Last night I watched Gondor Gambolling 58, in which Gryfflet becomes acquainted with Woses, and Corey raised a number of questions regarding their history and naming. I found the Wikipedia article on Druedain quite instuctive. I had not realized that they orginated in the east; part of them crossed the Anduin from the east and came directly to the forest where Gryfflet met them. The article stated that it was a different branch of them that went to Numenor and eventually left there or died out there.
At first Cory suggested that -buri- might mean "son of" but then seemed to abandon that when he encountered other middle words of the 3-part name. Consdering this, I thought of lots of other ways those 3-part names could work. Consider the name Corey-son of-Ole. Or Corey-of the family-Olsen. Or Corey-the-Tolkien Professor. Or perhaps Corey-whose father is-Fred. Or Corey-whose aunt is-Matilda. Or Corey-descendant of-Helm. Or Corey-from-Someplace. And sometimes that middle joining word could be subject to gender (or some other modifier), either the gender of Corey or the gender of the object used to distinguish Corey, like his father versus his aunt or his place of origen. I wonder if the creators of Lotro had any particular idea in mind for these names for the Woses. But there are lots of others places in Tolkien where similar 3-part names are used. Consider Aragorn-son of-Arathorn. Or Aragorn-heir of-Isildur. Or Galadriel-of the-Golden Wood. Or Bilbo-of-Bag End. Or SamWise-servant of-Frodo. Or Peregrin-called-Pippin. Sometimes titles are used rather like names. It might be interesting to examine all of Lord of the Rings and it's related works to see how names and titles are used and how they relate to each other. And then there are place names. And in-game object names like holly trees and Ilex wood in Eregion. Or Peregrin's Progress when he is taken by Gandalf to Gondor (consider the reference to Bunyan).
Perhaps the Woses are actually using a more sophisticated naming system then we first suppose. If they are magic (as the Wikipedia article suggests) maybe their name indicates the type and title of the master under whom they studied or the type and level of their skill at magic. Also, considering their magic, perhaps we should look at ways that magic might be indicated in LOTRO, like using orc-skin drums as a repelent for Orcs, or whether Pukel-men statues actually do keep the wood safe, rather than supposing it's superstition. Hmm... thinking of that, it reminds me of a golem, a stone man that can come to life to do good or harm. Or perhaps the Orc-skin drums and the Pukel-men statues are more like the Watcher at Minas Morgul that guards the entrance to Mordor. How is Wose magic alike or different?
One last thing, I'm not sure if this forum is the correct place to ask questions related to Gryfflet's adventures and issues Corey raises there. Is there some place more appropriate?
At first Cory suggested that -buri- might mean "son of" but then seemed to abandon that when he encountered other middle words of the 3-part name. Consdering this, I thought of lots of other ways those 3-part names could work. Consider the name Corey-son of-Ole. Or Corey-of the family-Olsen. Or Corey-the-Tolkien Professor. Or perhaps Corey-whose father is-Fred. Or Corey-whose aunt is-Matilda. Or Corey-descendant of-Helm. Or Corey-from-Someplace. And sometimes that middle joining word could be subject to gender (or some other modifier), either the gender of Corey or the gender of the object used to distinguish Corey, like his father versus his aunt or his place of origen. I wonder if the creators of Lotro had any particular idea in mind for these names for the Woses. But there are lots of others places in Tolkien where similar 3-part names are used. Consider Aragorn-son of-Arathorn. Or Aragorn-heir of-Isildur. Or Galadriel-of the-Golden Wood. Or Bilbo-of-Bag End. Or SamWise-servant of-Frodo. Or Peregrin-called-Pippin. Sometimes titles are used rather like names. It might be interesting to examine all of Lord of the Rings and it's related works to see how names and titles are used and how they relate to each other. And then there are place names. And in-game object names like holly trees and Ilex wood in Eregion. Or Peregrin's Progress when he is taken by Gandalf to Gondor (consider the reference to Bunyan).
Perhaps the Woses are actually using a more sophisticated naming system then we first suppose. If they are magic (as the Wikipedia article suggests) maybe their name indicates the type and title of the master under whom they studied or the type and level of their skill at magic. Also, considering their magic, perhaps we should look at ways that magic might be indicated in LOTRO, like using orc-skin drums as a repelent for Orcs, or whether Pukel-men statues actually do keep the wood safe, rather than supposing it's superstition. Hmm... thinking of that, it reminds me of a golem, a stone man that can come to life to do good or harm. Or perhaps the Orc-skin drums and the Pukel-men statues are more like the Watcher at Minas Morgul that guards the entrance to Mordor. How is Wose magic alike or different?
One last thing, I'm not sure if this forum is the correct place to ask questions related to Gryfflet's adventures and issues Corey raises there. Is there some place more appropriate?
Last edited: