Avathar was a dark strip of land at the feet of the southern Pelóri mountain range in the continent of Aman.[1]
History[]
Avathar was a wasteland devoid of all life save for the Great Spider Ungoliant whose home was there before she agreed to go with Melkor to Middle-earth. After Melkor left Valinor, the Valar, believing that their foe had fled to Middle-earth to his old hiding places, did not think him still in Aman and did not find him here.[2]
Etymology[]
Avathar is a Quenya word that meant 'shadows' or 'the Shadows'.[3][4]
Earlier names[]
Tolkien's very first conception of Avathar, predating even the Lost Tales, was "Habannan", a place mentioned only in an early poem from 1915 entitled "Habannan beneath the Stars"[5]. Four name-changes then occurred before the publishing of The Silmarillion: Habannan was emended to Eruman, which became a name "interchangeable with Arvalin"[6]. These names appear throughout the tales contained in The Book of Lost Tales Part One. Eruman ultimately was changed to Araman[7]. Araman and Arvalin shared slightly similar definitions: 'close to Aman'[8] and 'beside Valinor'[9]. The character Ungoliant was invented during the use of the name Arvalin, and her realm eventually was exclusively called Avathar[10].
Translations[]
Foreign Language | Translated name |
Amharic | ዓቫትሃር |
Arabic | أفاثار |
Armenian | Ավատհար |
Assamese | অৱতাৰ |
Belarusian Cyrillic | аватарам |
Bengali | অব্যাথার |
Bulgarian Cyrillic | Аватхар |
Catalan | Àvathar |
Chinese | 阿維塔 |
Danish | Avathar ("Skyggernes Tomme Land") |
Georgian | ავათჰარ |
Greek | Αυαθαρ |
Gujarati | અવથર |
Hebrew | אבאתאר |
Hindi | आवथर |
Japanese | アバター |
Kannada | ಅವತಾರಕ್ಕೆ |
Kazakh | Аватар (Cyrillic) Avatar (Latin) |
Korean | 아바타 |
Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Аватар |
Macedonian Cyrillic | Аватар |
Marathi | अवथर |
Mongolian Cyrillic | Аватhар |
Nepalese | आवथर |
Persian | اواتهار |
Russian | Аватар |
Sanskrit | आवथर् |
Serbian | Аватар (Cyrillic) Avatar (Latin) |
Sinhalese | ආවථර් |
Tajik Cyrillic | Аватҳар |
Tamil | ஆவத்ஹர் |
Telugu | ఆవథర |
Thai | าฤะทะร |
Ukrainian Cyrillic | Аватар |
Urdu | اواتهار ? |
Uzbek | Аватҳар (Cyrillic) Avathar (Latin) |
Yiddish | אַוואַטהאַר |
References[]
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, The First Age, The Elder Days, "Valinor"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter VIII: "Of the Darkening of Valinor"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, "Index of Names"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XI: The War of the Jewels, Index
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, chapter III: "The Coming of the Valar and the Building of Valinor", Notes, Commentary on The Coming of the Valar and the Building of Valinor, pg. 91
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, Index, pg. 180
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, chapter III: "The Coming of the Valar and the Building of Valinor", Notes, Commentary on The Coming of the Valar and the Building of Valinor, pg. 93
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, chapter III: "The Coming of the Valar and the Building of Valinor", Notes, Commentary on The Coming of the Valar and the Building of Valinor, pg. 93
- ↑ Parf Edhellen, entry "Arvalin"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XI: The War of the Jewels, Part One: The Grey Annals