ISSN 1054-7606

rvinyar Tengwar
Number 50 March
· 2013

Contents

The "Turin Wrapper" 3

- ].R.R. Tolkien

Departments

Editor's Musings 2 Resources 27

Page 2 Vinyar Tengwar Number 50
· March 2013

Editor's Musings
Welcome at long last to the long-awaited fiftieth issue of Vinyar Tengwar!
I must of course apologize for the. exceedingly long time that has passed
since the previous issue was published, and I thank my subscribers for your
long patience. The past years have been the busiest of my professional and
family life, leaving little sustained time for avocational pursuits - though I
have not been entirely idle in those, assisting in other Tolkien-related proj ­
ects and even laying groundwork for some of my own that will hopefully
bear fruit in the coming years.
But professional demands have eased considerably of late, and so I am
very pleased this issue to present the long-expected "Tlirin Wrapper': which
comprises three untranslated Sindarin texts pertaining to the Narn i·Chin
Hurin that Tolkien composed sometime in the 1950s. While the general
sense of two of these texts, which represent descriptive titles for the Narn,
was readily apparent, certain forms and grammatical constructions were,
and are, neither unambigious nor readily analyzed. These texts thus required
much time, thought, and repeated examination of Tolkien's linguistic papers,
and careful research within his published writings of the period, to find such
evidence as could be brought to bear on the likely meaning and potential
derivation of various previously unattested forms and constructions in
these texts - and even so, several cruxes remain for which I can offer only
very tentative and not-entirely-satisfying proposals. These texts show yet
·
again how fluid was Tolkien's ongoing creation of the Eldarin tongues: every
attempt at composing in these languages could and usually did give rise to
words and grammatical devices that might be evidenced nowhere else than
on the sheet of paper on which they arose.
Finally, as previously announced, please note that this is the last issue of
Vinyar Tengwar that will be printed and mailed out by me, as well as the
last issue available by subscription. Future issues of VT will be published
and sold only through the online, print-on-demand publisher Lulu.com
(for details, see the VT Web Shop at http://www.elvish.org/VT/shop.html).
Watch for announcements of future issues on the E.L.F. website (http://www.
elvish.org) and on the Lambengolmor mailing list (http://tech.groups.yahoo.
com/group/lambengolmor/) .
- Carl F. Hostetter

This issue is dedicated to Collin Jacob Hostetter, my nephew

and favorite little dude, born February 6, 2005; and to
Caylee Ann Hostetter, my niece and favorite little girl,
born September 5, 2006.

Vinyar Tengwar is produced by the editor on an Apple MacBook Pro with Adobe
lnDesign CS6. VT is set in the Adobe Minion Pro and Gentium OpenType font families.
March 2013 Vinyar Tengwar · Number so Page 3

The "Turin Wrapper"

by J.R.R. Tolkien
A presentation and analysis by Carl F. Hostetter
J.R.R. Tolkien's texts © 2013 The Tolkien Trust

Introduction

In the late 1950s J.R.R. Tolkien resumed work on the Narn i·Chin Hurin
after a lapse of nearly a decade, and at this time made several plot-synopses
associated with the "Turins Saga" (cf. Xl:2ss). According to Christopher
Tolkien, his father kept these plot-synopses in a wrapper, on which he wrote
the words "Turin Plot &c': together with various brief, untranslated Sindarin
texts1 likewise associated with the "Turins Saga: and which we may thus
refer to as the "Turin Wrapper':2 This wrapper, reproduced and transcribed
on the following two pages, is now in the archives of the Bodleian Library in
Oxford, where it is catalogued as Tolkien MS. S9/2 fol. 2r.
Dr. Judith Priestman of the Department of Western Manuscripts has
kindly provided a physical description of the wrapper. It consists of a long
sheet of very thick greyish-brown paper, which has been folded over and
back on itself, then glued together to make a wrapper. The left side has been
cut straight, but the right side has been cut unevenly, then folded over onto
the verso, forming an envelope-like flap. The wrapper is 330 mm tall by 183
mm wide, excluding the right flap, which varies from 10 mm to 20 mm in
width. A cream-white label, 220 mm tall by 100 mm wide, has been affixed
to the recto. The text at the extreme left and top of the recto is a fragment of
printing, a relic, as will be shown, of the paper's original use as University of
Ireland stationery. All other text on the wrapper is written in what appears to

1. Since, as discussed below, the dating of these texts is uncertain, it is not

certain what Tolkien would have called their language at the time he wrote
them. If written in the late 1940s, or perhaps even sufficiently early in the 1950s,
the language would presumably still have been called "Noldorin"; or, if between
about 1951 and 1953, it may have been called "Beleriandic" (see VT46:23, V:346);
if later still, "Sindarin': I adopt the name "Sindarin'' here for convenience, but
when referring to the texts of the "Turin Wrapper" it should be understood as
shorthand for "late Noldorin or Beleriandic or early Sindarin''.
2. Private correspondence. The wrapper contained three such plot-synopses,
all in annalistic form. The first of these provides the entries for the years 490-5
through 502 (its end) given on pp. 256-58 of The War of the Jewels (see also
XI:148 s.v. §301 and Xb55). The second has entries only for the years 484-486.
The third, with entries (in places quite substantial) for the years 484-495, is
quoted from in XI:139 s.v. §275. A fourth text contained in the wrapper is not a
plot-synopsis, but rather a telescoped version of ilie story of the outlaws.
Page4 Vinyar Tengwar Number 50
· March 2013

C lf(<JI ..
..
-;,... / •
\. U Illl (
I
{
i --l. ,r);, (.. ' th
. \
�

·, gl;,..., ... ),trJ Cl.g'O>'Cr"

.. .
r,l, ., ''" \lolt!ritUJ ... h '1.0:
in �U<>t-k ..__: .. ..
tJ 'j'hob.r-

Bodleian MS. Tolkien S9h fol. 2r

© 2013 The Tolkien Trust
 March 2013 Vinyar Tengwar Number 50· Page 5

� [Area I] Iwerieon lwerien

[?]n Olsgoll lwerion iferien
reland.

� Turin Plot [Area IV}

&c ARian pent
lw
-Arp Arphent Rian
Hiwernia Tuorna: man agorech?
� Iwerian1 Si afl2-il-eem
� il eh em na en i naugrim
Eriu
en ir Ellath � thor
: Eireann �denammen
. .
............................... .......................................... . .

[Area 11]
[Area Ill]
Turin
Turamarth Turin ion Hurin
Turamarth
i·Veleglind i eithro en estar
ar Nienor sel
iChin Hurin. iglind then
. edain agorer ach in ellath hi
Morwen Niniel
� ed epholar3 eno. i chin Hurin
os i Veleglinn i
hi edain agorenr
ach in ellath ero ed epholar hi ri'ii4 Veleriann
A
ar in Ellath
epholar eno vi
i glinn th hen agorer
Edain mi Velerian, ach hi Eres�5
in Ellath er ir ed epholar

1.The "a' here is an alteration (by Tolkien) of original "e".

2. This reading is very uncertain. The initial character appears to overwrite
an earlier ''i': which may originally have been followed by an "n" or an "r"; while
the final letter may instead have been a 'd : ' '

3· The character given here as "p' represents the alteration of original "b" to
" "
p with the addition of a descender.
4· Tolkien has subsequently written a "v" above the "m", indicating that "mi"
should instead be "vi':
5· The reading of the deleted characters following "Eress" is uncertain. The
space preceding "ai" in this transcription reflects the spacing in the MS, but in
deleting the characters following "Eress" Tolkien made a trailing line extending
through the space that the first replacement character would occupy. It appears
that Tolkien wrote "ai" offset from "Eress" only to avoid this line, and thus that
the intended form is "Eressai".
 Page 6 Vinyar Tengwar · Number so March 2013

be blue-black ink, except for the words " Turin Plot &c'; which are evidently
in ballpoint pen. The verso is blank.3
To facilitate reference, the manuscript has been partitioned into four areas
in the transcription. Area I consists of various Celtic forms of the names
"Ireland" and "University of Ireland" (dearly prompted by the remnant of
printing). Areas II and Ill consist of workings of distinct but related Sindarin
titles and descriptions of ; . Veleglind *'the Great Song' of iChin Hurin 'the
Children of Huriri, in particular· of TUrin Turamarth 'Tfuin Master of Pate'.
Area IV consists of a Sindarin text representing a brief discourse of Rian, the
wife of Huor (paternal uncle of Turin), with their son Tuor.

