 | |
| Right Whales[1] | |
| Uin | |
|---|---|
| Biographical Information | |
| Titles | Great Whale[2] Gulma's great whale[3] |
| Location | Ocean[4] |
| Affiliation | Ulmo[4] |
| Birth | Elder Days[4] |
| Death | On or after the Faring Forth[5] |
| Notable for | dragging Tol Eressëa to Valinor[4] |
| Physical Description | |
| Gender | Male[4] |
| Weaponry | might of the Valar[4] |
| Gallery | Images of Uin |
There are no other references to the dragging of Tol Eressëa across the Ocean by Uin the great whale, to the Isle of Íverin, or to the Battle of Rôs;
Uin, known as the Great Whale[2] and Gulma's great whale[3], was the primeval whale[6] of Arda that served the Vala Ulmo and pulled his fishy cart[2] according to the early version of the legendarium in The Book of Lost Tales.[4]
History
During the Elder Days, when Ulmo gathered "a host of the greatest fish" to Tol Eressëa, Uin, "the mightiest and most ancient of whales", came among them alongside narwhals[7] and sea lions[7]. Ulmo directed them in using their strength to pull the island across the sea to the shores of Hísilómë in the Great Lands. Once the Teleri were on the island, Uin and the rest of the host took them to the Bay of Faëry in Valinor before pulling the island back to Hísilómë.[4]
On the trip back to Hísilómë, Ossë noticed Uin pulling the island and was jealous that his island was being used without his permission. Yet when he tried to pursue Uin, he was left far behind because Uin and the rest of the host were granted "the might of the Valar" by Ulmo. Thus, they reached Hísilómë again where the Noldoli got on the island. The second ferrying went as well as the first, save only for a minor annoyance from Ossë.[4]
After the Noldoli were safely in Aman alongside the Teleri, Uin and the other great fish pulled the island for a final trip for the Solosimpi. However, "Ossë cast storms and shadows" to hinder a third trip, causing Ulmo to direct Uin through "devious ways", resulting in the great fish arriving late to Hísilómë. On the return trip back to Aman, Uin and the great fish were waylaid by Ossë and Uinen just as "the mists of the Shadowy Seas" were in sight. Ossë grabbed the island with his great hand, causing Uin, with all his great strength, to only be able to "scarcely drag it onward" since none of the Valar could beat Ossë with strength in water. With Uinen's aid, the island was anchored to the seafloor by making giant ropes out of the centuries old "leather-weeds and polyps" that grew "to unimagined girth" throughout the pillars of the "deep-sea house" where Ossë and Uinen lived.[4]
Even with Ulmo aiding Uin and the great fish "with all his godlike power", Ossë gathered many rocks and boulders beneath the island and invited "every kind of deep sea creature" to build homes throughout "the base of the island". With the struggle intensifying and Ulmo vainly trumpeting, Uin stirred the seas into wrath with "his unmeasurable tail lash".[4]
Eventually, Uin and the other great fish stopped pulling the island after Ulmo gave up and went back to Valimar.[4]
A long time after, before the Faring Forth, the Elves convinced Ulmo to allow Uin to aid them. As such, when Tol Eressëa was uprooted, Uin pulled it towards the Great Lands, almost "to the promontory of Rôs". Upon doing this, however, Ossë became enraged, and sought to pull the island back. As a consequence, however, the island broke in two, with the western half becoming the Isle of Íverin, known today as Ireland[8].[5]
Etymology
In the Gnomish Lexicon, the word uin means "whale", originating from the primeval whale, Uin himself. The original meaning of uin seems to have been "wave", but this is only preserved in poetry.[3]
Another Gnomish word for whale was uimoth ("sheep of the waves"), incorporating the word moth,[9] meaning "sheep or 1000" and indicating its original meaning of "flock" (e.g. mothweg means "shepherd").[3] Whether uin remained a valid word in later stages of J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium can only be a matter for speculation.
