, having that vague recollection of something not being right. He is definitely torn between the expectations of respect, even deference, shown to the Ainur and his own misgivings, as well as a growing awareness of Fëanor’s feelings.

Later most of his interactions with Melkor are in various formal settings. The gaze of the Vala might linger a moment too long upon him or one of his brothers but then, not all the Ainur are used to customs of the Children. It was harmless. Of course it was harmless.

Or maybe in the depths of the hells of Iron he laughs because he knows it never was and now his father was proven right, in the worst way possible

Edit: Also check out @ulmondil ‘s fic about this which is excellent!