Volume 14 Number 4 Article 10 Summer 7-15-1988 Quenti Lambardillion: The Laborer-Asthete: Tengwar on the Title Page Paul Nolan Hyde Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons Recommended Citation Hyde, Paul Nolan (1988) "Quenti Lambardillion: The Laborer-Asthete: Tengwar on the Title Page," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 14 : No. 4 , Article 10. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol14/iss4/10 This Column is brought to you for free and open access by the Mythopoeic Society at SWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature by an authorized editor of SWOSU Digital Commons. An ADA compliant document is available upon request. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To join the Mythopoeic Society go to: http://www.mythsoc.org/join.htm Mythcon 51: A VIRTUAL “HALFLING” MYTHCON July 31 - August 1, 2021 (Saturday and Sunday) http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm Mythcon 52: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien Albuquerque, New Mexico; July 29 - August 1, 2022 http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-52.htm Abstract Considers the Runic and Tengwar letters on the title pages of The Lord of the Rings as compared to The Silmarillion and other subsequent titles edited by Christopher Tolkien. Additional Keywords Tolkien, Christopher—Editorship; Tolkien, J.R.R.—Languages This column is available in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol14/iss4/10 MYTHLORE 54: Summer 1988 Page 39 Quenti Lambardillion Jl Column on JVliddle-earth Linguistics Paul Nolan Hyde The tales of the First Age when Mor­ The Laborer-Asthete: goth dwelt in Middle-earth and the Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Tengwar on the Title Page Silmarils: to which are appended the Down­ When personal acquaintances discover that I fall of Numenor and the History of the have advanced degrees in English language and Rings of Power and the Third Age in which literature they are impressed; when they discover these tales come to their end that both my master’s thesis and doctoral disserta­ tion treat J.R.R. Tolkien’s invented languages, their The volume Unfinished Tales signals Christo­ reactions vary, but almost always accompanied by a pher Tolkien’s visible emergence as the editor of smile. I have generally been left to surmised pre­ his father’s literary treasury. The Title Page is cisely what the smile implies. Being an optimistic undoubtedly completely his. sort by nature, impervious to epithets (veiled or otherwise), I assume that the smile means, "Won­ In this book of Unfinished Tales by derful! Finally I know someone who received a PhD John Ronald Reuel Tolkien which was in something that was undoubtedly fun." In all brought together by Christopher Reuel Tol­ candor, it was fun. The great delight, however, has kien his son are told many things of Men been to realize that after more than twenty years and Elves in Numenor and in Middle-earth of studying Tolkien’s linguistics, it is still fun. from the Elder Days in Beleriand to the There is an exhilaration associated with arriving at War of the Ring and an account is given of an insight about what he created that is aesthetic the Druedain of Istari and the Palantiri in nature, a special kind of appreciation of an extraordinary mind at work. Behind every aesthetic As one might guess, the two volumes of the experience, however, there is an enormous amount Book of Lost Tales have similar Title Page inscrip­ of "horse work", tedious laboring that seems end­ tions. Part One is as follows: less. I have come to believe, as a result, that all things that generate truly satisfying aesthetic This is the first part of the Book of pleasure involve meticulous, grueling work. In con­ Lost Tales of Elfinesse which Eriol the junction with this laborer-aesthete principle is the Mariner learned from the Elves of Tol idea that one can only write powerfully, convin­ Eressea the Lonely Isle in the Western cingly, from a position of strength. Simply put, one Ocean and afterwards wrote in the Golden has to know what one is talking about. This often Book of Tavrobel: herein are told the tales requires pursuing an idea or task almost ad of Valinor from the Music of the Ainur to nauseam. The Title Page inscriptions of the pub­ the Exile of the Noldoli and of (the) Hiding lished works of Middle-earth provide such an of