The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Born II 3711
Race
Division
Culture
Family
Pronunciation
yah'vi-en
Meaning
Uncertain1

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About this entry:

  • Updated 1 July 2023
  • This entry is complete

Yávien

The daughter of Nolondil

The eldest child and only daughter of Nolondil, who was in turn a son of Vardamir Nólimon. So Yávien was a member of the royal line of Númenor, a descendant of Elros Tar-Minyatur and niece to King Tar-Amandil. She was born in the fourth century of the Second Age, and had two younger brothers, Oromendil and Axantur. In some older sources, her name is spelled Yávië.


Notes

1

We are only told Yávien's date of birth, but members of her generation of the House of Elros would typically live for some four centuries. So, Yávien could have expected to survive until about the year II 770, into the early years of the reign of Tar-Meneldur, the fifth King of Númenor (and Yávien's distant cousin).

2

Translating directly, Yávien's name derives from yávë 'fruit' and the feminine ending -ien. So the entire name gives us the curious derivation of 'fruit daughter', though it is presumably not intended to be interpreted quite this literally. In Elvish, 'fruit' had the broader sense of 'fruits of the earth' or 'harvest' (the time of harvest being known as Yávië). So, one possibility is that Yávien was born at this time of year, and her name meant something like 'daughter of the harvest'.

It is also possible that Yávien's name was meant to evoke a dedication to Yavanna, the Vala known as the 'Giver of Fruits'. Yávien's father Nolondil named his second child Oromendil, clearly deriving from the Vala Oromë, so a similar connection to the Valar in Yávien's name seems entirely plausible.

See also...

Nolondil, Oromendil

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 1 July 2023
  • This entry is complete

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