galadhrien

feminine name. Tree-lady

An early name for S. Galadriel appearing in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s as a combination of galadh “tree” and the lenited form of rhien “lady” (TI/249). There were also (rejected) variants Rhien and Galdri(e)n.

Conceptual Development: Tolkien soon changed her name to Galadriel (TI/246), but it likely that at this early stage, her name still included galadh “tree”, since Tolkien often represented [ð] with “d” instead of “dh” in Lord of the Rings drafts: compare N. Caradras with S. Caradhras. The derivation of Galadriel’s name from S. galad “light” is probably a later innovation.

Changes

• Rhien → Galdri(e)n ✧ TI/249
• Galdri(e)n → Galadhrien ✧ TI/249

Variations

• Rhien ✧ TI/249; TII/Galadriel
• Galdri(e)n ✧ TI/249
• Galdrin ✧ TII/Galadriel
• Galdrien ✧ TII/Galadriel
• Galadrien ✧ TII/Galadriel