Co mpo si tion o f the Texts

Since, as will be shown below, Tolkien's writing of the various Celtic forms in
Area I was occasioned by the printing at the top left of the wrapper, it seems
most likely that at least some of the forms were written while the printing
was still intact. However, it also appears that Tolkien continued these forms
after the wrapper was constructed, and the printing dissected, as presum­
ably the apparently homemade label on which the forms continue was not
affixed until that time. Comparison of the handwriting of the Celtic forms
on the label shows similarity with that of the Sindarin texts on the label, and
dissimilarity with that of the other Celtic forms, further suggesting that they
were written subsequent to the construction of the wrapper.
As for the Sindarin texts on the wrapper, it appears that the first thing
written in Area II, i.e. on the affixed label, was the simple title "Turin
Turamarth'; naming the tale whose associated writings were placed inside
the wrapper. Subsequently; a description was added in smaller writing:
"i· Veleglind i eithro en estar iChin Hurin. iglind then edain agorer ach in
ellath hi ed epholar eno". Two further phases of development of this text are
represented as replacements of parts of this description. First, the final clause
was rewritten as: "ach in ellath hi ero ed epholar". Subsequently, the entire
final sentence was rewritten as: "i glinn hen agorer Edain mi Veleriann, ach hi
in Ellath ir ed epholar':
The text of Area Ill, related to and largely parallel with that in Area II,
is written in the margin of the wrapper to the right of the label. It begins
with the patronymic title " Turin ion Hurin" in relatively large handwriting,
comparable to that of the parallel title in Area Il. Below this the epithet
"TUramarth" is written in a smaller hand. This is followed in progressively
smaller handwriting by the parallel matronymic phrase, "ar Nienor sel
Morwen Niniel"; a summarizing phrase, "i chin Hurin"; and descriptive text

J. The slip of paper (partly) visible at the top left of the wrapper is a note
placed there by Christopher Tolkien, over an apparently water-stained area con­
taining no writing, to indicate its contents to the library.

.
> .
March 2013 Vinyar Tengwar Number 50
· Page7

that again parallels that found in Area 11: "os i Veleglinn i edain agorer vi
Veleriann ar in Ellath epholar eno vi Eressai':
Several features of Areas 11 and Ill, written on the label and in the margin
of the wrapper respectively, suggest that their composition overlapped.
The phrase "i chin Hurin" in the marginal text, and indeed the marginal
text up to that point, is merely a genealogy, in which the nouns "ion'; "sef;
and "chin" are not capitalized; that "i chin Hurin" may be the title of a tale
is implied only by the subsequent phrase "os i Veleglinn'; *'from the Great
Song: However, where the phrase "iChin Hurin" occurs on the label, it
is dearly already a title, with the form "Chin" capitalized. It may thus be
that the title "iChin Hurin" on the label was suggested by the genealogical
description in the margin. On the other hand, it may instead be that the
writing of the margin's genealogical description was occasioned by the need
to explain how the tale of "Turin Turamarth" could also be named "iChin
Hurin'; 'the Children of Hfuill, by identifying those children.
Also suggesting that the marginal text was composed after the label text
is the fact that the first version of the label text has the forms "i· Veleglind"
and "iglind", thus preserving etymological final -nd, while the final version
of the label text has the forms "glinn" and " Velerian'; in which etymological
final -nd has (in the first form) been assimilated to -nn or (in the latter form)
reduced to-n; whereas the marginal text has, ab initio, the forms " Veleglinn"
and " Veleriann': Additionally, at the first occurrence of "epholar" on the
label, Tolkien appears to have first written "eb" but then changed the "b" to
"p" in the act of writing (resulting in a composite character that looks very
like the Old English thorn, p); whereas "epholar" is the form as first writ­
ten in the subsequent reworkings of the label text and in the final phrase of
the marginal text. Further, "mi" appears before "Velerian" at the end of the
label text, whereas in the margin text "mi" was altered to "vi" (by a super­
posed "v") before " Veleriann� and "vi" appears ab initio before "Eressai':
However, suggesting that the marginal text was composed before at least the
reworkings of the label text is the fact that in the label text the word "eno'' is
replaced first with "ero" and then with "ir"; whereas "eno" is the form writ­
ten in the final phrase of the marginal text.
Whether the text in Area IV was written before or after those of Areas
11 and Ill is uncertain. The increasingly cramped handwriting of Area IV
may be due to encroachment on the already-present text of Area Ill. On the
other hand, it is somewhat characteristic of Tolkien's compositions to begin
in a larger, more careful and confident hand that becomes smaller (and less
legible) as composition proceeds and uncertainties arise.
PageS Vinyar Tengwar · Number so March 2013

Date of the Sindari n Texts

That the wrapper as Christopher Tolkien found it contained plot-synopses

that he dates to the late 1950s suggests an approximate terminus ad quem for
the Sindarin texts written on them. Since the words "Turin Plot &c" appear
to have been (hastily) written on the label after the Sindarin text of the label
was already in place, they do not necessarily indicate the original contents
of the wrapper. It may well have been constructed and used to contain other
writings related to the "Turins Saga" composed well before the plot-synopses
of the late 1950s that the wrapper came at last to contain. Indeed, noting that
the flap on the right side of the wrapper, which was formed by cutting the
originally wider paper, seems to have been cut so as to avoid the ends of two
lines of the text of Area IV, it may well be that at least that area of Sindarin
text was written before the wrapper was even constructed.
Other Sindarin forms on the wrapper suggest a terminus a quo for the
texts of c. 1951. The form edain 'men: which occurs three times on the wrap­
per, first appears in the published corpus in a list of alterations to "The
Silmarillion" dated 1951 (V:338 s.v. §30). The stem ell- 'elf' of Ellath 'Elves:
which occurs five times on the wrapper, seems also to first occur in Tolkien's
writings of c. 195 1, as e.g. in the name HaulJ-en-Ellas 'Mound of the Elf-maid'
in the c. 195 1 Grey Annals (XI:95, 148 s.v. §301).4 Belerian, the form of the
name that must underlie the lenited form seen in Area Ill of the wrapper
in the phrase "mi Velerian': *'in Beleriand: also first appears as such (rather
than as Beleriand) in the c. 1951 Grey Annals {XI:s s.v. §2, 104 s.v. §2).5 Fur­
ther, the word hin 'childreri, appearing (in the mutated form chin) twice on
the wrapper in the phrase "i chin Hurin': 'the children of Hll.riri, first occurs
(in likewise mutated form) in the published corpus in the title "Glaer nia
Chin Hurin': *'Long Lay of the Children of Hurin: given to the tale via an
addition to the c. 1951 manuscript "NE" of what became the Narn (XI:16o
s.v. §349). 6 Finally, the revision of the apparently deictic construction "iglind
then': *'this song: to "i glinn hen" in Area 11 parallels the change of "i·ndiw
thin" to "i thiw hin': 'these signs' (VII:t82) in the course of Tolkien's drafting

4· Specifically, in the 1950-51 version "GA 1" (cf. Xl:3-4). HaulJ-en-Ellas was
altered in pencil at a later date to HaulJ-en-Elleth, probably in or shortly before
1959, since Haudh-en-Elleth occurs ab initio in the first of tlte c. 1959 plot-synop­
ses contained by the wrapper (Xl:256).
5. Specifically, in "GA 2", a slightly later, recapitulated and extended version of
"GA 1" (cf. XI:3-4). With the assimilation/reduction of the Sindarin land-name
ending -and {L:383) to -ann, -an, cp. Tolkien's discussions of the name Rohan(d)
in L:178, 382, and in UT:318.
6. Cf. KHIN- 'child' in the c. 1957 "Notes on Names" (PE17:157). For the des­
ignation "NE", see XI:144 s.v. §§287 ff.
March 2013 Vinyar Tengwar Number so
· Page 9

of his illustration of the Moria-gate, which change can be dated to before

1953.7
Still other evidence suggests close association of the "Turin Wrapper"
with texts composed in the early 1950s. Upon Tolkien's return to the Matter
of the Elder Days in 1950-51, he refers to the tale of the Children of Hurin
in the new wave of writing as simply "the Children of Hurin': Hence, to the
aforementioned c. 1951 text "NE" Tolkien added the heading "The Children
of Hurin: last part" and the description "Part of the 'Children of Hurin'
told in full scale'' (XI:144 s.v. §§287 ff.), while its conclusion reads "Thus
endeth the tale of the Children of Hurin" (XI:16o s.v. §349). This continues
in English the Noldorin naming of the tale seen in the c. 1937 Quenta
Silmarillion: "the fate of Turin . . . is full told in that lay which is called
iChUrinien, the Children of Hurin'' (V:317). The name Hurinien 'Children of
Hurin' (though the language is now Sindarin rather than Noldorin) is also
given to the tale in the opening of the post-LotR text "!\' of JElfwine and
Dirhaval: "Here begins that tale which JElfwine made from the Hurinien"
(Xl:311; and cf. 314). The title of JElfwine's own version of the tale is given in
this text as " Turin Turumarth': with which we may compare Area II's "TUrin
Turamarth" and Area III's " TUrin ion Hurin Turamarth':
Area 11 gives the alternate name "iChin Hurin" of the tale, having the
same meaning as earlier "iChurinien': but formed with a separate word for
'children' instead of a patronymic ending. This form of the name is also
found in "Glaer nia Chin Hurin� *'Long Lay of the Children of Hurill, which
arose in an addition to the conclusion of "NE" (Xb6o s.v. §349) that also
describes the tale as "the longest of all the lays of Beleriand': With this we
may compare the description in ·Area 11 of the tale as "i· Veleglind': *'the
Great Song: perhaps equivalent in meaning to glaer 'long lay: The title "Glaer
nia Chin Hurin" of the tale also appears, ab initio, in the original conclu­
sion to the Grey Annals, which was based upon "NE" (XI:144 §§287 tf.). To
this Tolkien added the words "and was made by Men'' (XI:251), echoing a
repeated theme of the "Turin Wrapper� as in Area Il's "iglind then edain

