Question for the Sindarin experts: is Meril still valid?

[Formendacil]

If it is from Shibboleth, then it's almost certainly acceptable Sindarin, since the Shibboleth is quite late--mid-1960s, though I'm hesitant to quote a year, but even if it were from the 1950s, it would still be post-publication of the LotR, and if my memory is correct, it would be contemporaneous with the 2nd Edition of the LotR, in which Tolkien did tinker a bit with the Elvish in the book--though my impression (I am not a Sindarin expert) is anything post-LotR is probably going to hold sufficient water. It's when you start going into the pre-LotR versions of things, especially back at the Book of Lost Tales end, that you run into problems.

(That said, I have no memory of Gil-galad's mother's name in the Shibboleth, but it's been a while since I read that volume... I'm rereading the Book of Lost Tales right now, so "Meril" reminds me more of the Queen of Tol Eressëa in that text--but given how many other very early names stayed in circulation (Beren, Manwë, Ulmo, etc) or came back (Legolas), it would not surprise me to see Tolkien reusing the name--and if it had that much staying power in his mind, I really wouldn't worry about it being acceptable Sindarin.)

EDIT: Digging out my copy of The Peoples of Middle-earth (the HoME volume including the Shibboleth), I don't see "Meril" in the index--and the HoME indices are generally excellent. A cursory, but I think accurate, skim of the text, especially the commentary towards the end where Christopher Tolkien goes through the history of Gil-galad's parentage (or lack thereof) reveals nothing either. If Meril was ever put forth as the name of his mother, it would not seem to have been the Shibboleth. My suspicion is it might be fanon, though of a deft sort.

[Orphalesion]

^ Yup looked again myself (don't have the HoME anymore, lost all but the first two volumes :-( ) the name Meril for Gil-Galad's mother is not complete fanon, according to an old thread on Barrow-Downs it appears in the Quenta Silmarillion version as presented in Volume 5 of the HoME (the Shaping of Middle Earth) which, as far as I can gather from the names, seems to be very contemporary to the first edition of the Lord of the Rings.

In it Meril is the wife of Felagund and mother of Gil-Galad (and briefly of Galadriel and possibly Gildor).

So darn, it is at the very least, very very dubious if the name and word would have survived in Tolkien's final conception, which is a shame because even aside form providing another named wife, it would also provide an Elvish name for roses, which is always useful.

[jallanite]

Meril (no English translation given here) appears in the current (Post–Lord of the Rings) version of the Silmarillion as the wife of Felagund and mother of Gilgalad in The War of the Jewels (HoME 11), page 242. I don’t find her in The Shaping of Middle-earth (HoME 4) at all.

Christopher Tolkien notes:

Felagund’s wife Meril has not been named before, nor any child of his, and this is the first appearance of Gil-galad from The Lord of the Rings.

Meril was also the Sindarin name given to Rose Cotton in Tolkien’s Epilogue to The Lord of the Rings in Aragorn’s letter to Sam and his family. See Sauron Defeated (HoME 9) and a transcription of the English letter at http://theshirefellowship.net/index....topic&pid=9881 . In the first version of the letter Meril appears as Beril, but in later versions as Meril. In the Book of Lost Tales the name Meril seems to mean ‘Flower’ in general, not ‘Rose’ in particular.

I don’t see any reason to think that Tolkien ever rejected the meaning ‘rose’ for Sindiarin meril. But, as usual, one never knows. Phonetically I see no problem with Meril as a Sindarin name in Tolkien’s late conception.

[Orphalesion]

Ah, awesome thanks!

So it is pretty validated. That's cool. I got the information of her appearing in HoME V here: http://forum.barrowdowns.com/archive...hp?t-4470.html

[Galin]

I think Tar-Elenion meant: in an early alteration to a text from HME V, not in the text from HME V itself, although granted even if so I can see the reason for confusion. Anyway you did say HME V but gave the name of HME IV, throwing Jallanite off I'm guessing.

