Tolkienists.org

Tar-Meneldur and the Sorontil Royal Observatory

— Kristine Larsen, Professor, Geological Sciences, Central Connecticut State University

Paper given 4 September 2021 at the 3rd day of Oxonmoot 2021

Tar-Meneldur, the fifth king of Númenor, is the best documented astronomer (Q. Meneldil) in the history of Middle-earth. He carefully watched the motions of heavens from his private observatory tower in the northern heights of the island until the duties of being king interfered. This presentation will compare Tar-Menedur to the lives of real-world astronomer-nobles; critique his observatory location and choice of architecture (hint: a far better choice than Orthanc, the other Middle-earth observatory tower); speculate on the instrumentation and observation routine most closely aligned with the talents of a far-sighted pre-telescopic astronomer (and the navigational needs of a seafaring nation on a flat planet); and finally suggest real world controversies surrounding observatories at Oxford, Greenwich, and Edinburgh that may have informed Tolkien’s inclusion of this character’s particular avocation.

Authoritative information may be found here.

permalink 🔗︁ https://sam.tolkienists.org/01ac/
source URL 🌐Oxonmoot 2021: Tar-Meneldur and the Sorontil Royal Obse...
date recorded 📅2022-01-25
scribe 🖋worblehat