7. The development of the illustration of the Moria-gate required at least four

versions, all of which can be seen on p. 158 of Wayne Hammond and Christina
Scull's JR.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator. The final form of the Gate-inscription
was achieved by emendations (of unknown date) to the first two versions (figs.
150 and 151; though the second version perhaps inadvertently retains thin) and
ab initio in the third version (fig. 152). By comparing the account of the devel­
opment of the Moria-gate illustration on pp. 160-61 of A&I with that given on
pp. 88 and 90 of Wayne Hammond and Douglas Anderson's JR.R. Tolkien: A
Descriptive Bibliography, one can deduce that the third versi4Jn is that requested
by Rayner Unwin on 12 Dec. 1952 and certainly executed before the fourth ver­
sion (fig. 153) was required in Aug. 1953. Hence, this change can be shown to
have been made no later than the middle of 195 3, and probably in or before 1952.
 Page 10 Vinyar Tengwar Number 50
· March 2013

agorer': *'this song men made: and in Area Ill's "i Veleglinn i edain agorer':
*'the Great Song that men made:
The ascription of the composition of the tale to Men is also found ab initio
in the aforementioned text "A" of JElfwine and Dirhaval: "though made in
Elvish speech and using much Elvish lore (especially of Doriath), this lay
was the work of a Mannish poet, Dirhavel': This text also refers to the tale as
"the longest of all the lays of Beleriand now held in memory in Eressea': with
which we may compare Area Il's "i glinn hen agorer Edain mi Velerian, aeh
hi in Ellath ir ed epholar': *'this song Men made in Beleriand, but now the
Elves alone [ ?remember/preserve/recite] it' and Area Ill's "i Veleglinn i edain
agorer vi Veleriann ar in Ellath epholar eno vi Eressai': *'the Great Song that
men made in Beleriand and the Elves [ ?remember/preserve/recite] still in
Eressei.
The tale achieves its final title, "Narn i·Chin Hurin': through emendations
of the title "Glaer nia Chin Hurin" in the conclusion of "NE" (XI:I6o s.v.
§349) and in the original conclusion of the Grey Annals (XI:251).8 This title
also appears ab initio in text "B" of JElfwine and Dirhaval (X1:313) and in an
isolated note concerning the Numen6rean nature of the three Great Tales
(X:373).9
Finally, if the surmise below concerning the meaning of the pronominal
ending -eh of agoreeh in Area IV - se., that it is first-person plural inclusive
'we' - is correct, then the text most likely dates from before c. 1955, since
it appears that by and after that time -eh is confined to the second-person
plural and/or dual.
The Sindarin texts of the "Turin Wrapper" thus evidently have special
affinities with words, titles and phrases that first appear, either ab initio or
through emendation, in texts of c. 1951-55. On balance, then, the evidence

8. The motivation for the change of the type of the "Turins Saga" from glinn
'song' (cf. V:359 s.v. GLIN-) to glaer 'long lay, narrative poem' (cf. V:359 s.v.
GLIR-) and then to narn 'tale, saga' (cf. V:374 s.v. NAR1-) may primarily have
had to do with manner of recitation. In the second text ("B") of JElfwi ne and
Dirhaval we are told that the term narn "signifies a tale that is told in verse to
be spoken and not sung" (XI:313), while the fact that the base GLIR- underlying
glaer is itself derived from the base LIR1- 'sing, trill' implies that it was sung, as
of course was a glinn. The distinction of sung glinn and glaer, and spoken narn, is
reminiscent of that conveyed by the names of the Eddic metres ljodahattr 'song­
form' and malahattr 'speech-form:
9· Although this note seemingly shares with the "Turin Wrapper': the Grey
Annals, and text "/\' of JElfwine and Dirhaval the idea that the Tale of Turin was
made by Men, the fact that it includes ab initio the title "Narn i·Chtn Hurin"
suggests that it postdates these texts. If so, it further suggests that Tolkien aban­
doned (at least for a time) the idea that the Elves of Eressea preserved this Tale of
Men from the ruin of Beleriand, in favor of a purely Mannish transmission.
March 2013 Vinyar Tengwar Number so
· Page u

strqngly suggests that Tolkien wrote the Sindarin texts of the "Turin Wrap­
per" between 1951 and 1959, with the weight of the evidence suggesting com­
position earlier rather than later in the decade.

Analysi s of the Texts

None of the texts on the "Turin Wrapper" are translated, nor is there any
trace of other workings or notes related to these texts in Tolkien's extant lin­
guistic papers. Intended meanings must therefore be inferred by reference to
identical or related forms and their meanings attested elsewhere or, where
such forms are not to be found, by recourse to (hopefully well-founded)
surmise. In this analysis, all Elvish forms are Sindarin10 unless otherwise
indicated.

Area I

At the far left of this area is the remnant of two printed words, the first
ending in "n'' (and preceded by a letter now partially obscured), the second
certainly the last six letters of the word "Ireland" followed by a period. The
rest of this area consists of Tolkien's writing of various Celtic forms of the
name "Ireland': and the phrase "Olsgoll Iwerion': Iwerion here is a repre­
sentation of a Primitive Celtic form of the name of Ireland (as are Iwerien,
Iwerjen and Iwerj an, and possibly Iwerieon and iferien elsewhere in this
area) underlying Modern Irish genitive E ireann, which together with the Old
Irish nominative form E riu and the Latinized form Hiwernia also appears
in this area. Olsgoll is apparently a similar representation of the form that
would underlie Modern Irish Ollscoil 'University' oll- 'great (of size)' +
=

scoil, sgoil 'school' (< Old Irish scol < Latin schola). We may surmise then
that the appearance here of Olsgoll Iwerion 'University of Ireland' was occa­
sioned by the remnants of printing in this area of the wrapper, and deduce
that this printing once read in full "Ollscoil na hE ireann I University of
Ireland:' The wrapper is thus apparently formed from University of Ireland
stationery.11

10 . In the qualified sense noted above.

u. Tolkien was at times an External Examiner for the National University
of Ireland, starting in 1949 and continuing until 195 9 ( CGI: 35 1) . He received an
honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University in 1954; cf. Humphrey Car­
penter's Biography, pp. 136, 212, 220; and L:t81, 219. It is worth noting that among
Tolkien's papers in the Bodleian is a copy of the "Text of Introductory Address"
delivered by Professor Jeremiah J. Hogan on July 20th, 1954, on the occasion of
the conferring of the honorary D.LL. on Tolkien, and which! is printed on Oils­
coil na hEireann stationery. It is possible that the wrapper originally contained
this address, in which case the Sindarin texts written on it would date from 195 4
at the earliest; but of course this is only circumstantial evidence.
Page 12 Vinyar Tengwar Number 50
· March 2013

Areall

• Turin Turamarth :- *'Turin Master of Fate� In this area, Tolkien first

boldly wrote this title, which consists of the given and the assumed names
(Turamarth Q. Turambar 'Master of Fate') of the eldest of the children of
=

Hfuin (cf. V:395 s.v. TUR-).

• ; . Veleglind : - *'the Great Song� This title, apposite to "Turin Turamarth':

is formed from *Beleglind, with initial b- lenited to v- after the singular defi­
nite article i 'the' (cf. i Varanduiniant 'the Bridge of Brandywine: IX:129-30) .
This *Beleglind *'Great Song' i s a compound o f the adj. beleg 'great' (cf. beleg
'large, great: PE17:115, also EN *beleg 'great'< *belekii < BEL- 'strong: V:352)
with (g)lind 'song' (cf. iglind below). Numerous similar compounds with
initial beleg- are attested, such as Belegaer, Belegost, etc. The termination -nd
here and in iglind below may be contrasted with the -nn seen in Veleglinn in
Area Ill, and further with that of Veleriann in Area Ill.

• i eithro en estar iChin Hurin : - *'that also is called the Children of

HuriD. This relative clause, introduced by the relative pronoun i 'that'
(cf. N. Dor Firn i guinar 'Land of the Dead that Live: V:366 s.v. KUY-),12
modifies the noun phrase ; . Veleglind, which is itself apposite to the title
" Turin Turamarth". The presence of a form of the verb esta- 'to call, name'
(see below), and the capitalization in iChin Hurin 'the Children of Hmin:
combine to suggest that the whole provides an alternate title to "the Great
Song" called " Turin Turamarth� and thus means something like: *'that also
is called the Children of Hurin�
If this surmise is correct. then eithro is an adverb meaning 'also' (or
'alternatively' or 'otherwise' or some such synonym).13 Phonologically eithro
could arise from ancestral forms beginning in *ekt- or *etk- (cf. eitha- 'stab' <
PQ. *ek-tii, Xl:365; and eithel 'spring' < *et-kele 'spring. issue of water: V:363
s.v. KEL-), or from a form beginning in *athy- (cf. eitha- 'to ease, assist' =

Q. asya- < ..JATHA-, PE17:148). With this latter possibility we can compare
the original Goldogrin adverb athru 'secondly, once more, agairl, related to

12. And see further lvan Derzhanski's article "Peth i dirathar aen: Some Notes

on Eldarin Relative Construction" in VT 38.

