The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Approximately equivalent to modern March (running from 21 February to 22 March on a modern calendar)
Race
Culture
Pronunciation
'reethe' (pronounced to rhyme with English words like 'breathe' or 'seethe')
Meaning
Literally 'glory', from the name of the Anglo-Saxon goddess Hrêða (see text)
Other names
Comparable to Súlimë and Gwaeron in the calendars of Men

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About this entry:

  • Updated 6 June 2023
  • This entry is complete

Rethe

Third month of the Shire Calendar

Months of the year

The name of the third month of the Shire Calendar, a name also used by the inhabitants of Bree. In the Shire Calendar, Rethe fell between Solmath and Astron, and was approximately equivalent to modern March (though in fact it ran from modern 21 February to 22 March). This same period was more commonly known among the people of Middle-earth by its Elvish names, usually as Súlimë (but as Gwaeron among the Dúnedain).

In common with all the names from the Shire Calendar, Rethe comes from Old English. It derives from Hrēðmōnað, an Anglo-Saxon name meaning 'month of Hrêða' (Hrêða was a goddess whose name means something like 'glory').1 This name is merely a 'translation' into archaic English of the 'true' name of the month that was used by the Hobbits themselves, but that original name is nowhere recorded.


Notes

1

Hrêða's association with the month of the Spring Equinox, as well as her name 'Glory', presumably means that she was associated with the Sun in some way. The details of her history, though, are now almost entirely lost.

See also...

Astron, Shire Calendar

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 6 June 2023
  • This entry is complete

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