Athelas - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Zoe · 01-21-2001, 10:50 PM

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wight
Posts: 113</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
Re: Athelas

<blockquote>Quote:<hr> It was low and dusky, windowless, fragrant with herbs that hung drying from the crosspole of the roof, mint and moly and thyme, yarrow and rushwash and paramal, kingsfoil, clovenfoot, tansy and bay.
- A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula le Guin<hr></blockquote>
If athelas is a made-up herb, it's used by more authors than just Tolkien.

'Athel' means 'Noble; illustrious or A lord, chief' (according to the OED), which would suggest that the words athelas and kingsfoil mean much the same thing, and furthermore, athelas isn't elvish (or maybe it is, but it has meaning in english).

I can't find any other references to kingsfoil/athelas.

</p>

01-21-2001, 10:50 PM	#1
Zoe Wight Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 223	<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wight Posts: 113</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE> Re: Athelas <blockquote>*Quote:<hr> It was low and dusky, windowless, fragrant with herbs that hung drying from the crosspole of the roof, mint and moly and thyme, yarrow and rushwash and paramal, kingsfoil, clovenfoot, tansy and bay. - A Wizard of Earthsea*, Ursula le Guin<hr></blockquote> If athelas is a made-up herb, it's used by more authors than just Tolkien. 'Athel' means 'Noble; illustrious or A lord, chief' (according to the OED), which would suggest that the words athelas and kingsfoil mean much the same thing, and furthermore, athelas isn't elvish (or maybe it is, but it has meaning in english). I can't find any other references to kingsfoil/athelas. </p>