13. It is interesting to note that Welsh has a preposition eithr 'without, except'
that also serves as a conjunction 'but: and is ultimately cognate with Latin
extra 'except, besides, additional: also 'outside of, without, beyond'. Further, the
connection of W. eithr with Lat. ex 'from, out from, away from' (which is also
cognate with Irish ach 'but'; see below) is itself noteworthy in light of et- 'out,
fortli, which, prefixed to an element beginning in *k-, would yield eith-. By
the same token, English "either" (of distinct etymology from Welsh eithr), as
denoting a choice or distinction anwng two alternatives, also has a striking
similarity of form to eithro, coupled with a similarly congruent meaning.
March 2013 Vinyar Tengwar Number so
· Page 13

atha 'two' (PEu:2o), to which eithro bears a strong resemblance. It may be

that eithro is Ukewise derived ultimately from an element * ath- meaning
'two'; cf. Q. atta 'two' (V:349 s.v. AT(AT)-, also VT48:19) and note that origi­
nal *tt > th in Sindarin (cf. peth 'word'= Q. quetta < vQUET- 'say: PE17:46);
and also cf. Q. atatya 'double'= S. edaid (VT42:26-27). In this analysis, the
element -ro could be seen as likewise a conceptual descendant of the appar­
entadverbial ending - ru of Gold. athru, and furt�r related, at least concep­
tually, to the adverbial ending -ra cited in one derivation of S. athra 'to and
fro' as possibly an adverbial form of atta- 'two' (PE17:14). But also note the
apparent adverbial ending -o in eno, ero below.
The verb stem ets a- 'name, call' (cf. Q. esta 'to name' < ES- 'indicate, name:
V:356 ) has previously been attested in a future-tense form in the phrase
estathar aen *'should be called' that is itself part of a relative clause bear­
ing a striking syntactic resemblance to the present one: i sennui Panthael
estathar aen 'who should rather be called Fullwise' (IX:t29; and cf. pp. uS,
126 for the basis of this translation). Of particular note is the syntactic par­
allel suggested by comparing i en estar *'that is called' with i estathar aen
*'who should be called: In both cases a tense-stem form of esta- to which
-r is suffixed is paired with a word containing en: se., present tense en estar
*'is called' and future tense estathar aen *'should be called:14 This in turn
suggests that en and aen, in periphrasis with -r and -thar, bear the moods
expressed by 'is' and 'should: respectively, and thus that aen is a subjunc­
tive form of indicative en (perhaps reflecting an original initial * ae- cognate
with the Q. prefix ai- *' if' seen in aiquen 'if anybody, whoever: Xl:372).15 If
so, the -r attached to the tense-stem in each case is functionally a passive
voice marker, and en �star and estathar aen are present passive indicative and
future passive subjunctive periphrastic constructions, respectively.16

14. This posited en+ [ verb] - r passivizing construction can be compared with
the na + infinitive passivizing construction seen in Q. na-hosta and na-kuna in
the poem "Oilima Markirya" (MC:222) , of which Tolkien says: "When the bare
stem of the verb is used (as after 'see or 'hear') as infinitive na- is prefixed if the
noun is the object not the subject" (MC:223 n . 23) . This passivizing Q. na- could
1
derive from the base AN/NA 'to, towards' ( PE1 7: 14 7, and cf. V:348 s.v. ANA - ,
V:3 74 s.v. N A1- ), which would parallel the use o f "to" in English infinitives; or
2
from NA 'be, exist' ( PEt 7: 93 and cf. V:3 48 s.v. ANA -, V:3 74 s.v. NA 2- ) . Note too
the primitive formative ending "da ( variant of nti) denoting the passive result of
the action" ( PE1 7: 52) . It seems conceivable that en here and aen in the "King's
Letter" - or at any rate, the final -n of these forms - could be etymologically
connected with this Q. na-, of either derivation.
15. But cf. the volitive analysis of aen suggested by the parallel of es tathar aen
with Q. nai hiruvalye 'be it that/maybe thou shalt find' in VT3 1:t 6-1 7 s.v. aen.
t 6. It should be noted that given 3 rd sg. ed *'it' below, it is possible to inter­
pret en here as instead a 3 rd pl. pronoun 'they: in which case -r of estar is simply
 Page 14 Vinyar Tengwar · Number so March 2013

• iglind then : - *'this song: iglind is clearly an article-prefixed form (cf.

iChln above) of the same element (g)lind 'song' found in, and referring back
to, i· Veleglind *'the Great Song' named "Turin Turamarth" (cf. lind-, glin-,
glind- < *LIN "almost solely used of musical, especially vocal, sounds pro•
duced with intent to please;' Xl:382; lind, /inn 'a chant, song: PE17:27; V:359
s.v. GUN-). The phrase iglind then *'this song' (lit. *'the song this') parallels
in syntax the Welsh-like deictic phrase i thiw hin 'these signs' (lit. *'the signs
these') found in Tolkien's drawing of the West-gate of Moria (LR:297; and
cf. VT44:24, PE17:44), and moreover apparently employs the singular form
then of the same deictic pronoun found in the first versions of that drawing,
which have i·ndiw thin 'these signs' (cf. VIb 82). As discussed above, thin
was emended to hin sometime before 1953; and it is interesting to note that
then here similarly becomes hen in the next version of this phrase below.
Both then and hen *'this' in these texts are evidently cognate with Q. sina
'this' in the deictic phrase vanda sina 'this oath' in "Cirion's Oath'' (UT:305),
via a-affection of original *-ina > *-en (cf. S. calen 'green' Q. kalina 'bright:
=

VT42:19, PE17:153) and, in the latter form, mutation of s > h (cf. sad 'place:
Calenhad, VT42:19). The alteration here and on the gate-inscription of forms
in initial th- to forms in initial h- apparently reflects a change in derivation
from an ancestral singular form like *thina (> then) to one like *sina (> *sen
> hen), either of which would regularly yield Q. sina.

• edain agorer : - *'men made: For the earliest usage of edain pl. of adan
'man: see V:338 s.v. §30. In the essay Quendi and Eldar we find the past­
tense verb agor 'made, did: which is said to represent "a primitive past tense,
marked as such by the 'augment' or reduplicated base-vowel, and the long
stem vowel;' as exemplified with the primitive form *akara (X1:415, and cf.
KAR- 'make, do', V:362). It thus appears that in agorer we have a conjugated
form of this same past-tense verb, consisting of a past-tense stem *agore- to
which is suffixed a plural ending -r. This stem appears specifically to have
arisen from earlier *akare-, and thus to be an example of the same Sindarin
strong past-tense formation described by Tolkien in c. 19 65 as "formed on

a third-person (or possibly impersonal) plural ending, with en estar then literally
translated as *'they call'. However, where en appears in papers from the 1950s as
an independent pronoun it is tst sg. , while the 3rd pl. is variously est, ent, ith (sg.
eth), or idi!idir (sg. is), and the ( specifically) impersonal plural is i/ir. Moreover,
no such pronominal explanation seems applicable to the aen of estather aen, so if
these are indeed parallel constructions, the modal + passive interpretation of en
estar is more persuasive. Further note that the passive -r posited here may well
have arisen as or from an impersonal plural pronominal ending, since "they call
him" (where the subject pronoun has unspecified general reference) and "he is
called" (passive) are semantically equivalent; cf. the impersonal/passive ending -r
of verbs in the Early Qenya Grammar (PE1 4:s 6-5 7) .
March 2013 Vinyar Tengwar Number so
· Page 15

the analogy with verbs using intransitive -ta only in the present/aorist� as an
example of which he gives " vMEN-, have as object, (in)tend, proceed, make
for, go towards: menta-, but past tense menne- perfect emenie: in Sindarin
these were blended into a past-tense form emene-" (PE17:93).

• ach in ellath hi ed epholar eno : *'but the elves now [?remember/pre­

-

serve/recite] it still: This concluding clause apparently contrasts in ellath

*'the elves' with edain 'men' of the preceding clause, and the present time hi
* 'now' with past action agorer *'made: It thus appears that ach is the contrasc
tive coordinating conjunction 'but:17 and that it introduces a clause describ­
ing a contrasting relationship of the Elves to the "Great Song" that Men
made.18 The plural article in is amply attested (e.g. Ost-in-Edhil 'Fortress of
the Elves', S:346; cf. V:361 s.v. 1- 'that'), and ellath is evidently the stem ell- 'elf'
{X1 :363) to which is suffixed the collective plural ending -ath (cf. L :427, R :74-
75, VT48:19). With hi 'now' compare S. thi/hi 'now' = Q. si (PE17:27) and cf.
both hi 'now' (LR:307, PE17:45) and si *'now' in Area IV.
If the surmise that ach is a coordinating conjunction is correct, then ed
is most readily interpreted as a third-person singular pronoun *'it', supplying
the object of epholar and referring back to iglind then *'this song: An object
pronoun could be required for epholar here, but not in the text of Area Ill,
for the same reason that in English both the relative clause "the song that
Men made and the Elves remember" {with relative pronoun "that") and the
coordinated clauses "this song was made by Men, but the Elves remember
it" (with object pronoun "it") are grammatical, but **"this song was made
by Men, but the Elves remember" (with no pronoun) is not: the verb of the
second clause is transitive and so requires an object, which in the relative
clause of Area Ill is already supplied by the relative pronoun i 'that: but
which here would be unexpressed without an object pronoun. Recognition
of this necessity would also explain why ed appears to have been an insertion
before epholar in the first version of this sentence. If this surmise is correct,
then ed *'it' can be compared with the -d of third-person singular possessive
lammed 'his/her/its tongue' (PE17:46), which with ed may ultimately be cog­
nate with Q. ta 'that, it' (V:389 s.v TA-) .

