Dorwinion
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In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Dorwinion or Dor-Winion, the Land of Wines, is a land which lay on the northwestern shores of the Sea of Rhûn.
Dorwinion was drawn at Tolkien's advice on Pauline Baynes' map of Middle-earth as lying at the end of the Carnen and Celduin, at the northwest shore of the Sea of Rhûn, and in that position it has since appeared on other maps.
Dorwinion is mentioned in The Hobbit as the place where the special wine of the Elven King (Thranduil) comes from, and the barrels are returned by way of the Forest River to the Long Lake of Esgaroth, clearly implying a trade route to and from the Lake Town.
In Dorwinion was made a heady wine, which was strong enough to let even Elves get drunk and fall asleep.
Not much else is known about Dorwinion, and the name cannot easily be translated. The meaning of the name is not known.
Dorwinion is also mentioned in the Narn i Chîn Húrin, where it was drunk in Thingol's halls of Menegroth. It is said there to lie in the Burning south, which might suggest it was a different 'Dorwinion', or may just have referred to the fact it came from the more southern lands of Rhovanion by way of the dwarf-road.
It has been suggested by Tolkienists that the name Dorwinion may not have been Sindarin at all, but come from an Avari or Nandorin tongue: if that is the case Dorwinion may have been the only Avari realm close to those areas of Middle-earth that Tolkien's stories take place. While dor is a common Elvish term meaning "land" or "realm" (also seen in Gondor, Mordor, and other names), the element "Winion", apparently meaning "wine", has no probable origin in any known etymology, and does not even fit the pattern of any known Elvish language.[1]
Exactly who lived in Dorwinion is equally unclear: support for the Elven origin of Dorwinion is that its population must have been Elvish, since it was already well established while the Atanatári were still young, and no realms of Men are known before the establishment of Estolad.
On the other hand, it might simply be inhabited by Men, on account of its location, and references to "vineyards of Men in distant lands" from The Hobbit. A change in population is also possible as The Hobbit takes place over 6000 years after the Narn, and whatever Elves lived there may have left.
| Realms from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium during the First Age | |
|---|---|
| Noldorin realms: | Dor-lómin • Dorthonion • East Beleriand • Gondolin • Himlad • Hithlum • Maglor's Gap • March of Maedhros • Nargothrond • Nevrast • Thargelion • Tol Sirion |
| Sindarin realms: | Falas • Doriath |
| Avarin and Nandorin realms: | Dorwinion • Lórinand • Ossiriand |
| Realms of the Edain (Men): | Brethil • Dor-lómin • Estolad • Ladros |
| Realms of the Ents: | Fangorn forest • Forests of Eriador • Forests of South Beleriand |
| Realms of the Dwarves: | Belegost • Khazad-dûm • Nogrod |
| Realms of the enemy: | Angband • Dor Daedeloth • Utumno |
| Realms from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium during the Second Age | |
|---|---|
| Realms of Men: | Arnor • Gondor • Lond Daer • Númenor • Rohan • Umbar |
| Realms of the Elves: | Dorwinion • Edhellond • Eregion • Lindon • Lórinand • Greenwood the Great • Rivendell |
| Realms of the Dwarves: | Belegost • Khazad-dûm |
| Realms of the Ents: | Fangorn forest |
| Realms of the enemy: | Cirith Ungol • Mordor |
| Realms from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium during the Third Age | |
|---|---|
| Realms of Men: | Arnor • Arthedain • Breeland • Cardolan • Corsairs of Umbar • Dale • Dol Amroth • Dunland • Éothéod • Esgaroth • Gondor • Harad • Khand • Rhovanion • Rhudaur • Rhûn • Rohan • Umbar |
| Realms of the Elves: | Lindon • Lothlórien • Northern Mirkwood • Rivendell |
| Realms of the Dwarves: | Belegost • Erebor • Grey Mountains • Iron Hills • Khazad-dûm |
| Realms of the Hobbits: | Breeland • Gladden Fields • The Shire |
| Realms of the Ents: | Fangorn forest |
| Uncertain population: | Dorwinion |
| Realms of the enemy: | Angmar • Barad-dûr • Dol Guldur • Isengard • Mordor |
[edit] Notes
- ^ Outside the mythology, the term "dor" is a common European term for "sleep"[citation needed], which together with "winion"=wine could mean the name was a linguistic pun: the "heady wine" comes from a land with the name "sleep wine".
