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carcanet (KAR-kuh-net) - n., an ornamental necklace, collar, or headband.
Used in Bilbo and Aragorn's "Short Lay of Eärendel," in which Elwing takes the Silmaril necklace she wears, "more bright than light of diamond / the fire upon her carcanet," and gives it to Eärendel, who wears it as a headband, "crowned him with the living light." Also used by Shakespeare, btw, in Sonnet LII. Taken around 1530 from French carcanet, diminutive of carcan, yoke for punishment, probably from Medieval Latin carcanum/carcannum, of unknown origin (possibly Germanic).
And that wraps up a week of words from The Lord of the Rings, and this time back Monday to the usual mix.
---L.
Used in Bilbo and Aragorn's "Short Lay of Eärendel," in which Elwing takes the Silmaril necklace she wears, "more bright than light of diamond / the fire upon her carcanet," and gives it to Eärendel, who wears it as a headband, "crowned him with the living light." Also used by Shakespeare, btw, in Sonnet LII. Taken around 1530 from French carcanet, diminutive of carcan, yoke for punishment, probably from Medieval Latin carcanum/carcannum, of unknown origin (possibly Germanic).
And that wraps up a week of words from The Lord of the Rings, and this time back Monday to the usual mix.
---L.