1 7. It is interesting t o note that Irish also has a conjunction ach 'but: which
is cognate with Latin ex 'from, out from, away from', and thus etymologically
related to Welsh eithr (see above) . And cf. Goldogrin ach 'too', Q. akka (P£11:1 7).
18. But cf. the possibly related conjunction ah 'and' in the title "Athrabeth
Finrod ah Andreth", 'Debate of Finrod and Andreth' (X:329) . It is conceivable that
ach is a variant form of ah and likewise means 'and: but the, contrast here, par­
ticularly that of past composition with present disposition, seems stronger than
mere 'and' supports; and in any event, the conjunction 'and' in Area Ill has the
widely-attested form ar.
-,
 Page 16 Vinyar Tengwar Number 50
· March 2013

The verb epholar itself is of uncertain meaning and opaque derivation. It

is evidently formed with a present-tense verb-stem ephola-, to which is suf­
fixed a plural ending -r (cf. the parallel and contrasted past-tense verb agorer
above). From the apparent context of each of its four occurrences on the
"Turin Wrapper� ephola- would seem to be intended to contrast the role or
relation of the Elves of Eressea to ; . Veleglind with that of the Men who made
it - and in this connection the description of the Narn as "the longest of all
the lays of Beleriand now held in memory in Eressea'' (X1:311) is of particular
note, suggesting that ephola- may mean something like 'hold in memory: or
perhaps more literally 'remember' or 'preserve: But even accepting these as
likely meanings, the derivation remains unclear.
The fact that Tolkien appears originally to have made a false start on
the verb by writing eb and then altered the b to p with the addition of a
descender, suggests two chief analyses of epholar. The first is that the under­
lying stem is *pola-, the initial p of which Tolkien lenited to b after prefixed
e-, but then altered to ph upon deciding that a prefix underlay this e- that
would instead spirantalize initial p- - that is, that the e- of epholar is due to
underlying en-, ep-, or et-.19 1he second is that the stem is *hola- to which is
prefixed ep- altered from a variant form eb-.
A prefix en- 'again, re-' is well-attested for Quenya, e.g. Q. enquantuva
'shall refill' and enquete- 'repeat, say again' (L R:377-78; PE17:68, 167 ), and
would have an appropriate meaning here if epholar in fact means something
like 'remember: However, Tolkien states (though at a probably somewhat
later date than the "Turin Wrapper") that this en- was replaced in Sindarin
with ad- 're-' < ATA- due to phonological coalescence of en- with the prefix
et- 'out' (PE 17:16 7). This et- is also a candidate for the prefix of epholar, and
is amply attested in Sindarin, e.g. in echant 'made: pa.t. of *et-kat- 'out-shape,
form' (PE17:42 s.v. echant and cf. ET- 'forth, out: V:356). Finally, a prefix
*ep- or *eb-, though unattested in Sindarin, could arise as a cognate of the
Quenya adverb epe that Tolkien glosses as "'before' (in all relations but time
where appropriate words must be used, later, after, then, earlier, before)"
(PE17:56, and cf. VT 49:12).
A verb-stem *pola- could most readily derive from *pal-, *pol- or
*pul-.20 No such root or base *PUL- is attested, and none of the attested

1 9. Cf. ephed <en-pet 'repeat, say again' (PE1 7:167); ephel 'outer wall or fence'
< eppel < et-pel (PE1 7: s.v. ..JPE L and cf. PE L(ES)- , V:38o). A prefix *es- would
also produce eph- when prefixed to p-, but no such prefix is attested for Sindarin.
20. For o < *a cf. ago rer < *akiire- cited above; foro < *u cf. tol 'comes: tolo
'come!'< TUL- 'come' (XI:254; PE1 7:1 66 s.v. ..JNDAN- , 188; V: 395). Other phono­
logically-suitable options for the stem include (a possibly s-variant form) *spola­
and *phola; but these don't appear to offer any better etymological options than
does *pola- (PHAL-/SPAL- 'foam', V: 381, having no apparent semantic suitability,
March 2013 Vinyar Tengwar Number 50
· Page 17

meanings of a base POL- - 'pound up, break up small, reduce to powder'

(PE17:181), 'large, big (strong)' (PE17:115 s.v beleg), 'can, have physical power
and ability' (VT41:6), 'physically strong' (V:382) - seem suitable.21 A root
*pal- could conceivably be referred to PAL- 'wide (open)' (V:38o, and cf.
PE17:65 s.v. pella),22 with *ephola- (taking e- as due to et-) having a literal
sense like 'open out widely: and perhaps a (very) figurative sense of 'relate
fully'; but this presses the derived sense to an unsatisfying extent.
A verb-stem *hola- could similarly derive from *hal-, *hol-, *hul-.
It could thus phonologically be related to hollen 'shut, closed' < KHOL-,
SKOL- (LR:826, PE17:98), but that meaning doesn't seem suitable here.
Both *hol and *hul can be compared with early Qenya holale, hulale 'babble,
chatter, conversation' (PE12:40 s.v. HO- 'shout, screarri, I>E12:42 s.v. HUHU­
'whoop'), with elements perhaps surviving into later Quenya, and having the
broader sense of 'talk, speak: in Huorn *'talking tree: If so, * ephola- could
mean 'speak before: used here to signify "recite'' (before a group), with the
spatial sense of the adverbial prefix similar to that in German vortragen
'recite, declaim: Of the bases possibly underlying *hal-, SKAL- 'cover, veil,
cloak, conceal' (PE17:184, and cf. V:387) has an apparently unsuitable mean­
ing, but derivation from KHAL- 'raise, lift up or extend upwards' (PE17:184,
and cf. KHAe - 'uplift: V:363) would allow *ephola- to be construed as
*'after-raise: which if the metaphor is (greatly) stretched could signify here
"raise up from past memory': But again, this presses the derived s ens e to an
unsatisfying extent.
The final word of the sentence, eno, is apparently an adverb (cf. subse­
quent ero *'alone' below and eithro *'also' above), and can most readily be
analyzed as cognate with Q. en, ena 'still' (PE17:167 s.v. vNDAN- n. 4).

• ach in ellath hi ero ed epholar :- *'but the elves now alone [ ?remember/

preserve/recite] it: This reworking of the previous clause replaces eno *'still'

and there being no attested roots in *spol-, *phol-, *spul- or *phul-) and moreover
make the false start eb more difficult to explain.
:n. Noting that English "can" is etymologically derived from a verb cunnan

meaning 'to know', (later) 'to know how tO, it might just be possible to suppo se
that *pola- derives from POL- 'can, have physical power and ability' (VT41:6),
and signifies here that only the Elves still know the tale. However, POL- in this
sense is described as referring specifically to physical ability, and is specifically
contrasted with ability deriving from knowledge (ibid. ).
2 2 . This derivation would require a lengthening of the original base vowel,

such as that seen in anira *'greatly desires' (IX:128-29, and whether from IR­
'desire', PEt 7:155, or from .../ nir 'will, intention, conscious re�olve to move, or do:
VT41:6) and st1a *'shines' < SIL- 'shine silver' (III:354, V: 385); but note that no
such lengthening is attested in Sindarin for verbs derived from bases having a as
the sund6ma.
Page 18 Vinyar Tengwar Number 50
· March 2013

with ero, which is most readily analyzed as an adverbial form of er- 'one,
alone' (cf. ERE- 'be alone, deprived: V:356).

• i glinn {th »} hen agorer Edain mi Velerian, ach hi in Ellath {er »} ir

ed epholar : - *'this song Men made in Beleriand, but now the Elves alone
[?remember/preserve/recite] it'. The reworking of the whole of the last sen­
tence of the text assimilates previous -nd to -nn in glinn, revises the deictic
construction iglind then (q.v.) to i glinn hen of apparently the same mean­
ing, *'this song: and specifies that Men made the Great Song mi Velerian
*'in Beleriand' (with the lenition of initial b- to v- here cf. i· Velegind above;
and cf. both Q. mi 'in, within' < MI- 'inside: V:373, and vi in Area Ill). It also
replaces ero *'alone' with ir of the same meaning but derived instead from
adjectival *eryii 'isolated, lonely: a derivation exemplified in a note appar­
ently dating from the later 1950s, which gives: ir < irj < irj, erj < erj (a) <
eryii (cf. eryii 'isolated, lonely' whence Eriador = 'wilderness: VT42:4).

Area Ill

• Turin ion Hurin Turamarth :- *'Turin son of Hurin, Turamartli. Tolkien

began the text of this area by writing an expanded, patronymic version of

the name that also serves as a title in Area 11. W ith ion 'son' cf. N. ionn, -ion
(V:400 s.v. YO, YON- 'son') and the plural form ionnath 'sons' of the "King's
Letter" (IX:128-29, VT29:1, 14).23 For the epithet Turamarth 'Master of Fate'
see the discussion of the same form in Area 11.

