This fascinating article about Tolkien and language is from a blog called: MARY LOVES THE UK an American’s Viewpoint of the United Kingdom
Eärendil was a mariner
that tarried in Arverenien;
he built a boat of timber felled
in Nimbrethil to journey in…
~ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring (1994)
Clarification for all readers who have yet to read The Silmarillion, including myself, is here required: The character Eärendil, of whom the star of Eärendil was named, appeared in J.R.R. Tolkien Elvish mythology, and received much reference elsewhere for genealogy purposes. Below, I have consolidated the information from three sources, detailing how an Anglo-Saxon poem inspired J.R.R. Tolkien’s Eärendil and all that the character embodied.
When Eärendil First Appeared to J.R.R. Tolkien as Éarendel
In reading Humphrey Carpenter’s biography on J.R.R. Tolkien, I stumbled across a name which rung a familiar tune. The name was Éarendel. Found in the Anglo-Saxon religious poems, entitled the Crist of Cynewulf, Éarendel was the one significant Anglo-Saxon influence of only a spare few Anglo-Saxon influences seen in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth. And what Tolkien drew and created from this inspiration formed the significance behind Elrond, Ruler of Rivendell, and all his kindred.
But let me not jump ahead. First, an explanation on how young Ronald Tolkien found this name: It happened during Tolkien’s time spent studying at Oxford University. In-between his lengthy essay writings, he took some time to delve more deeply into “the West Midland dialect in Middle English,” as described in Humphrey Carpenter’s J.R.R. Tolkien: a biography (2000, p. 72). When he read the Cynewulf lines, he felt an awakening, or something more akin to an enlivenment of his inner imaginative being.
Eärendil Origins As Seen in the Meaning Behind Éarendel
The Cynewulf lines contained definite religious context, explaining why Ronald Tolkien interpreted Éarendel as symbolizing John the Baptist, the prophet proclaiming the coming of Jesus Christ. However, as Carpenter discovered from his own research on J.R.R. Tolkien, the up-and-coming scholar and author “believed that ‘Éarendel’ had originally been the name for the star presaging the dawn, that is, Venus” (Biography, 2000, p. 72). To decipher the certain meaning behind the possibly-Germanic-origin name is presumably impossible, as noted in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (2000).
Oh, yes. Sometimes there is guess work for his inspiration, but not here.
At the risk of self-advertisement, I will suggest you might enjoy my attention to Tolkien and Éarendel in my paper, “‘Tolkien’s Narnia’? Lit., Lang., Saints, Tinfang, and a Mythology – or two – for Christmas”, in Tolkien Among Scholars (Lembas Extra 2016) – as well as a lot of other people’s papers in there! (You might see if you could get a library near you to add it to their collection.)
We would love to post something of yours, if you liked!
Embarrassingly belated thanks! The Father Christmas Letters part of the draft version of that paper was much and much too long – maybe I can mine something from that… Though just having read The Inklings and King Arthur right through in one go has set some thoughts to percolating, too…
Feel free to contact me on Facebook or to write me at gmail, username: arhyalon.
I would love to post excerpts, articles…whatever you like!
Many thanks! I’m wildly busy for about a week, but I’ll try to keep brooding over possibilities and hope to be in contact, soon.
It would be an honour – I’ve been enjoying what I’ve read here, since Professor Charlton first brought you to my attention!