In Qenya, Uin is given as "a fish, the privemal whale", derived from the root IWI ("fish").[10] Uin also appears in the Qenya Lexicon together with "Queen of the Mermaids", the definition given for Ui Oarista, which was another name for Uinen.[6]
Other writings
Uin is a character in Tolkien's Roverandom. In the story, after Rover's adventure on the Moon and the seagull, Mew, took him back to the cove of the sand-sorcerer, he found Psamathos Psamathides having a discussion with Uin, who was very large and "the oldest of the Right Whales". Rover described Uin as looking "like a mountain" and having "his great head in a deep pool". Uin allowed Rover to ride in his mouth on the journey to see the Wizard Artaxerxes at the bottom of the Deep Blue Sea. According to Psamathos Psamathides, Uin was prone to coughs from scratches and bites. When Rover tried to back out, Mew and Psamathos Psamathides pushed him into Uin's mouth.[1]
Unlike other whales, Uin was considerate enough that he did not swim with his mouth constantly open to catch food. Uin was said to be very exceptional among whales. He was capable of resting underwater for long periods of time. Uin was also capable of swimming across the world with ease. He also worked in some capacity for Psamathos Psamathides, for after Rover told him that Artaxerxes did not change him back, he reported to Psamathos Psamathides's cove. Uin had some ability of foresight, since after his tail knocked a sea-tree over, he predicted that Artaxerxes was going to be a failure at his current job as the Pacific and Atlantic Magician.[1]
Uin was kind enough to be willing to give the Rover and the mer-dog (also called Rover) multiple rides to many places in the Outer Lands and seas. During one of these rides, Uin took them to "the eastern edge of the world" where Uin let loose a burst of water that sailed "so high that a lot of it was thrown right off the world and over the edge". During another ride, Uin travelled as far as he dared to the other side of the world where they had many adventures in the Uncharted Waters. One of which involved Uin taking the Rovers past the Shadowy Seas to the great Bay of Fairyland beyond the Magic Isles. Due to the light of Faery, Roverandom became one of the few living beings to have had a quick "glimpse of the city of the Elves on the green hill" that lay before the Mountains of Elvenhome "in the last West".[1]
After Uin took a sudden dive, he became worried that he might "catch it" if it was ever discovered that he took the two Rovers to the Bay of Fairyland.[1]
After the exile of Mr. and Mrs. Artaxerxes regarding the failure of the PAM to deal with the ancient Sea-serpent, Uin took the two and Roverandom on his back and swam towards the surface.[1]
Uin took them to a shore quite distant from the cove of the sand-sorcerer, where he waited with Mrs. Artaxerxes while Mr. Artaxerxes (with Rover in his pocket) went to a sea-side town to make a few mundane purchases. When they returned, Mr. Artaxerxes smoked a pipe while he leaned against Uin.[11]
Later on, when the wizard forgot that he did not destroy all of his belongings, Uin began winking. After Mr. Artaxerxes reversed Rover's curse, Rover thought that everything seemed smaller and funnier, including Uin. When Rover bid them all farewell, Uin winked at him. It was later suggested that Rover never found out what happened to Uin after he departed the beach.[11]
Inspiration
The "host of the greatest fish" may represent a host of whales as Tolkien described in his 1957 letter to Michael George Tolkien regarding his translation of The Book of Jonah that disambiguation between "whale" and "fish" wasn't important to him during the translation.[12] [13][14] [15]
Portrayal in adaptations
In the Middle-earth Role Playing, Uin is said to be a merfolk. Uin's etymology can be seen on several terms such as Uini meaning "whales", and Hûb-in-Uinin, the "Bay of Whales".
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (ed.), Roverandom, "[chapter] 4"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "III. The Coming of the Valar and the Building of Valinor": "Notes and Commentary", p. 85
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, Appendix: Names in the Lost Tales – Part I, entry Uin
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "V. The Coming of the Elves and the Making of Kôr", pp. 118-20
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, "VI. The History of Eriol or Ælfwine and the End of the Tales", pp. 283, 286, 328
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, Appendix: Names in the Lost Tales – Part I, entry Ónen
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, "III. The Fall of Gondolin"
- ↑ Michael D. C. Drout, J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment, p. 73
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "I-Lam na-Ngoldathon: The Grammar and Lexicon of the Gnomish Tongue", in Parma Eldalamberon XI (edited by Christopher Gilson, Arden R. Smith, and Patrick H. Wynne), p. 74
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Qenyaqetsa: The Qenya Phonology and Lexicon", in Parma Eldalamberon XII (edited by Carl F. Hostetter, Christopher Gilson, Arden R. Smith, and Patrick H. Wynne), p. 97
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (ed.), Roverandom, "[chapter] 5"
- ↑ Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: I. Chronology, p. 504
- ↑ Michael George Tolkien, "Lecture on J.R.R. Tolkien given to the University of St. Andrews Science Fiction and Fantasy Society on 2nd May, 1989" 2 May 1989, MichaelTolkien.com
- ↑ Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull, "Addenda and Corrigenda to The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide (2006) Vol. 1: Chronology · Arranged by Date", Hammond&Scull.com
- ↑ Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: II. Reader's Guide, p. 468