#irien

Princess of the Noldor

“(Finwe’s) second daughter was named Írien and her mother-name was Lalwendë (laughing maiden). By this name, or in shortened form Lalwen, she was generally known. She went into exile with her brother Fingolfin, who was most dear to her of all her kin.”

~ The Peoples of Middle-Earth

It puzzles me where the íri in Lalwen’s father-name came from, especially since her elder sister Findis is so very clearly named after their parents Indis and Finwë. I had discontentedly assumed that she must be named after one of her grandmothers but now I wonder if she, like her namesake Írissë, was named after a paternal aunt. Perhaps that is who Írien is, rather than one of Lalwen’s daughters?

The lack of a discernible pattern in the daughters’ father-names in the family when basically every son gets a patronymic irritates me. Aredhel named after an aunt, Galadriel after her father, Arwen after her maternal grandmother, Findis after both parents. With only half a Noldorin princess named after her mother, Írien the Aunt seems a better bet than Írien the Daughter.

Does it follow that Indis and Írien were close? Or did Írien remain unsure about her brother’s remarriage and honouring her in Írimë’s name was meant as a placating gesture?

(Now I finally have a suspect I am happy to accuse of being Glorfindel and Aranwë’s royal forebearer.)

Maggie: Jakarn is Been there, Done That

Maggie: Darien is Currently Doing That

Darien: *winks*

Maggie: Lerisa is It Happened Once in a Dream

Maggie: Kaleen is If I Had to Pick a Captain

Kaleen: I-

Maggie: Neramo is...

Maggie: Eagle 2

Neramo: oh thank the Stars

*later*

Maggie: I'd By Lying If I Said I Hadn't Thought About It is in position

Did a simple lil coloring job on the gorgeous lines I got from @gainstrive for my boyo Irien!

PS Gain- Thunderclap is lookin v snazzy & should probs have lore soon ;)

A traveller, eh? You're new to Irien? Well. That's something we don't see every day. If you're not from Irien, where are you from? They say Irien's a ball, don't they? It's not like you could've just jumped onto our map from your own.

Earth? Like soil? Soil ain't a place, buddy. Unless you mean to say that you just crawled out of the ground like a plains-mole. But I'd hardly be surprised if you did. Strange things are happening here, you know.

What kind of strange things? Oh, all sorts. No, I can't really explain. I pick up a lonely wanderer's tale here and there, but you can't really expect a little man like me to spell out the mysteries of the world. You know, there was another strange bloke just like you around here the other day. Just opened up a rift in reality and stepped casually out of his little nowhere. It was the strangest thing, I tell you.

But I digress. You know, there are some people who are really good at this sort of thing. I mean, the strange sort of thing. The knowing what's going on sort of thing. Some people are real good at having their eyes and ears open. Oh, not me, no. Not me at all. I can tell what's happening one day at a time. Some folks can string together the days, too, to make era-long garlands. But not me. I'm just here to take you across the ocean.