A ship of great size built by Tuor in his old age, on which he journeyed from the Havens of Sirion across the Great Sea into the West, accompanied by Idril his wife. Neither Tuor nor Idril were ever seen again in Middle-earth, but it was said that Tuor had been accepted into Aman as one of the Firstborn, a fate never extended to any other of the race of Men.
The name Eärrámë means 'Sea-Wing', a somewhat curious combination of words that is explained by its literary origins. In the original form of the tale of Tuor, the name he gave his ship was Alqarámë, meaning 'Swan-wing', which evolved into Eärámë ('Eagle-pinion' or 'Eagle-wing') before direct references to birds were lost in the final form Eärrámë. These changes are described in the second Book of Lost Tales (volume II of The History of Middle-earth) which also gives us a single fact about the ship's appearance: that it had purple sails.1
Notes
1 |
At least, the ship probably had purple sails. The fuller quote describes Tuor setting sail in his 'twilit boat with purple sails' (The History of Middle-earth volume II, The Book of Lost Tales 2). If the ship was sailing into the twilight, then it's conceivable that the sails might simply have appeared to be purple in the evening light. The colour of the ship's sails is not referred to in any later account. |
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- Updated 2 January 2013
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