Tengwar
Tengwar, or the Fëanorian letters, is a constructed script devised by J.R.R. Tolkien for use with his Elvish languages in the legendarium of Middle-earth, primarily Quenya and Sindarin. In Tolkien's fictional history, the script was invented by the Noldorin Elf Fëanor during the First Age of Arda as an improvement over earlier systems like the Tengwar of Rúmil, enabling the precise phonetic representation of Elvish phonemes.[1] Tolkien began developing Tengwar-like scripts in the early 1910s, but the mature form emerged around 1931 and was refined through the 1940s, culminating in the versions detailed in The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955).[1] The script functions as a versatile phonetic alphabet, adaptable to various languages through different "modes" that assign values to its characters based on linguistic needs; for instance, it was used for Westron (the Common Speech) in Gondor's inscriptions and for Black Speech in the One Ring inscription, as well as for English in some of Tolkien's personal writings.[2] Notable examples include the inscription on the One Ring ("Ash nazg durbatulûk...") rendered in a Black Speech mode and the title page of The Lord of the Rings in Elvish.[3] Structurally, Tengwar consists of primary letters called tengwar (singular tengwa, meaning "letter"), organized into four series (témar) corresponding to points of articulation (lips, tongue, etc.) and six grades (tyeller) reflecting manner of articulation, such as stops, fricatives, and nasals.[2] Vowels and modifications are typically denoted by superscript diacritics known as tehtar (singular tehta, "sign"), which can be placed above or after consonants, allowing for compact and elegant cursive forms; in some modes, full letters serve as vowels instead.[3] This featural design reflects Tolkien's philological expertise, prioritizing adaptability for his constructed languages.[4] Since Tolkien's death, Tengwar has inspired fonts, artistic uses, and scholarly study within linguistics and fantasy communities, though its primary significance remains tied to illuminating the cultures of Middle-earth.[5]Fictional Origins and Terminology
Creation in the Legendarium
In the mythological framework of J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Tengwar script was invented by the Noldorin Elf Fëanor during the Years of the Trees in Valinor, specifically in Valian Year 1250.[6] This creation marked a significant advancement over the earlier Elvish writing system devised by the Loremaster Rúmil of Tirion, known as the Sarati or more fully as the Tengwesta Quendoi Parmacelde, which had been introduced around Valian Year 1169 and represented the first use of penned letters among the Elves.[7] Fëanor's Tengwar, often called the Fëanorian Letters, drew inspiration from the Sarati's forms but introduced a more structured and versatile phonetic system, emphasizing elegance and fluidity that reflected the Noldor's artistic inclinations.[2] Designed primarily as a formal book-hand (known in Quenya as parmaitë), the Tengwar facilitated transcription for the scholarly and inventive Noldor, surpassing the more cumbersome Sarati in efficiency and adaptability.[8] The script's association with Fëanor imbued it with an aura of secrecy and profound beauty, as his works often embodied hidden depths and exquisite craftsmanship, contrasting Rúmil's more primitive and less refined Tengwesta Quendoi Parmacelde.[2] Following the exile, the Tengwar was preserved and propagated by the Noldor under leaders like Fingolfin and Finrod in Beleriand during the First Age, where it served for recording histories, poetry, and lore amid the wars against Morgoth.[2] Despite the fall of Beleriand at the end of the First Age, the script endured through the Second Age among the Exiled Noldor in Lindon and Eregion, and into the Third Age, remaining in use by Elves in Rivendell and Lothlórien for both their own tongues and adapted modes.[2] A notable instance of its application outside Elvish contexts was its use in the inscription on the One Ring, forged by Sauron in the Second Age, where the Black Speech verse was rendered in a Númenórean mode.[2]Core Terminology
