In Germanic mythology, Myrkviðr (Old Norse "dark wood" or "black forest") is the name of several European forests. The direct derivatives of the name occur as a place name both in Sweden and Norway. Related forms of the name occur elsewhere in Europe, such as in the Black Forest (Schwarzwald), and may thus be a general term for dark and dense forests of ancient Europe. The name was anglicised by Sir Walter Scott (in Waverley) and William Morris (in The House of the Wolfings) and later popularized by J. R. R. Tolkien as "Mirkwood".