Valinor. opportunity. Part Two continues the original composition: Deciphering the Runic and Tengwar letters of the Title pages is what I would call "Quick Fun". This is the second part of the Book of Almost every Tolkien fan I know has spent at least Lost Tales of Elfinesse which Eriol the a few moments laboring over the inscriptions, if for Mariner learned from the Elves of Tol nothing more than idle curiosity. I will now dismiss Eressea the Lonely Isle in the Western the idle curious by giving a transcription for each, Ocean and afterwards wrote in the Golden thus dispensing with "Quick Fun". Book of Tavrobel: herein are told the tales of Beren and Tinuviel of Turambar of the The Title Page of The Lord of the Rings imple­ Fall of Gondolin and of the Necklace of the ments both Certhar runes and Tengwar script. The Dwarves. runic portion is italicized: The Title Page of The Lays of Beleriand follow in the same vein: The Lord of the Rings translated from the Red Book of West March by John In the first part of this book is given Ronald Reuel Tolkien: herein is set forth the Lay of the Children of Hurin by John the History of the War of the Ring and the Ronald Reuel Tolkien in which is set forth Return of the King as seen by the Hobbits1 in part the Tale of Turin: in the second part is the Lay of Liethian which is the Gest of Beren and Luthien as far as the The inscription for The Silmarillion may have encounter of Beren with Carcharoth at the been in part formulated by J.R.R. Tolkien, but cer­ tainly put in its final form by his son Christopher. gate of Angband MYTH LORE 54: Summer 1988 The Shaping of Middle-earth Title Page since JRRT generally used a subscribed dot to rep­ includes Quenya titleB of works together with their resent a silent "e". Having the superscripted dot meanings: represent "e" as well, unified the overall system in terms of simple spelling. JRRT himBelf, however, Herein are the Quenta Noldorinwa the used the superscripted dot for "e" in his personal History of the Gnomes: the Ambarkanta or correspondence to Hugh Brogan ( Letters, p. 132, Shape of the World by Rumil: the Annals of 224), thus justifying Christopher’s use (if it needs Valinor and the Annals of Beleriand by any justification). Of great interest is Christopher’s Pengolod the Wise of Gondolin: with dates development of the tehta for ”u". J.R.R. Tolkien’s of the world in the Elder Days and trans­ line tehtar ("e", "o", and "u") are strokes that lations made by Aelfwine the Mariner of move from lower-left to upper-right, the "o" cur­ England into the tongue of his own land. ling thereafter down-right and the "u" curling up- left. By Unfinished Tales (and thereafter), "u" is a Volume 5 of The History of Middle-earth, The stroke that "moves" from upper-left to lower-right, Lost Road is the latest of the series: the curl downward placed on the upper-left. I placed the word moves in quotes because it is Herein are collected the oldest tale of difficult to tell which way Christopher makes the the Downfall of Numenor: the story of the stroke, although I suspect that it is from right-to- Lost Road into the West: the Annals of Val­ left rather than the normal left-to-right. I do not inor and the Annals of Beleriand in a later have in my possession any holograph that shows form: the Ainulindale or Music of the Ainur: J.R.R. Tolkien using this form of "u" and suggest the Lhamraas or Account of Tongues: the that it has been developed by Christopher to Quenta Silmarillion or History of the Sil- accommodate his own hand, and, perhaps, to avoid marils: and the history of many words and the visual confusion that sometimes occurs between names. the three line tehtar. A close inspection of these transcriptions and There are two other differences in the Tengwar their sources reveals a transition of character representations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s name that bear usage and, in some instances, a philosophical shift mentioning in passing. First is the extraordinary from J.R.R. Tolkien’s implementation of the Tengwar spelling of John as Jhon. I have raised this issue to hie son’s. A good place to start is with the before and refer the reader to ML 51, pages 22-23, Tengwar spelling of J.R.R. Tolkien’s name which which I think satisfactorily settles the question. appears in The Lord of the Rings, Unfinished Why would Christopher do it differently? I believe Tales, and The Lays of Beleriand.