The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
ALPHABETICAL RACES PLACES MISCELLANEOUS REFERENCE INTERACTIVE SHARE
Latest Chronicle Calendar Old and rare words Lexicon of names Links Random
Location
The land of Nurn, the southerly lowland region of Mordor
Source
Fed by four rivers flowing from sources in the mountains surrounding Mordor
Pronunciation
Noo'rnen
Meaning
'Sad water'1
Other names
Lake Núrnen

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 4 October 2009
  • Updates planned: 1

Sea of Núrnen

Mordor’s great inland sea

Map of the Sea of Núrnen

The great inland sea that lay in the region of Nurn in the south of Mordor, around which the slave-farms of Sauron were built.


Notes

1

It seems unavoidable that the names Núrnen and Nurn are etymologically related. Perhaps the most obvious possibility is that the name Nurn 'Sad' was first given to the slave-lands of Mordor, and the Sea took its name from that (so that the Núrnen suggests 'Water of Nurn' rather than literally 'Sad water'). However, Tolkien himself translated the name literally, so perhaps the Sea was named first, and the surrounding land then took a part of its name.

See also...

Inland Sea, Mordor, Nurn

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Website services kindly sponsored by Axiom Software Ltd.

Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 1998, 2001, 2009. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.