Elven Characteristics

[Lissë]

Thank you, Galin and Nerwen. This was very helpful. So elven women wore their hair braided? And Fingon as well? How do you think those braids looked like? Tolkien might have known photos of Native Americans, but since he was focused on Europe I guess we can exclude inspiration from that source. Unfortunately there are no illustration of Celtic hairstyles, and in the Middle Age women wore veils.

[Galin]

Originally Posted by Lissë

Thank you, Galin and Nerwen. This was very helpful. So elven women wore their hair braided? And Fingon as well?

You're welcome Lisse. Fingon seems to, generally speaking; I mean if Tolkien chose to mention this style for him...

At the moment I'm not sure about Elven women in general. The quote with Idril is from the very early [and abandoned] work called The Book of Lost Tales, and the reason I posted it was more to see if anyone knew of any possible Primary World description or custom that might reflect Idril wearing her hair 'unbraided' on her wedding day.

As I say in 'Hairy-pottering' I was more focusing on male descriptions, although today I was just reminded of Arwen Halfelven's description in The Lord of the Rings, with a mention of braids anyway: 'Young she was and yet not so. The braids of her dark hair were touched by no frost; her white arms...' There must be more descriptions for the women in JRRT's tales, but I haven't been looking for them lately.


Concerning Native Americans, I only have a vague memory of Carpenter's biography mentioning that Tolkien liked Native American stories and that he longed to shoot with a bow. Tom Shippey writes:

'In the same way Fenimore Cooper's hero Natty Bumppo prides himself on his English ancestry, while Tolkien recorded an early devotion to Red Indians, bows and arrows and forests' ('On Fairy Stories' in Reader, p. 63)'

Tolkien's sources: the True Tradition, The Road to Middle-Earth, T. Shippey

That's quite general however. And I know nothing about Native American hair styles in any case. Since posting that quote about Idril I've read a decent chunk of the Kalevala, but so far I can find no reference, with respect to a wedding [plenty of references to braids in general however] to echo Tolkien's description here. And even if I did, again it might only serve as a 'possible' inspiration in any event.

Anyway, sourcing Tolkien's inspiration is tricky! Despite Shippey's chapter title [the 'true tradition']

[Lissë]

Thanks again! You're a real scholar! May I ask how braids are described in the Kalevala? Primary World sources are the published works?

[Galin]

Sorry for any confusion Lisse: when I say Primary World sources I mean 'Real World' sources, like Kalevala, or the Poetic Edda.

Hmm, now I've got to remember what I've read so far in Kalevala about braids. Hard to recall at the moment so I'll do a quick search on the interweb; but I do generally remember the reference 'braid-head' like in the translation given below these first two examples...

Then the fearless Lemminkainen,
Mouth awry and visage wrinkled,
Shook his sable locks and answered:
"Never in my recollection
Have I heard or seen such treatment,
Never have I been derided,
Never suffered sneers of women,
Never suffered scorn of virgins,
Not in my immortal life-time.
Is there any place befitting
On the Sahri-plains and pastures,
Where to join in songs and dances?
Is there here a hall for pleasure,
Where the Sahri-maidens linger,
Merry maids with braided tresses?"

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/kvrune11.htm


'Cause enough for weeping, sister,
Good the reasons for my sorrow:
Therefore come I as thou seest,
On my head no scarlet fillet,
In my hair no braids of silver,
On mine arms no purple ribbons,
Round my neck no shining necklace,
On my breast no golden crosslet,
In mine ears no golden ear-rings.'

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/kvrune04.htm


(...) Over all, around his middle,
A gold-ornamented belt
Woven for him by his mother
When she was a braid-head maiden;
Then the well-embroidered gloves,
Golden-wristed fancy gauntlets (...)

http://kalevala.gov.karelia.ru/songs/song18_e.shtml


Just for some references I found on the web anyway

[Lissë]

Thank you!