The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Morwen lived c. I 443 - I 501 (58 years); she became known as the 'Witchwife' after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad of I 472
Race
Division
Culture
Family
Morwen was descended from the House of Bëor and married into the House of Hador
Settlements
The house of Húrin, a homestead in the southern regions of Dor-lómin
Meaning
A reference to Morwen's association with the Elves1
Title of

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  • Updated 7 April 2024
  • Updates planned: 1

Witchwife

The Easterlings’ name for Morwen

After Húrin was lost in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, his wife Morwen remained in their house in Dor-lómin, though that land was now overrun by Easterlings in the service of Morgoth. Morwen herself they suspected of consorting with the Elves, whom they feared, and so they gave her the title 'Witchwife'. Though the Easterlings stole most of her possessions, their fear of the Elves kept her and her daughter Niënor safe until they could eventually escape across the Mountains of Shadow and find refuge in Doriath.


Notes

1

The word 'witch' comes from Old English wiccian, 'to practice magic', hence wicce 'a woman who practices witchcraft'. The Easterlings who gave Morwen this title did so not because they thought that she was literally a witch, but because of her association with the Elves, who they saw as a dangerous magical beings (this same sense of eldritch magic would also later appear in the Mannish names like 'Witch-king' or 'Witch-realm').

The element 'wife' here probably relates to the broader Old English sense of wif as simply a 'woman' (though doubtless influenced by the fact that Morwen was the wife of Húrin, who had been a close ally of the Elves).

In combination, then, the name of 'Witchwife' would means something like 'woman who consorts with strange powers'. As old Sador said, when Túrin encountered him on his return to Dor-lómin, 'Witchwife' was equivalent to 'Elf-friend' in the twisted language of the invading Easterlings.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 7 April 2024
  • Updates planned: 1

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