#iorlas

Welcome to my LotR charts event!

Date of creation: 10.05.2024

I expected the Aragorn numbers, ngl, but his brother...? Not so much.

I assume no guarantee or liability for the completeness, correctness and accuracy of this chart despite my best efforts.

Includes fanfictions in all languages available on Ao3, NOT English only.

Percentages were rounded up or rounded down to natural numbers for easier comprehension.

The results for female and male OC's were added up.

Poly ships were included.

Also, these had me laughing:

More charts will follow. :)

BOY does it! For those who don't know, Merriam-Webster defines avuncular as:

"suggestive of an uncle, especially in kindliness or geniality"

"of or relating to an uncle"

In layman's terms: uncle-related or uncle-ish. There's a lot of that going on in this book, and a lot to talk about!

Of course the epitomical example in LotR is Frodo and Bilbo. Now, pedants (like myself) will point out that they aren't technically uncle and nephew, but cousins; Frodo is Bilbo's first and second cousin, once removed on both sides. If I recall correctly—correct me if I'm wrong—Frodo never actually calls Bilbo his uncle in the books, nor does anybody else. It seems to be something the movies made up to fit their relationship into a neat little box and avoid unnecessary confusion in the audience. But given that Bilbo falls into the category of "too old to be a peer, not close enough to be a father, floating in-between in a vaguely mentorlike (but not particularly responsible) state", I'd say he definitely counts for the "uncle-ish" definition of avuncular.

The next uncle that comes to mind is 100% literal: Theoden! Fun fact, avuncular comes from the Latin word avunculus, which specifically means "maternal uncle" (as opposed to the paternal equivalent: patruus, according to one website). So, since Eowyn and Eomer are the children of his youngest sister, Theodwyn, Theoden actually fits the ancient definition as well! Appendix A tells us that Theoden "loved his sister dearly"—which I interpret to mean that he played favorites among his siblings and she was it—and that he took Eowyn and Eomer as his own after their parents died in quick succession while they were young. So, once again, he is both their uncle and kinda their dad.

The next uncle that comes to mind is Iorlas. To my knowledge, he is only mentioned ONCE in the book, but because I am obsessed with Beregond and Bergil and their family (and just have a general affinity for overthinking minor characters anyway), you BET I remembered him. Based on context clues, we can assume a few things about Iorlas: a) he is likely a maternal uncle as well, since everyone on the paternal side has a name that starts with "B" (Baranor, Beregond, Bergil); b) he might live in Lossnarch, which Bergil mentions as the place his grandfather lives; and c) he has a good relationship with his nephew. Bergil mentions him immediately upon hearing how old Pippin is, which to me says that Iorlas is a pretty constant fixture in Bergil's life, and is an adult that Bergil really likes. My personal headcannon is that Bergil idolizes Uncle Iorlas and thinks he hung the moon; only because he thinks Dad hung the sun.

And FINALLY, to round out this discussion of uncles in LotR, I will end with a mention of the uncle that I wish got to happen: Frodo, for Sam's kids. You can't tell me there wouldn't have been a lovely bit of poetic symmetry to Frodo getting to raise and mentor the little Gamgees in the exact same way Bilbo had done for him. I can't really see Frodo ever getting married and having children himself—like Bilbo, he seems to be an eternal bachelor, and I'm pretty sure if he wanted to get married he would have done it by now—but there's no doubt in my mind that he would have loved and nurtured and spoiled the heck out of all thirteen of Sam's little munchkins if he ever got the chance. Which is why the Magnolia AU exists. Because thinking about Frodo telling stories to an enthralled audience of little Gamgees (a few individuals of which are vying with each other for the coveted story-listening spot on his lap) just makes my heart feel whole.

men of middle-earth ☀ misc. dúnedain ☀ headcanon disclaimer

Okay so I DID write an answer to this a couple days ago when you first sent it, Meg, but then tumblr ate my reply and I was too frustrated and busy and in pain to try to write it again. BUT I'M BACK!! LET'S TALK ABOUT MY FAVORITE GONDOR FAMILY!

Oh dude I am so glad to hear I'm not the only one who headcanons that Bergil has a baby sister! I dunno what it is about Beregond, but he just gives me "has a daughter" vibes, y'know? Like dads who've only raised boys are one way, but dads who've raised girls just have something different about their personalities, and I think Beregond has that.

Originally I thought that Bergil's baby sis was just a couple months old when the women and children had to leave Minas Tirith, but I think I like your take on it even more...just the constant anxiety thrumming in the back of Beregond's mind like "my wife is with child and I have to get out of this war alive so I can meet my new son or daughter" is just.....mmm. *chef's kiss* Tasty tasty angst, you love to see it.

