Uinen was an Ainu, a Maia of Ulmo.  She was the spouse of Osse.  She is only spoken of little in the Silmarillion, yet there is much more about her than what the Silmarillion reveals.

 

For one, she has been a character since the Book of Lost Tales, and her personality and origin have remained basically unchanged ever since.  She has been a Maia of Ulmo, and has always been the Lady of the Seas.  Her hair has always been spread out through all the shallows of the seas, and she has always loved everything within the salt waters.  Her spouse has always been Osse.

 

Yet in the Book of Lost Tales Part 1, it is said she had a part in the making of the Ship of the Moon.  This was of course changed in the Silmarillion.

 

In Unfinished Tales, I was surprised to find quite a bit about Uinen.

 

It seems that during the time of Aldarion, he formed a guild of venturers named "Uinendili", the Lovers of Uinen.  Aldarion's ship, Eambar, would set sail all over the seas, but for the most part stayed anchored on the isle of Tol Uinen, which was set there in the Bay of Romenna by Uinen.

It was said that Uinen alone, save Ulmo, could harness Osse's wrath and chaotic nature.  It seems she began to favor the Numenorians much (especially the Uinendili) and restrained many storms that would have caused awful sailing around Numenor.  One reason the Uinendili gained this favor was because they set upon their ships the Green Bough of Return, which was cut from the tree oiolaire, as a token of friendship with Osse and Uinen.

 

Uinen's name was used again at the feast when Aldarion named his wife, Erendis, Uineniel, Daughter of Uinen, new Lady of the Sea.  But Erendis, hating the felling of the trees that were used to make ships, and the sea itself, cried aloud:

'Call me by no such name! I am no daughter of Uinen: rather she is my foe.'

 

There is a long story behind this remark, as Aldarion loved the sea, and great jealousy grew within Erendis of Uinen, who seemed to get a lot of attention from Aldarion.  In a fight they had after the feast:

 

"'I will not share my husband with the Lady Uinen,' said Erendis. 'That is a twisted saying,' said Aldarion. 'As well might I say that I would not share my wife with the Lord Orome of Forests, because she loves trees that grow wild.'  'Indeed you would not,' said Erendis; 'for you would fell any wood as a gift to Uinen, if you had a mind.'"

 

Aldarion became the father of Ancalime the first Queen of Numenor.  More detail is spoken of this in their seperate entries.

 

Unfortunatley, Uinen isn't spoken of much in the Silmarillion.  All that is given is that she was the Lady of the Seas, and that when the Kinslayers set sail from Alqualode, she wept for the Teleri and caused many of the swan ships to sink, killing the Noldor inside.

 

References: The Silmarillion, The Book of Lost Tales: 1, Unfinished Tales
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