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Dates
Known to be extant in the late Third Age, but presumably much older than this
Location
Beneath the River Withywindle in the Old Forest
Indexes: About this entry:
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River-womanThe mother of Goldberry"There my pretty lady is, River-woman's daughter,
Slender as the willow-wand, clearer than the water." A mysterious being - apparently some kind of water-spirit - associated with the River Withywindle in the Old Forest. She was the mother of Goldberry, who was for this reason known as the 'River-daughter'. In the poem The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, we discover a little more about the River-woman. She lived in a deep pool beneath the Withywindle with her daughter, until Goldberry was taken by Bombadil as his wife. She was saddened to be left alone in her hollow - one of the last lines of the poem has the reeds in her river sighing at the loss of her daughter Goldberry. For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page. Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2000, 2006. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ. |