*hums under my breath* Gotta go, gotta get the job done, gotta start a new nation, gotta meet my son—TAKE THE BULLETS OUT YO GUN—

I think it's a safe guess to say that Iorlas is Bergil's maternal uncle. Families in LotR tend to pass down similar names (Baranor, Beregond, Bergil...Eomund, Eomer, Eowyn...Arathorn, Aragorn...you get the drift), so everyone on the paternal side of the family—that is, Beregond's side—probably has names that start with B.

.......Which then gives us a bit of a clue what Beregond's wife's name might be!! It probably starts with "Io"! And their daughter's name might too. 8-D

(LotR language nerds, what's a good feminine suffix for a Gondorian name?? Asking for a friend. Totally don't need it for fic writing or anything *cough* And don't say Ioreth, that one's already taken.)

It's also probably a safe bet that the maternal side of the family comes from Lossnarch. Beregond was probably born and raised in Minas Tirith, and when he got married, his wife came to live with him in the city.

ABSOLUTELY Beregond gets along great with his in-laws, how could he not?? :-D Bergil seems to speak of Iorlas as if he's a constant fixture in his life, so Uncle Iorlas probably comes to Minas Tirith pretty often. Maybe on business? Perhaps he has a job that requires a lot of travelling, like a postal courier? And sometimes Beregond and Bergil and the whole family to go Lossnarch to visit the grandparents too. Bergil thinks Uncle Iorlas is the coolest guy ever (second to Dad).

As for Beregond's side of the family...I dunno. I feel like if he had any brothers on active duty, we would've heard about it. But I also doubt that Beregond was an only child, given how most ancient cultures tend to place value on large families. Maybe he only had sisters?? Would explain a bit about him, actually. If his father and mother are still alive, said father was probably too old to be of any use in the City when the war started, and both of them left with the other refugees early on.

......I don't know why I feel like Beregond's mother is dead. Probably just because most of the women in LotR are either dead or missing. I really do feel like she's not around anymore, even though I have absolutely no evidence to substantiate it.

I'd like to order a #5 and a #7 for both Iorlas and Erchirion.

😊🎄

Thank you for asking about Erchiorlas! These answers are more for a modern AU, but I think their personalities would be similar in my fic, as well.

5. Iorlas is definitely a procrastinator, and he's also kind of an impulsive buyer. But somehow he still manages to get something that he knows people will like or will use, even if it may not necessarily be personal or "the perfect gift." He doesn't even attempt to wrap his gifts--he sticks a bow on top and calls it a day. For the most part, he buys his gifts, but he does woodworking occasionally and used to make Christmas gifts when his nephews were younger, and he makes wooden decor for his sister's garden.

Erchirion is a perfectionist and a planner. He makes lists of possible gift ideas for everyone and keeps notes of past conversations for any hints they may drop of what to get them. There are dates in his calendar for when he has to have everyone's gifts narrowed down to at least 3 choices, when he goes out shopping or shops online (though he always shops during sales), and when he has to have the gifts at least ordered. He's probably the best at wrapping gifts out of the 4 kids, although Lothiriel might disagree, and he prefers to curl ribbons with scissors rather than use a bow. He uses a different wrapping paper for each person and a different ribbon color, as well.

7. I feel like Iorlas might be more interested in snowboarding or perhaps ice hockey, though he wouldn't be good enough to compete. But he would only do it for fun anyway, rather than for a career. Iorlas would build snow forts and have snowball fights with Bergil and Borlas when they were kids, and he'd take them sledding. Someday he wants to buy a snowmobile and have Erchirion ride on the back of it; Erchirion keeps trying to talk him out of it.

Something tells me Imrahil made all of his kids learn how to ski. He just brought them all to the White Mountains every winter and they learned to ski, so Erchirion has gotten fairly good at it; but again, it's not something he would want to do professionally. Erchirion tried to teach Iorlas how to ski, but while he's got the hang of handling a hockey stick, for some reason the ski poles are just too weird for him.

Thank you again for the ask!

Christmas/Yule Ask Game

I actually don’t have many, though I can think of some because he’s a sweetheart <3

I remember that he had a younger son, who presumably was evacuated with the others to Lossarnach, while Bergil remained behind in Minas Tirith. (Poor little Borlas, can you imagine?) I expect the family is from Lossarnach (and ofc ultimately Ithilien) so Borlas may even have gone to some family homestead.

I’m inclined to think Iorlas is Beregond’s brother-in-law and not his brother, though either is possible, and I assume Borlas was named for him (recycling components rather than whole components is pretty common). Mostly it’s because of the ages.

Gender: Male

Pronunciation: EE-or-lahs; EE-or-las

Origin: Literature

Meaning: Old leaf; Old joy