Tolkien noted that while the Elves did not know its ingredients or making, they thought the miruvóre of the Valar was made of the honey/nectar of certain flowers in the gardens of Valinor. Basically that's the same idea as published in The Road Goes Ever On. 

In Quendi And Eldar miruvóre, miruvor was said to be the name of a 'special wine or cordial' ('mead' in the translation of Namárie), also noting Valarin mirubhôzê-  said to be the beginning of a longer word, containg the element mirub- 'wine'

As for Miruvor, this word applied to a drink '... probably made basically of honey (of ? scented flowers)' Words, Phrases, And Passages



-- Edited by Galin on Sunday 6th of March 2011 08:51:49 PM

Miruvor ~ Appearing in The Lord of the Rings, miruvor is a warm and fragrant clear cordial of the Elves. It gives the drinker renewed strength and vitality. Miruvor is used by the Elves at their festivals. They do not reveal how miruvor was made, but it is thought to come from the honey of the undying flowers in the gardens of Yavanna. Elrond gives a flask of miruvor to Gandalf when the Fellowship embarked on their quest. During the snowstorm on Caradhras, Gandalf gave each of the companions a sip of the cordial to revive their frozen and tired limbs. He gave them another sip when they stopped to rest, and a third sip when they first entered the Mines of Moria. At that point, the precious liquid had almost run out.
Miruvor was also mentioned in the lament Galadriel sang when the Fellowship left Lórien:
Yéni ve lintë yuldar avánier mi oromardi lisse-miruvóreva Andúnë pella ...
(The long years have passed like swift draughts of sweet mead (miruvor) in lofty halls beyond the West )
The exact translation of miruvor or miruvóre, is not known, but Tolkien compared it to the Greek nectar, for which he gave "death-defeater" as a probable etymological meaning.
(Thanks to Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List of Middle-earth food & drink)

And since there was no Imladris early in the First Age, before the Sun and the Moon, I better not introduce it to my readers. SO we will have no Miruvor to refresh and strengthen us while battling those Orcs in our Doriath RPG. Thanks

I don't think there's anything wrong with having a drink of some sort in Doriath of course, but the question might center on the name Miruvor specifically. The fuller citations from WPP seem to show Tolkien's thoughts...

1 304
S miruvor Sindarin form taken by borrowed Quenya word: Q Miruvore 'precious juice'; MIR- 'esteem value', as in Q mire, a treasure, precious thing; S mir, a treasure, a jewel (...)'

Then Tolkien works out a fuller etymology with a base WOR- 'express, cause to exude by pressure' seemingly in order to explain the juice element. Thus the word appears to be fully explained in an Eldarin context. But next JRRT notes: 'This is a false etymology. High Elvish. There was not in fact any word wor- in Elvish, Quenya or Sindarin.' And in a subsequent note (concerning the same entry): 'The word was thought of as precious drink (and largely of honey) but word was of Valarin origin. mirubhoze, a honey wine, mirub wine.'

So now miruvor ultimately hails from a Valarin word. Tolkien will later (in the commentary) encounter the Quenya word, and note again:

'(...) miruvore is said to be in origin a 'Valarin' word (reduced and Eldarinized). A drink of which the Elves did not know the ingrediants or making. [Commentary on the nainie of Galadriel]. The name miruvor (reduced as numenore > numenor) is applied to a cordial made in Rivendell (LR I 304). This is the same word, but applied to a drink, probably made basically of honey (of? scented flowers). The Elves said they thought the miruvore of the Valar was made of honey/nectar of certain flowers in the gardens of Valinor.'

So this would appear to confirm that the 'Sindarin' word has become a borrowing from Quenya, itself  Eldarinized from Valarin. But if we look at the first entry (the context still being Grey-elven usage, or at least possibly so) the word still referred to 'precious drink', even though the second entry does not note this specifically (nor deny it), but to 'a drink' and so on.

Eldarin speakers would arguably still associate mir- with other 'jewel words' (Mirdain for example), so would they apply this term to just any drink made by Elves? It's possible! but I would guess that the word Miruvor might be set aside for a special drink, one made in attempt to imitate the legendary Miruvore of the Powers.

I could be wrong, but to err on the side of caution I would not use the term specifically for a drink in Doriath (without it being attested) -- though a 'regular' drink of Elvish make in Doriath, would, I think, be something more than expected in any case!


Perhaps a somewhat minor distinction for RPG-ing (whether I'm on the right track here or not), but fun to delve into! 

-- Edited by Galin on Wednesday 9th of March 2011 03:29:10 PM

That's a good idea Bear.

Galen, where did this information come from ?