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Melwen

A Melwen or Love-Maiden and her Suitor

Melwen (S."Lovemaiden", pl. Milwyn), also Sweetsinger and Nightsinger, originally was a common term in the Dúnedain Kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor to designate a female minstrel and dancer who was a learned entertainer and companion.

History of sweetsingers[]

The milwyn of the early Third Age had respectable establishments in the great cities of Osgiliath and Annúminas, and some in Fornost Erain, Minas Anor, and Pelargir. Most were born to middle class or working class Arnorian or Gondorian families, and were trained in courtliness by a "melemel", a mother figure in the establishment. Training started around the age of twenty, with most graduating to full sweetsingers around the age of thirty, which was a respectable marriageable age for those of weaker Númenórean blood. They knew how to dance in the traditional Dúnadan styles. They could play multiple instruments (often at least the harp, lyre and flute) and sing or recite epic poetry in Westron, Adûnaic, Sindarin, and sometimes Quenya. Many were experts in hairdressing, tailoring, and knowing the fashion of the day, and some wealthy women employed former milwyn as ladies' maids or housekeepers (while some ladies' maids or housekeepers went on to become sweetsingers). Another common specialty was acting in traditional Dúnadan theater styles. All were experts on courtly etiquette, and were fine elocutionists, conversationalists and hostesses. This often made them masters of intrigue, and they often knew much of the politics of the day, especially regarding the ladies of court.

Originally, a melwen receiving a male customer was not considered inappropriate at all, and was seen as an opportunity for him to experience high courtly life. She might flirt with her customer in a playful, subtle, and courtly manner, but this was not taken as a desire for true romance, and would never lead to a sexual relationship. A melwen was traditionally considered very chaste, and if she married (to a customer or a man outside her work), she would retire. She would sometimes receive female customers, and would not flirt (unless requested to host "in the style of a meleselde"), but would act as dear friends, and this was usually to acquaint foreigners or non-courtly Gondorian/Arnorian women with their high etiquette.

However, the term soon fell into disgrace in the 9th and 10th centuries. In the North, there was a decline in court grandeur and overall wealth following the division of Arnor, and many milwyn lost customers, forcing some into offering sexual services to make ends meet. In the South, some women of the newly conquered Umbar called themselves "milwyn" while acting as courtesans. Thus, the term became a euphemism for a mistress, courtesan, and later a common prostitute. Since prostitution was not allowed or at least not socially acceptable under the Dúnadan rule, sweetsingers often formally worked as seamstresses or in brothels disguised as bathhouses.

By the mid-Third Age onwards, sweetsingers were usually recruited from the lowest and poorest classes of society and were usually common women, not of Dúnadan heritage. A few brothels however gained riches and reputation for service and discretion and some Milwyn were quite wealthy, although disrespected, citizens.

The last reputable houses of the milwyn closed in Gondor around the Kin-strife, and in Arnor were mostly abandoned or fell into disrepute after the abandoment of Annúminas. A woman with the traditional talents of the early milwyn was sometimes employed as a hostess by a lord or wealthy family, sometimes combined with the role of housekeeper and/or lady's maid.

Male equivalents[]

In the late Second Age and early Third Age, it was not uncommon for there to be male sweetsingers (in male sweetsinger houses or mixed sex houses) who peformed the same refined arts as their female counterparts, but they declined quickly, with many men of the same talents as sweetsingers receiving employment as an official court bard or host, or sometimes a butler or valet. The houses of sweetsingers thus became entirely female by the second century. Any young man who was a talented performer and wanted to be received in respectable society would therefore approach a lord's servants for training, rather than having anything to do with the women of the sweetsingers.

When Umbar was taken by Gondor, some male courtesans in the houses of their "milwyn" were calling themselves "melionnath" ("sons of love", sing. "milion"), which thusly became a euphemism for a male courtesan or a kept male lover, and later a common male prostitute, often serving as a small minority alongside their female counterparts.

Roleplaying[]

in Rolemaster a Melwen may be interpreted as an Enchantress, Geisha, or Houri.

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