The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
The Moon first rose in I 1 (the beginning of the Years of the Sun)
Location
The lower regions of Ilmen
Origins
The Moon was created from the last flower of the Tree Telperion, mounted in a vessel by Aulë, and set aloft by Varda
Race
Division
Meaning
A reference to the unpredictable course of Tilion, steersman of the Moon
Other names
Title of

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About this entry:

  • Updated 27 November 2020
  • This entry is complete

The Wayward

A title of the Moon

A Noldorin title for the Moon, from the Elvish Rána, referring to its unpredictable course through the sky. The name came from the supposed unreliability of Tilion, the hunter given the task of steering the Moon through the sky. He would wander from his appointed paths, at times staying longer beneath the Earth than he should, and at others straying so close to the Sun that the Moon's disc became temporarily scorched and darkened. This tale of the Waywardness of Rána perhaps forms a mythical explanation of the Moon's apparently erratic behaviour, being sometimes visible during daylight, and becoming more deeply shadowed the closer it lies to the Sun in the sky.


See also...

Isil, Man in the Moon, Rána

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 27 November 2020
  • This entry is complete

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