• ar Nienor sel Morwen Nfniel : - *'and Nienor daughter of Morwen, Niniel:

Tolkien then continues with a matronymic phrase parallel in all particulars
with the previous, and as easily translated *'and Nienor daughter of Morwen,
Nfniel: With sel 'daughter' cf. poetic N. sell 'girl, maid' (V:385 s.v. SEL-D­
'daughter'; cf. also VT46: 13) and the plural form sellath 'daughters' of the
"King's Letter" (IX:128-29, VT29:1, 14). For the epithet Niniel 'Tear-maiden'
cf. Xl:96 and N. niniel 'tearful' < *neiniel- < NEI- 'tear' (V:376).

• i chin Hurin :- *'the Children of Hurin: as also in Area 11.

• os i Veleglinn i edain {agoren >>} agorer [mi >>] vi Veleriann :- *'from

the Great Song that men made in Beleriand: The preposition os *'from' can
be compared with o 'of, from' found in the chant to Elbereth: o menel 'from
firmament: and o galadhremmin ennorath 'from tree-tangled middle-lands'
(LR:238, R:72; and cf. LR:7i9); in the inscription on the West-gate of Moria:
Celebrimbor o Eregion 'Celebrimbor of Hollin' (LR:305-6); and in the "King's

23. It is interesting to note that in writings dating from the mid- to late-1950s,
Tolkien decided very firmly to: "Delete entirely yondo = 'son'! Very unsuitable:'
- but then subsequently and equally firmly struck out this decision (PE17:43).
March 2013 Vinyar Tengwar Number so
· Page 19

L�tter": o Minas Tirith 'from Minas Tirith' (IX:128-29, and cf. N. o 'from' <
30- 'from, away, from among, out of'). The form os here appears to be a pre­
vocalic variant of o; but note that at a (probably) somewhat later date o 'from'
is said to take the form od before vowels (XI:366-67 and ff., PE17:24, 42).24
For i Veleglinn *'the Great Song: edain agorer *'men made: and mi Veleriann
*'in Beleriand: see the discussion of these phrases in Area 11.
The change of mi >> vi here, and the form vi written ab initio in the
concluding clause below, are in agreement with the form of the preposition
vi 'in' found in the possibly contemporary "Ae Adar Nin': Tolkien's (par­
tial) translation of the Lord's Prayer into Sindarin (VT44:21, 22-23, 27). The
change also notably provides further support for the theory advanced by
Bill Welden (ibid.) that vi is the proper form of this preposition in isolation,
independent of any postvocalic lenition of mi > vi, since vi here does not
follow a vowel.

• ar in Ellath epholar eno vi {Eressea > > } Eressai : - *'and the Elves
[ ?remember/preserve/recite] still in Eressea'. The conjunction ar 'and'
appears several times in the (probably) earlier "King's Letter': e.g. Ar e anira
'And he desires' (IX:129), and once in the possibly contemporary "Ae Adar
Nin" in the clause ar diheno ammen i ugerth vin 'and forgive us our tres­
passes' (VT44:21), and, apparently, as a verbal prefix in arphent in Area IV.25
For in Ellath epholar eno *'the Elves [ ?remember/preserve/recite] still: see
the discussion of the original ending of the text in Area 11; and for vi 'in' see
the discussion of the preceding clause.
The change of (what was most likely) Eressea >> Eressai represents
a phonological adaptation of the Quenya name (Tol) Eressifa 'Lonely
(Island)'26 to a Sindarin form. Q. eressea is formally an adjective, with appar­
ently the same derivative termination -ea seen e.g. in Q. laurifa 'golden (of
hue)' (PE17:62). In Quenya, final -ea can derive from earlier *-aya (cf. the
development Q asifa < *apaya, PE17:49 s.v. athelas) or *-aya (cf. Q. foa 'spirit'
< *phiiya, X:349). This suggests that Eressai here may similarly have arisen
from earlier *eressayii: cf. S. morgai 'black fence: where the second element is
due to primitive KAYA (whence also Q. kea, PE17:101; but cf. S. fae < *phiiya,
X:165, 349, and athae < *apaya, PE17:49 s.v. athelas).

24. In the former source od is said to "appear occasionally before vowels"

(XI:367), while in the latter od is said to have been the form before vowels "in
older Sindarin'' (PE17:42). This shows that neither od nor any other variant
form was required prevocalically in later Sindarin, and indeed none is used in o
Eregion.
25. Elsewhere it has the form a (cf. the discussion and citations at VT31:18)
or ah {X:329) or, according to somewhat later notes (PE17:41), a number of other
historical and/or prevocalic forms, depending on Tolkien's varying thoughts.
26. See PE17:3o for a list of the more important of numerous citations.
Page 20 Vinyar Tengwar Number 50
· March 2013

Area IV

Interpretation of the intended meaning of the text of this Area is much more
uncertain than that of the preceding Areas, but it can readily be observed
that it involves a question posed by Rian to her son Tuor. This is curious, as
there is no other instance in the corpus in which such a scene occurs. Rian
first appears in the c. 1926-30 "Sketch of the Mythology", and promptly dies
in the space of a single sentence (IV:35): "Rian, Huor's wife, sought her hus­
band's body among the slain on the field of Unnumbered Tears, and died
there"; nor does her role increase greatly in the subsequent development of
the story of Tuor. In every version Tuor is still an infant when, shortly before
her passing, Rian gives him into the care of the Elves. 27

• {A Rian pent > > Arp »} Arphent Rfan Tuorna : - *�nd said Rian to
Tuor: Tolkien first wrote and then struck out A Rian pent. This a is the form
of the conjunction that appears in the Moria-gate inscription: pedo mellon a
minno 'say "friend" and enter' (!:319, 321-22); in the praise for the Ringbear­
ers on the field of Cormallen: Daur a Berhael, 'Frodo and Samwise' (LR:953,
L:3o8); and in "Luthien's Song": loth a galadh, *'flower and tree' (II1:354,
VT9:9). A Noldorin noun pent 'tale' (cognate with Q. quenta) is attested
(V:366 s.v. KWET-, IV:2o6), but since pent is here used as an introductory
clause of reported speech, it is evident that it is a past-tense verb mean­
ing 'said: cognate with the final element *quente *'said' of Q. maquente
*'asked' (XI1:403), and likewise derived from the base KWET- 'say, speak,
utter words' (V:366, Xl:391) via infixion of -n- (cf. echant 'made' (< *et-kat-;
LR:305, V:363 s.v. KAT-) . A Rian pent thus appears to mean *�nd Rian said:
Tolkien next wrote and then struck out the letters "Arp': apparently the
first three letters of the replacement phrase Arphent Rian. 2 8 The simplest
explanation of Arphent seems to be that it is the past-tense verb pent *'said'
prefixed with an element ar-, and with p- spirantized to -ph- following the
liquid r-.29 If the a of the previous version of this phrase is indeed the con­
junction, it seems most likely that this prefixed element ar- is also the con­
junction, which takes the form ar twice in Area Ill (q.v.), and which further

27. According to "Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin'', Rian gave birth to
Tuor "before the end of the Year of Lamentation'' (i.e., the year of the Nirnaeth
Arnoediad), gave Tuor over to the Grey elves as an infant ("the Elves cared for
-

the infant son of Huor"), and died shortly thereafter (UT:17). According to the
Grey Annals , Rian gave birth to Tuor not long after the battle, gave him into the
care of the Elves, and then died, all within the space of the Year of Lamentation
(XI:71, 79).
28. Perhaps indicating hesitation as to the form initial p- should take follow­
ing prefixed ar-, or as to whether ar- should be so prefixed
29. Cf. arphen 'a noble' <ar- 'noble' + pen 'one, somebody, anybody' (XI:376).
 March 2013 Vinyar Tengwar Number 50
· Page 21

has this form in such compounds as Dor-Cttarthol 'the Land of Bow and
Helm' (S:205, and cf. XI:144, 314). If so, then Arphent Rian can be translated
literally as *1\nd said Riari.3°
Having settled on this, Tolkien continued with the sentence, resulting
in: Arphent Rian Tuorna: man agoreeh? The clause Arphent Rian Tuorna thus
serves to introduce a question posed by Rian to Tuor. If we analyze Tuorna
as the name Tuor with a suffix *-na, this ending might be explained as cog­
nate with the prefix nan- 'to' (PE17:147) seen in na-ehaered 'to-remote-dis­
tance' (hso, R:72), and/or as an alternative suffixing form of the preposition
and prefix an, an- 'to' seen in the "King's Letter" (IX:128-29; and cf. PE17:147
and VT31:17).

