Greetings GoG (I hope you don't mind me calling you that?) to Tolkien forums! Its great to have eager new members
Hmm from what I know of Gil-Galad is his true name is Ereinion, son of Fingon (son of Fingolfin) and he became the High King of the Noldor in Middle-earth after the death of Turgon, I think. He ruled in Lindon in the Second Age and contested with Sauron. Lastly he fell in the Battle of the Last Alliance at the end of the Second Age while fighting with Sauron himself. His spear was called Aiglos and I think Gil-galad means 'Star-brow'?
-- Edited by Bilbo Baggins on Thursday 16th of April 2009 02:34:40 PM
Thank you Bilbo Baggins,I am very interested in him and his SPEAR...I believe Gil-Gilad means (star-light) but im not sure...I have read songs talking of how he fell into the darkness and never seen again?(this is another question).... He also advised with Elrond not to trust the GIVER OF GIFTS(sauron's fake name he took after the defeat of Morgoth)....
Tolkien changed his mind about the derivation of Gil-galad. According to The Lord ofthe Rings it meant 'Star-light' (as noted), with the second element likely being calad 'light'.
Later JRRT imagined that it meant 'Star of Radiance' from a stem that meant 'shine by reflection'. And his nickname: 'was given to him because his helm and mail, and his shield overlaid with silver and set with a device of white stars, shone from afar like a star in sunlight or moonlight and could be seen by Elvish eyes at a great distance if he stood upon a height.' I think the meaning in The Lord of the Rings works fine in any case.
Gil-galad's parentage is a bit confusing but Tolkien seems to have imagined him as the son of Arothir (Orodreth) who was the son of Angrod brother of Galadriel. This is different than in the published Silmarillion of course, but Christopher Tolkien later noted that Gil-galad as the son of Fingon was an ephemeral idea.
Gil-galad had a Quenya name Artanaro (Sindarin Rodnor) -- though the third -a- should have an acute accent over it. He was also called Ereinion 'scion of kings', as noted. There is a character 'Star-brow' in another Tolkien story, Smith of Wooton Major, where the form is Gilthir if I remember correctly (this name may appear only in draft versions). Here is Tolkien using Sindarin in 'Smith'.
Oh, and welcome!
-- Edited by Galin on Friday 17th of April 2009 04:20:18 AM
Thank you very much Galin,I have the Silmarillion and the Shaping of Middle Earth.. (and many others) ...but which of the 2 should I go by? I also have looked for info in the LOTR trilogy but all I find are songs about him (which they interest me)....
With respect to which one of the two, then I would say the The Silmarillion. Interestingly TheShaping of Middle-Earth actually contains the only complete version of the Silmarillion that Tolkien ever made, but it was written in 1930 (no Galadriel!). The character of Gil-galad first appears in a story called The Fall of Numenor, written c. 1936-37.
As to which books one should go by with respect to The History of Middle-Earth and the 1977 Silmarillion, that's a different, somewhat complicated question. As expected, different people have different opinions on this. And as it happens, it's a bit more complicated when the matter of Gil-galad's parentage arises, considering Christopher Tolkien's own commentary on this matter (given years after the Silmarillion was published).
I won't go into that question now (and perhaps a different thread maybe), but I can add this detail on Gil-galad's spear: technically the correct spelling is Aeglos, though Aiglos is correct as an Anglicization and appears in early editions of The Lord of the Rings -- but that's why later editions have been altered to Aeglos.
Glad to have you Giver of Gifts. I just hope you will not turn out like him whose name you took. But I always encourage young people to find out things for themselves, either by reding the books (which is the preferred method) or by getting information from sources online. Those are the ways that really stick to you and it will come back when you need easier (then wehn somebody else does all the work for you) If you need any OTHER kind of help I would be glad to help. And you can call me Lady Arwen
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Hey dol! merry dol! ring a dong dillo! Ring a dong! hop along! fal lal the willow! Tom Bom, Jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!
That's right Bilbo, and the genitive (of) might be expressed in a compound word with no actual marker for 'of' present. Another example might be Elentari (with long a), which Tolkien himself translated in Words, Phrases and Passages as: 'Queen of Stars; star-queen'
The genitive is more complicated in general, but anyway, another instance with anna 'gift' could be Yavanna 'Fruit-gift' or more loosely, 'Giver of fruits'.
Wow, I never cease to be amazed at the company I keep here on the forums. You are all amazing.
Welcome, Giver of Gifts to the forums. You will a wealth of knowledge here. Enough to slate any curiousity and I'm sure you're already convinced of that.