In Quenya, the term tengwar (singular tengwa) literally means "letters" and refers to the individual glyphs comprising the Fëanorian script devised by Fëanor in the legendarium. This distinguishes it from tengwesta, which denotes a writing system, grammar, or collection of letters as an organized code, and parma, meaning "book" or a written document on a surface like vellum. The fundamental components of a tengwa are the telco, a straight vertical stem, and the lúva, a curved bow or loop extending from the stem; these basic elements are combined and modified to form the 24 primary letters.[9][10] The term tyellë (plural tyeller) refers to the "grades" or rows of letters within the script's structure, representing modifications based on manner of articulation, such as voiceless stops in the first grade or nasals in the third.[10] The tengwar are organized into four primary series known as témar, grouped phonetically by place of articulation: the parmatéma for labials (e.g., p, b, f, v), the tincotéma for dentals (e.g., t, d, þ, ð), the calmatéma for velars (e.g., k, g, h, ŋ), and the quessetéma for labiovelars (e.g., qu, gw). The names of these series derive from the primal tengwar of the first grade: parma for the labial series (originally representing /p/), tinco for dentals (/t/), calma for velars (/k/), and quesse for labiovelars (/kw/).[11][12] Unique structural concepts include the nuquernë, an inverted form of the letter númen used for certain phonetic values in adaptations, and curuvë (or curved stems), which replace straight telcor in some variants to denote softened or palatalized sounds, reflecting adaptations to Elvish phonology without altering the core alphabetic order. These terms, standardized by Fëanor, underscore the script's phonetic logic aligned with Quendian sound systems.Real-World Development
Precursors and Influences
Tolkien's development of the Tengwar drew from his philological expertise, particularly his studies of ancient scripts such as runes, the Greek alphabet, Aramaic, and the Anglo-Saxon futhorc, which informed his experiments with phonetic and angular forms in the 1910s and 1920s.[1] His academic work on Old English and medieval linguistics, including rune inscriptions, shaped the structured series and grades of letters in his invented systems, emphasizing phonetic accuracy over ornamental design.[3] The primary precursor to the Tengwar is the Sarati script, created by Tolkien in the late 1910s around 1919 during his recovery from World War I service.[13] This system, used for early Qenya and Gnomish (precursors to Quenya and Sindarin), arranged consonants in linear sequences without diacritic vowel marks like the later tehtar, instead representing vowels as distinct full-height letters.[14] Sarati's vertical orientation and phonetic organization anticipated Tengwar's core structure, though it remained more rigid and inscriptional in style.[13] A concurrent precursor was the Valmaric script, developed by Tolkien around 1922–1925 alongside Sarati, with variations in sound-letter correspondence and superficial resemblances to Tengwar, such as in a Beowulf excerpt.[1] Further evolution in the late 1920s included pre-Fëanorian alphabets, closer to Tengwar in letter shapes, designed for English and lacking tehtar.[15] Developed alongside modes for Gnomish and Qenya, these prototypes integrated elements from Tolkien's wartime experiences, potentially contributing to their fluid yet precise adaptations for phonetic rendering.[16] These prototypes set the foundation for later refinements, transitioning toward the more versatile Tengwar by the 1930s.Tolkien's Refinements
Tolkien began refining the Tengwar script in the early 1930s, transitioning from earlier alphabetic prototypes of the 1920s to a more structured system with distinct series and grades of letters.[3] These refinements included variations in stem heights to distinguish phonetic series, such as tall stems for the basic series (tinco, parma, calma, quesse) and shorter or descending stems for others, allowing for phonetic distinctions in Elvish languages.[2] A key evolution during this period was the introduction of tehtar—small superscript marks for vowels—in the 1930s, which provided an economical way to indicate vowels without dedicating full tengwar letters, particularly suited for Quenya's vowel-heavy structure.[2] The script's first documented appearances in Tolkien's work date to the mid-1930s, including samples in "The Etymologies," a linguistic manuscript compiled around 1937–1939 as part of his broader lexicon development.[17] Unpublished manuscripts from the 1940s, such as notes on "Quenyatic Tengwar," further detailed adaptations for Quenya phonology, exploring variant forms and carrying marks. By the early 1950s, following revisions to Sindarin's phonology around 1951, Tolkien adjusted Tengwar modes to better accommodate its consonant clusters and vowel patterns, introducing specialized tehtar placements and letter substitutions for sounds like the spirant "h" and nasal mutations.