• man agoreen? : -*'what have we done?' Rian's question employs an inter­

rogative equivalent in form to Q. man 'who?, what?' (1:394, PE17:68; also
note Q. mana 'what?: XII:395, 403), and in the present context at least appar­
ently meaning 'what?: In agoreeh we have again the past-tense stem *agore­
(see the discussion of agorer in Area 1), to which is suffixed an apparent per­
sonal pronominal subject ending -eh.
A survey of pronominal endings in Tolkien's unpublished linguistic
writings from the 1950s shows that in this period he alternated among using
-eh as first-person plural and/or dual inclusive, and as second-person plural .
and/or dual familiarY Of these possible meanings of -eh, the most suitable
here is 1st pi. incl. 'we: with man agorech *'what did we do? (or perhaps less

30. Cf. the Latin enclitic conjunction -que , e.g in the Vulgate "dixitque Deus
fiat lux et facta est lux", 1\nd God said: let there be light, and there was light'
(Gen. 1:3). With both A . . . pent and Arphent , compare the use in Old English ,

frequent in prose, of ond, and 'and' to introduce new sentences and clauses:
e.g. "Ond pa ah6f Drihten hie up & hie pa eyste, & hie pa sealde Miehahele p�m
heahengle & he hie pa ah6f up on wolcnum beforan Drihtnes gesipe. Ond cw�p
Drihten to p�m apostolum, 'gangap nu to me on wolcnum": Mid then the Lord
lifted her up and kissed her, and then gave her to the archangel Michael; and
then he lifted her up in the clouds before the Lord's presence. And said the
Lord to the apostles, "Come now to me in the clouds'" (R. Morris, The Blickling
Homilies , p.157; this translation slightly alters Morris's, in order to retain the
word-order of the Old English text wherever possible) . Tolkien's own formal
English prose often shows this usage, e.g. '1\nd he sent to him Voronwe. . . . (And
there they saw Turin pass . . . . ) And at the last . . . :' (XI:91 s.v. §299); "And as it
drew near to summer. . . . And he counselled them . . :· (XI:97 s.v. §321).
.

31. Cf. the previously attested 2nd dual familiar eerich (PE17:132). Nowhere is
-eh employed as 2nd sg. 'you' (ofany variety), and in any e�ent Rian can hardly
be asking the infant Tuor to account for deeds with (judging from the rest of this
text) momentous consequence, in which he can have had no part.
Page 22 Vinyar Tengwar · Number so March 2013

literally *'what have we done?')32 representing a rhetorical question, since as

noted Tuor was still an infant when Rian gave him into the care of the Elves
shortly before her death. This usage of -eh is exemplified in a conjugation of
the verb car- (presumably < KAR- 'make, do') dating from the early 1950s,
in which we find: S[g. ] la cerin, 2a cerig, 2b cerith, 3 car; P [l.] ta cerim(ir), [tb]
cerich(ir), 2a cerinc!t 2b tcerint, cerithir, 3 cerir; D [u.]la cerim, [tb] cerich,
2a [?cerith], 2b cerist, 3 cerid (where apparently ta and tb are exclusive and
inclusive, and 2a and 2b are polite and familiar, respectively).33

• Si {?a?/ il cem »} il chem :- *'Now all [ ?the earth/hands/hearts] : Rian's

discourse continues with a new sentence beginning with the adverb si.
Tolkien states that in Sindarin si (from si 'now or here') "usually here"
=

(PEt7:67), and indeed in all previously published occurrences it has that

meaning (e.g. LR:238, 729; III:354; and cf. R:72, PEt7:20-21). But i{t this con­
text si seems more suitably to have its alternative meaning 'now: as specify­
ing the present consequence of past action (agorech); and cf. hi *'now' in
Area 11. Tolkien then made at least two false starts on continuing the sen­
tence, the first of which is not now readily interpretable.34 He then contin­
ued the sentence with il chem, where il is most readily interpreted as cognate
with the base IL- 'all: whence Qenya ilya 'all, the whole' (V:361), Quenya ilya
'each, every, all of a particular group of things: etc. (VT39:2o, also PE17:72),
and the prefix il- of Q. ilaurea 'daily' (i.e., 'each day: VT43:12, 18). Here il *'all'
modifies the following word chem, which Tolkien's false start suggests is a
spirantized form of cem conditioned by the -l of il (cf. al.firin < al-pirin(a),
PE17:146, and cf. le > lch, PE17:131-32). This underlying cem is in turn most
readily explained as derived from the base KEM- 'soil, earth' whence Q. kin,
kemen 'earth' (V:363), also "'the Earth' as an apparent flat flo9r under menel"
(X:387); and S. Ceven 'Earth' (VT44:21)3S - but see below.

32. Since, as noted in the discussion of agorer in Area I, the strong past-tense
formation apparently underlying the stem agore- is said to be due to a "blending"
of earlier Eldarin past and perfect tense formations, it may be that there is no
distinction between past and perfect meaning in this class of verb, in which case
agore- may equally literally be translated by perfect 'have done' as by the simple
past 'did:
33· The same usage is found in a similar conjugation that apparently dates to
around 1949 (and thus possibly Noldorin, strictly speaking), which has: [Sg.1]
cerin, [ 2a] cerith, [2b] ceris, 3 car; [Pl.ta] cerim, {tb] cerich, [ 2a] cerith(ir) [2b]
cerint, [3] cerir; [Du.ta] cerim, [tb] cerich, {2a] cerith(ir), [ 2b] cerist, 3 cerid.
34. It is possibly ard or arlJ, and if so probably represents a cognate of Arda
'the Realm, the Earth' (V:294, PE17:12s), and thus possibly a synonym of cem.
35· If so, cem would have to have arisen, like ceven, from some derivative of
KEM-, not directly from the base, since original final *-m, not in combination
with another consonant, would become -f
March 2013 Vinyar Tengwar Number 50
· Page 23

• {na >>} en i naugrim en ir Ellath :- *'of the dwarves [and] of the Elves:

The false start na may be an anticipation of natho below, or it may be the

possessive/attributive article na that occurs in such forms as HaulJ-na­
Dengin *'Mound of the Slain' (XI:72), Taur-na-Fuin *'Forest of Nightshade'
(XI:82 s.v. §266), etc., and that is stated to be a preconsonantal form of the
possessive article ena (PE17:97). If so, na was replaced with synonymous
en i, a form of the possessive article that is also attested in the combined
form eni *'of the' (PE17:97). Thus the whole is a possessive/attributive phrase,
*'of the dwarves [and] of the Elves' (cf. naugrim 'dwarves' X:93, PE17:45-46;
and ellath 'elves' in Areas 11 and Ill), modifying il chem. The article ir before
Ellath may be a prevocalic variant form (but note in Ellath in all other occur­
rences on the "Turin Wrapper").36

• {natho »} thor {a »} den ammen :- *'will be [?opposed/?silent] to us:

The false start natho is most readily analyzable as the stem-form *na- 'to be:
corresponding to imperative no 'be!' (VT44:21, 24), inflected for the future
tense by the suffixion of -tho (cf. linna-tho-n 'I will chant: LR:238, R:72),
thus meaning *'will be:37 The word thor that replaced natho is apparently a
separate verb corresponding to the future-tense ending, to which an ending
-r has been suffixed.38 This -r could be taken to be the third-person plural
ending seen e.g. in agorer *'they made' in Areas 11 and Ill, with thor thus
meaning *'they will' or, if taken as a suppletive future-tense stem of present
na-, *'they will be. But this is problematic, as the subject of this verb, il chem,
if meaning *'all [the] earth', is apparently singular. If so, then this -r may
instead be another example of the passivizing ending -r seen in en estar *'is
called' in Area 11 and in estathar aen *'should be called' in the "King's Letter"
(IX: 129-30) . By this analysis thor is, like natho, also intended to mean *'will
be: but with a passive rather than active sense (cp. active "I will be think­
ing of you" with passive "I will be thought of"), and introduces a statement

36. It has been proposed that ir in the first line of the c. 1950 Sindarin poem
known as "Luthien's Song" (II1:354) - Ir Ithil ammen Eruchin - is likewise a
prevocalic form of the article. But Ithil itself is explained as a proper name (V:392
s.v. THIL- and cf. there Q. lsil 'the Sheen') and as such would seem not to require
an article. Furthermore, ir in "Luthien's Song" can be interpreted as instead cog­
nate with Q. ire 'when': cf. Patrick Wynne's analysis at VT9:8.
37. This suggests that natho either employs a variant form -tho of the future­
tense stem, or is incomplete, since the bare/personless (sg.) form is elsewhere
attested as -tha: cf. anglennatha 'will approach' (IX:129-30).
38. It is possible to read this word as thon, and thus as meaning *'I will: But
compare the r of thor with the r of the first epholar in Area 11 (the label), and
notice that the loop of Tolkien's n's tend to have a straight diag�nal start from the
bottom of the initial vertical stroke or, when more rounded, to have a serif stroke
at the end.
 Page 24 Vinyar Tengwar · Number 50 March 2013

about the future state of its subject, il chem *'all [the] earth: of which the sub­
ject is not the agent but rather the grammatical patient.
Alternatively, cem/chem, rather than singular 'earth' < KEM-, might be a
plural noun of other derivation. Normally i-affection plurals do not show e
in final syllables or monosyllables, but exceptions do arise from secondary
developments, as in the plural ered (eryd) of orod 'mountain' (L:263, RC:621).
Moreover, in a text dated 1953, and thus probably closely contemporary with
the "Turin Wrapper': Tolkien notes of Beleriandic that "In the colloquial lan­
guage of the Second Age and later ai, ae, ei in unstressed syllables, and so in
the final syllables of all nouns with plurals longer than one syllable, became
reduced to e': Given this, cem could conceivably be the plural of singular
cam or corn; or if chem reflects not spirantization of cem but instead a change
of derivation, it could likewise be the plural of cham or chom. Given N. cam
'hand' (V:361 s.v. KAB- ) , cem might therefore mean *'hands' (with which,
in light of the analysis of den below, cf. the statement in the later Quenta
about Turin and his band of outlaws, that "their hands were turned against
all whom came in their path, Elves, Men, or Ores� V:321). No noun *corn or
*chom is attested, but given KHO-N- 'heart (physical)' (V:364), chem could
conceivably be derived from an unattested variant *KO-(M-) or *KHO-(M-)
and mean *'hearts: This is particularly intriguing in this context, given the
statement in the later Quenta that "From that day [of the Nirnaeth Arnoe­
diad] the hearts of the Elves were estranged from Men" (V:310).39
In any case, the following word den must express a future state of il
chem (of whatever meaning) and the concluding dative ammen 'to/for us'
(LR:299, 307; VI1:275, PE17:38)4° indicates that this state is with respect to
Rian and to the inclusive plural subject 'we' of agorech - namely, it seems, to
(at least) those tribes and houses of Men that participated in the disastrous
Nirnaeth Arnoediad. Of the roots, words, or elements from which den could
both conceivably arise phonologically and derive even remotely suitable

