The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Destroyed at the end of the First Age
Location
Flowing southwestwards from the March of Maedhros to meet Aros southeast of Doriath
Source
The foothills to the southeast of Himring
Tributaries
None
Outflow
Into Aros at the southern tip of Arthórien
Pronunciation
ke'lon
Meaning
Originally simply 'river'1

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About this entry:

  • Updated 9 June 2018
  • Updates planned: 1

River Celon

The river that flowed past Nan Elmoth

Map of the river Celon

A tributary of the Aros that rose in the highlands around Himring and flowed southwestwards until it met the Aros on the borders of Doriath. The woods of Nan Elmoth lay on its southern bank.


Notes

1

The Elvish root kel- meant 'run' or 'flow', especially of water, and in The Etymologies (in volume V of The History of Middle-earth) this gives rise to a noun celon meaning 'river'. This initial simple idea underwent some development, and ultimately Tolkien seems to have intended to reject the name Celon altogether. In volume XI of The History of Middle-earth, we have a note that the name Celon needed revision to make full etymological sense, and even a comment that 'Celon is too hackneyed a river-name', with the stated intention to replace it with Limhir ('clear/sparkling river'). Nonetheless the older form Celon is the one that survived into the published Silmarillion.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 9 June 2018
  • Updates planned: 1

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