I think the name Meril is a bit dubious for the mother of Gil-galad, considering that in another note (p. 242, War of the Jewels) Tolkien refers to Felagund's wife [this note was struck out, although not necessarily due to the lack of a name here] and in yet another, he leaves a blank space for Inglor's wife's name.

The alteration with the name Meril is said to be made 'much earlier' than certain other alterations CJRT gives regarding this chapter -- in any case it doesn't appear in the early typescript, and is earlier than the revisions made to the LQ2 typescript. We don't know if the blank space version is the latest of the three references noted here, as the dating seems a bit questionable in general.

Anyway we can add the note from 1965 (reproduced in The Shibboleth of Feanor at least), where Gil-galad's mother is not named but is noted as a Sindarin lady from the North.

Although none of that necessarily means Meril as a name in general was abandoned. It seemed to be on the Qenya side of things in BOLT, but apparently was Noldorin or Sindarin enough for the King's Letter, and Sindarin for this alteration to QS.

[jallanite]

Originally Posted by Galin

Anyway you did say HME V but gave the name of HME IV, throwing Jallanite off I'm guessing.

It was obvious from Christopher Tolkien’s note on The War of the Jewels, page 242, that all supposed earlier mentions of Meril in HoME are bogus as Christopher Tolkien states that this Meril, Felagund’s wife, is first mentioned here. I accordingly ignored all the supposed earlier references as erroneous.

The mention of Meril was believed by Christopher Tolkien to have been made after The Lord of the Rings which was good enough for me. That the name is Sindarin would be normal, as most names in the published Silmarillion are Sindarin. Phonetically the name could be either a Quenya or Sindarin form.

You are quite right that J. R. R. Tolkien seems to have later blanked the name, unless Meril is mentioned in some source that Christopher Tolkien has not reproduced.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

While Meril certainly could be either Q or S, don't forget that nearly all Silmarillion names are given in Noldorin -> Sindarin form. Prior to the Great Linguistric Shift* this was perfectly normal; afterwards T had to ret-con an explanation.

In the (pre-Shift) Epilogue it's quite clearly Noldorin as is the rest of the letter; in the Shibboleth T is explicitly discussing Quenya-speaking Noldor in Aman and uses both their Quenya and (retrospective) Sindarin names, but never tells us which Meril is supposed to be.

------------------

*The point in the early 50's, first manifested in the 'linguistic excursus' to the Grey Annals, where Tolkien abandoned the conception dating back to or before the Lost Tales where the Second Language or "Noldorin" had evolved from Quenya in Valinor and then among the Exiles in Middle-earth, and made it "Sindarin" instead.

[Arvegil145]

Originally Posted by Galin

I think Tar-Elenion meant: in an early alteration to a text from HME V, not in the text from HME V itself, although granted even if so I can see the reason for confusion. Anyway you did say HME V but gave the name of HME IV, throwing Jallanite off I'm guessing.

I think the name Meril is a bit dubious for the mother of Gil-galad, considering that in another note (p. 242, War of the Jewels) Tolkien refers to Felagund's wife [this note was struck out, although not necessarily due to the lack of a name here] and in yet another, he leaves a blank space for Inglor's wife's name.

The alteration with the name Meril is said to be made 'much earlier' than certain other alterations CJRT gives regarding this chapter -- in any case it doesn't appear in the early typescript, and is earlier than the revisions made to the LQ2 typescript. We don't know if the blank space version is the latest of the three references noted here, as the dating seems a bit questionable in general.

Anyway we can add the note from 1965 (reproduced in The Shibboleth of Feanor at least), where Gil-galad's mother is not named but is noted as a Sindarin lady from the North.

Although none of that necessarily means Meril as a name in general was abandoned. It seemed to be on the Qenya side of things in BOLT, but apparently was Noldorin or Sindarin enough for the King's Letter, and Sindarin for this alteration to QS.

Hey, Galin!

Considering your vast knowledge of anything Tolkien, if you might be interested to work on the "Translations from Elvish" - you would be most welcome there!