39 · However, it is notable that from the earliest stages Tolkien frequently (as
in this citation) specified that KHO -N- 'heart (physical)' and its conceptual cog­
nates refer only to the physical organ, and not to the many metaphorical uses of
"heart" in English (which in one text he described as ''confused': VT41:n); thus
e.g. of Goldogrin honn 'heart' in the "Gnomish Lexicon'' Tolkien specifies that it
is "not used metaphorically" (PE1 2:49). On the other hand, Q. sincahonda 'flint­
hearted' (LR:979, PE 17: 1 1 1} seems at least somewhat metaphorical.
40. It may be noted that ammen is formally exclusive (cf. Pl.la cerim(ir)
above}, whereas agorech is inclusive. The apparent discrepancy might be
explained by supposing that an-, and perhaps prepositional conjugations gen­
erally, don't distinguish indusivity, so that ammen was or had become the sole
1st pl. dative form; and/or that man agorech? *'what have we done?' (incl.) had
become a stock rhetorical question (and indeed, the infant Tuor could not him­
self have participated in the deeds Rian is lamenting).
March 2013 Vinyar Tengwar Number so
· Page 25

meani ngs in this context, only two seem at all plausible: the word dan seen
in Gandalf's spell against the werewolves: "Naur dan i ngaurhoth!" (LR:299),
and the noun din 'silence' (adj. dinen 'silent') seen in the names Amon Din
*'Hill of Silence' (LR:747, PE17:95) and Rath Dinen 'Silent Street' (LR:826,
PE17:98).41
The word dan in Gandalf's spell is variously glossed by Tolkien as "back
to, back (in return) against" and "down upon, back on" (PE17=38), indicating
that the summoned fire is to drive back, to be against, the werewolves. A
similarly appositional sense, together with one of renunciation, is seen in
Tolkien's long gloss of the roots * dan, *ndan that presumably underlie dan as
"indicating the reversal of an action, so as to undo or nullify its effect, as in
'undo, go back (the same way), unsay, give back (the same gift: not another
in return)'" (XI:412), and in his gloss on dan- as a prefix meaning "'back' ­
of return (in same path), retracing, and so employable as un- as in undo"
(PE17:166, and cf. NDAN- 'back' whence Q. na, nan 'but, on the contrary,
on the other hand: V:375). If den can be explained as a participial cognate
of dan with these senses (perhaps via adjectival *danya),42 then thor den
ammen might be construed as *'will be against us: or perhaps more literally,
*'will be opposed to us' (in the passive sense of "will be placed in opposition
to us ) 43 Alternatively, if den can be regarded as related to din/dinen44
" . -

and if il chem is taken as meaning either 'the earth' or 'hearts: not 'hands'
- then thor den ammen could be construed as *'will be silent to/for us: as a
metaphor for a shunning of Men by Dwarves and Elves.

41. The apparent passivizing element den in caro den 'be done' in "Ae Adar
Nfn" (VT44:21, 25-26), though noteworthy as having an identical form, does
not seem to provide a suitable meaning or grammatical function in the current
sentence, as it would be redundant with thor if that is indeed passive, and in any
event would leave the sentence unfinished, as lacking a predicate (if thor is the
copula) or a primary verb or verbal derivative (if thor is an auxilliary, whether
active or passive).
42. By normal development *danya would yield *dain (cf. fain <adj. *phanya
PE17:174, also P£17:26, 36), but cf. the note regarding reduction of ai, ae, ei in
unstressed syllables to e , cited above in the discussion of cem as possibly plural.
43· Note that the English verb "oppose" is derived ultimately from Latin
oppo ner = ob- 'against' + ponere 'place'.

44· This is easiest to do if din and dinen are regarded as .derived ultimately
from a root *den- via lengthening of *e > *e > *i: cf. lin 'thy' (VT 44:21), posses­
sive form of le 'you' (LR:238, R:72-73, P£17:26-27); also di 'beneath' <de (LR:729,
R:72, P£17:94-95).
Page 26 Vinyar Tengwar Number so
· March 2013

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to the Tolkien Estate and the Bodleian Library for their kind
permission to publish the "Tfuin Wrapper': In particular, I would like to
thank Christopher Tolkien, Cathleen Blackbum, and the staff of the Depart­
ment of Western Manuscripts at the Bodleian Library for their assistance at
various stages of preparing this presentation; and Dr. Judith Priestman for
providing a physical description of the wrapper. I would also like to thank
the review panel of Vinyar Tengwar, Ivan Derzhanski, John Garth, and Thor­
sten Renk, and especially my editorial colleagues, Christopher Gilson, Arden
Smith, Bill Welden, and Patrick Wynne, for their support and many helpful
comments and suggestions.

This presentation and analysis of the "Turin Wrapper" is dedicated

to the memory ofAlexei Kondratiev -friend, linguist, and
founding member of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship -
who would have loved it.
March 2013 Vinyar Tengwar Number 50
· Page 27

Resources
The following are just some of the resources available for the scholarly study of
Tolkien's invented languages. For a more complete list, visit the Resources for
Tolkienian Linguistics web page at the URL listed below.

Primers

An Introduction to Elvish, edited by Jim Allan. (Somerset: Bran's Head

Books, 1978. ISBN 0-905220-10-2). A venerable but still valuable primer of
Tolkienian linguistics.

Journals

Parma Eldalamberon. A journal of linguistic studies of fantasy literature,

especially of the Elvish languages and names in the works of J.R.R.
Tolkien. Editor: Christopher Gilson, 1240 D ale Avenue, No. 40,
Mountain View, C A 94040, USA; e-mail cgilson75@hotmail.com. Parma
is an occasional journal, sold on a per-issue basis. Write for current
information.

Quettar. The Bulletin of the Linguistic Fellowship of The Tolkien Society. ·

Editor: Julian Bradfield. Subscriptions to: the Editor at Univ. of Edinburgh,

Dept. of Computer Science, King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH3 9JZ, UK;
e-mail jcb@dcs.ed.ac.uk. Write for current status and rates.

Tengwestie. The online journal of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship. Devoted

to the scholarly study of the invented languages of J. R.R. Tolkien.
Editors: Cad F. Hostetter and Patrick H. Wynne. Web publication only:
http://www.elvish.org/Tengwestie/

Online Resources

For more information, including links to Internet mailing lists and web sites
devoted to Tolkienian linguistics, visit:

http://www.elvish.org/resources.html
 rtlinyar 7'engwar
The journal of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship,
a Special Interest Group of the Mythopoeic Society.
http://www.elvish.org/VT

Vinyar Tengwar is a refereed journal indexed by the Modern Language Association.

Editor: Cad F. Hostetter, 2509 Ambling Circle, Crofton, MD 21114, USA.

E-mail: Aelfwine@elvish.org

Review panel: !van Derzhanski, John Garth, Thorsten Renk, Arden Smith,
and Patrick Wynne.

Cover design: by Patrick Wynne.

Back issues: http://www.elvish.org/VT /shop.html

Subm issions: All material should in some manner deal with Tolkien's
invented languages. All submissions must be by e-mail in RT F or plain
text formats.

Copyright of all original material submitted is retained by the author or artist,

but VT reserves the right to reprint the material at any time. All other material
except quotes from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien is © 2013 Vinyar Tengwar. Quo­
tations from the works ofJ.R.R. or Christopher Tolkien are the copyright of their
publishers and/or the Tolkien Trust, and are used here with their kind permis­
sion. The word TOLKIEN is a registered trademark of The /.R.R. Tolkien Estate
Limited.

Bibliographical Abbreviations

H The Hobbit VI The Return of the Shadow

LR The Lord of the Rings VII The Treason of Isengard
R The Road Goes Ever On , VIII The War of the Ring
S The Silm arillion IX Sauron Defeated
UT Unfinished Tales X Morgoth's Ring
L The Letters of /.R.R. Tolkien XI The War of the Jewels
MC The Monsters and the Critics XII The Peoples of Middle-earth
I The Book of Lost Tales, Part One RC The LR: A Reader's Comp anion
11 The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two CG The Tolkien Comp anion & Guide
Ill The L ays ofBeleriand PE Parma Eldalamberon
IV The Sh aping of Middle-earth VT Vinyar Tengwar
V The Lost Road

Page references are to the standard hardcover/trade paperback edition unless otherwise noted.