A poetic name for the region of Aman known as Eldamar, the home of the Elves in the West, from which Eärendil set out on his epic journeys beyond the world. The name appears only in Bilbo's "Song of Eärendil" at Rivendell, but in Lórien Galadriel sang of a place named Ever-eve, which was apparently a reference to the same land. In Bilbo's poem, Evereven is described as being a land of hills and fountains.
In fact the name 'Evereven' refers back to an earlier form of the poem. In the original conception,2 Eärendil undertook an epic journey carrying him on a cycle from Evereven through Evernight, Evernoon and Evermorn. Much of this was lost from the final forms3 of the song, but both Evereven and Evernight both survived into The Lord of the Rings.
Notes
1 |
The name is a direct equivalent of Ever-eve, with the -even part of the name representing evening or twilight. On that basis, the -even element would be pronounced with a long e sound as in the word 'evening' (and so the whole name would be pronounced as English 'ever even').
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2 |
That is, the original conception involving Eärendil. Actually, the song dates back farther than that, and evolved from a poem that initially had no connection to Eärendil's voyage: "Errantry", reproduced as part of the collection known as The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.
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3 |
Curiously, the "Song of Eärendil" that appears in The Lord of the Rings is not Tolkien's final version. The text of that version, titled the Eärendillinwë, was mislaid and an earlier, shorter version of the poem was printed in its place (and has appeared in all subsequent editions of the book). The completed Eärendillinwë was later recovered, and is reproduced in full in The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion.
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- Updated 23 September 2022
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