Westernesse
Quick Facts
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| Dates: | Founded II 32, destroyed II 3319. Endured for 3,287 years. | ||||||||||||||
| Location: | In the Great Sea, between Middle-earth and Aman | ||||||||||||||
| Race: | Men | ||||||||||||||
| Division: | Edain | ||||||||||||||
| Culture: | Númenóreans | ||||||||||||||
| Other Names: | Elenna, Númenor, Númenórë, | ||||||||||||||
| Meaning: | Approximately 'Western Lands'1 | ||||||||||||||
The land of Númenor
A name in the Common Speech for the Isle of Númenor.
Footnotes
| 1 | Whether intended by Tolkien or not, it is hard to avoid a connection between Westernesse and Lyonesse, the British 'Atlantis'. This was a region of western Britain that sank beneath the waves in Arthurian legend, and was supposed to be inhabited by mighty men of old (some of Arthur's knights came from there: Sir Tristram was probably the most noteworthy of these). This Arthurian connection is not to be wondered at: Arthurian elements and themes often appear in Tolkien's work. Whatever its source, the meaning is probably ultimately Old English westerne næs, where næs (modern ness) means literally 'promontory' or 'headland'. Westernesse, of course, was not a headland but an island, but Lyonesse was a promontory, which hints further at an Arthurian connection. |
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