[17] The most comprehensive public presentation of these refinements came in the appendices to The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955), where Appendix E provided detailed explanations of Tengwar structure, modes for Quenya and Sindarin, and sample texts, solidifying the script's design for Elvish languages.[3] Later, in The Road Goes Ever On (1967), Tolkien included a full-page Tengwar transcription of the poem "Namárië" in the classical Quenya mode, showcasing refined calligraphic forms with precise tehta usage.[2] In the 1960s, Tolkien's correspondence revealed ongoing interest in the script's application, as he responded to queries from readers and scholars about its use for English and other tongues, occasionally clarifying ambiguities in mode conventions based on feedback.[17] These interactions prompted minor explanatory tweaks in his later writings, though no major structural changes were made after the 1950s.[17]Script Components
Consonant Letters
The primary consonant letters of the Tengwar script, known as the tengwar proper, comprise 24 basic symbols arranged in a systematic grid of four series called témar and six grades or rows called tyeller. This structure reflects a featural design where the shape of each letter encodes aspects of phonetic articulation, such as manner and place of production.[3] The letters are constructed from two fundamental elements: a vertical stem termed the telco, which symbolizes the airflow in speech, and one or more curved bows termed lúvar, which represent the voiced component. Variations in the telco's length (normal, short, or extended downward) and the lúvar's number (single or double) and orientation (to the right or left of the stem) distinguish the tyeller, while the specific curvature and attachment of the lúva differentiate the témar.[18] The four témar are named after their leading letter in the first tyellë: Tincotéma, Parmatéma, Calmatéma, and Quessetéma. Letters in the Tincotéma and Parmatéma feature lúvar positioned to the right of the telco, with the former using a simpler, more angular bow and the latter a fuller, rounded one. In contrast, the Calmatéma and Quessetéma have lúvar to the left, the former with a bow that includes a downward foot and the latter with a hooked or reversed curve. Double lúvar in the second and fourth tyeller consist of symmetrical bows on both sides of the telco. The short telco in the third and fourth tyeller extends only halfway up from the baseline, while the extended telco in the fifth and sixth reaches below the baseline. These regularly formed letters form the core of the script, with no inherent mode-specific phonetic values; their sounds vary by usage.[2] In the classical Quenya mode as used by the Eldar, the 24 primal Tengwar are assigned phonetic values primarily representing stops, fricatives, nasals, and their combinations, grouped by tyellë to reflect voicing and nasality. The first tyellë covers voiceless stops and continuants; the second, voiceless fricatives; the third, voiced stops; the fourth, voiced prenasalized stops; the fifth, nasals; and the sixth, voiceless prenasalized stops. Representative examples include the letter tinco (first tyellë, Tincotéma: normal telco with simple rightward bow), valued as /t/; parma (first tyellë, Parmatéma: normal telco with rounded rightward bow), /p/; calma (first tyellë, Calmatéma: normal telco with footed leftward bow), /k/; and quessë (first tyellë, Quessetéma: normal telco with hooked leftward bow), /kw/. Similar progressions apply across grades, such as anto in the fourth tyellë, Tincotéma (short telco with simple rightward double bow), valued as /nd/. The following table enumerates all 24 primal Tengwar, describing their construction and providing Quenya phonetic values for clarity:| Tyellë | Tincotéma (Shape: rightward bow(s), simple curve) | Parmatéma (Shape: rightward bow(s), rounded) | Calmatéma (Shape: leftward bow(s), footed) | Quessetéma (Shape: leftward bow(s), hooked) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (Normal telco, single lúva) | tinco (/t/) | parma (/p/) | calma (/k/) | quessë (/kw/) |
| 2 (Normal telco, double lúva) | anca (/θ/ as in "thin") | umbar (/f/) | aha (/h/) | hwesta (/ʍ/ or /hw/) |
| 3 (Short telco, single lúva) | ando (/d/) | umbar (/b/) | anga (/g/) | ungwë (/gw/) |
| 4 (Short telco, double lúva) | anto (/nd/) | ampa (/mb/) | anca (/ŋg/) | unquë (/ŋgw/) |
| 5 (Extended telco down, single lúva) | númen (/n/) | malta (/m/) | ñgoldo (/ŋ/) | ñwalmë (/ŋw/) |
| 6 (Extended telco down, double lúva) | nwalme (/nt/) | vassalya (/mp/) | ungo (/ŋk/) | ngwalme (/ŋkw/) |