Westernesse is a fictional kingdom in the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

of ''

King Horn ''King Horn'' is a Middle English chivalric romance dating back to the middle of the thirteenth century. It survives in three manuscripts: London, British Library, MS. Harley 2253; Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Laud. Misc 108; and Cambridge, Cambri ...

''. It also featured in the writings of Tolkien as a translation of

Númenor Númenor, also called Elenna-nórë or Westernesse, is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was the kingdom occupying a large island to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was the greatest civil ...

, a realm in

Middle-earth Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is t ...

King Horn

In ''King Horn'', Westernesse can be reached by sea, and is ruled by King Almair. The throne eventually passes to Arnoldin, who is a loyal companion of the narrative's hero, Horn. Whether or not Westernesse should be identified with one or more real-world locations remains, however, a point of dispute, since the narrative contains little geographic detail, and only vaguely echoes historical events. It has been associated with various regions in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

, among which are the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

and the Wirral district in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

Tolkien

Many people today know "Westernesse" as

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...

's translation of

, the name which he gave to one of the realms in his fictional world of

. Tolkien, who studied Middle English texts professionally, indicated in one of his letters that he had derived his translation from the name as it occurred in ''King Horn'': "I have often used ''Westernesse'' as a translation. This is derived from rare Middle English ''Westernesse'' (known to me only in MS. C of ''King Horn'') where the meaning is vague, but may be taken to mean 'Western lands' as distinct from the East inhabited by the Paynim and Saracens.", letter 276 (12 September 1965)

Notes

References

* *

External links

* — Introduction to the TEAMS edition of ''King Horn'' *{{Citation, url=http://www.thetolkienwiki.org/wiki.cgi?Westernesse , title=Westernesse , publisher=TolkienWiki , date=24 February 2004 , access-date=11 April 2013 — Tolkien on 'Westernesse' at the ''Tolkien Wiki'' Romance (genre) Medieval literature Middle English literature