Tengwar/Mode of Beleriand

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Tengwar Parmaite by Måns Björkman

The Mode of Beleriand was a mode of Tengwar which used full letters for vowels instead of tehtar.

Table[edit | edit source]

Parmatéma Tincotéma Calmatéma Quessetéma
q p
Parma
1 t
Tinco
a k
Calma
z
w b
Umbar
2 d
Ando
s g
Anga
x
e f
Formen
3 th
Thúle
d ch
Charma
c
r v
Ampa
4 dh
Anto
f[note 1] gh?
Anca
v
t[note 2] mm
Malta
5[note 2] nn
Númen
g -ng?
Ngoldo
b
y m
Vala
6 n
Óre
h o
Anna
n[note 3] -w
Wilya
Additional Tengwar:
7 r
Rómen
u[note 4] rh
Arda
j l
Lambë
m[note 4] lh
Alda
8 s
Silmë
i Silmë nuquerna k[note 5] ss?
Essë
, Essë nuquerna
9[note 6] h
Hyarmen
o[note 7] chw?
Hwesta Sindarinwa
l e
Yanta
. u
Úrë
~ i-? ` i
Telco
] a
Osse
y+ mh?
½[note 8]
Gasdil
I[note 9] y

History[edit | edit source]

The history of this mode is not known but the name suggest it evolved in the First Age, on Beleriand, when the Noldor came to Middle-earth; we are told that they were forbidden by King Elu Thingol to use Quenya[1]and were forced to adopt Sindarin.

Normally, they adapted Tengwar to their new language, taking advantage of their inherent flexibility to other sounds, imitating maybe the way the Falmari of Eldamar represented the Telerin sounds that didn't exist in Quenya. For some obscure reasons we do not know, they found the most usual tehta-mode inappropriate for Sindarin, and they took therefore also example of the original Fëanorian Quanta Sarmë, using distinct tengwar for vowels.

The Mode of Beleriand seems to have been held "traditionally" by the Noldor who were established in Eregion during the Second Age, as seen on the West-gate of Moria Inscription written by Celebrimbor[2]. After Eregion was destroyed in S.A. 1697, the Noldor migrated to Imladris[3], where the Mode of Beleriand was perhaps used even till the Third Age[4].

Structure[edit | edit source]

It seems that Sindarin speakers found use only for 3 of the 5 témar since Sindarin lacked the palatalized (ly, ny, ty) sounds of Quenya as well as the labialized qu.

Vowels[edit | edit source]

Of the Quessetéma, Wilya was used for a final -u (or -w). There is also an a-tengwa called Osse, not corresponding with any of the older ones known from Quenya; it could have been imported from a Quenya semivowel unknown to us, which belonged to the Quanta-Sarme.

The carriers took vowel values too: The telco was used for i, while the long carrier could have been used for the semiconsonantal initial sound y- (or i- as in Ioreth).[5]

Diphthongs were expressed by tehtar. Two amatixi (maybe a remnant of the earlier Tyelpetéma), used for -i in the diphthongs ai, ei and ui[6]. Au (spelled -aw at the end of words) is not attested, but perhaps similarly the w-tehta was used (caun, a]é6).

ae, although a diphthong, is attested written with the separate letters for a and e, and maybe the same applies to the diphthong oe too.

Labialised consonants[edit | edit source]

In Quenya mode, labialised consonants (kw, ngw etc) belonged to the Quessetéma. It's possible that the Mode of Beleriand used a w-tehta è over consonants for this (edwen, would perhaps be written here as l2èl6).[5]

Nasalization[edit | edit source]

Anto, Ampa and other letters used for nasalized stops in Quenya took different values. A tilde is used before stops for nasalisation. (mb, wP)

Length[edit | edit source]

A well-known tehta that indicates long consonants, the under-tilde, was not used. Long m and n were written with Malta and Númen (i.e., doubling of the lúva), and other long consonants were written with two letters (mellon, yljjh6).

A tehta was used to indicate long vowels, an acute accent called Andaith (á, ]R)

Examples[edit | edit source]

The best known sample of the Mode of Beleriand is of course the Inscription of the West-gate of Moria, written by Celebrimbor of Eregion; this suggest that this Mode was preserved there by the Noldor.

- l5I6 2.7`6 ]7]6 yh7`] - ql2h yljjh6 ] y`5h -

- `y 6]7r` 9]Ö6 ld]1p - aljlw7`wPh7 h l7ls`h6 1lÕ3]1p ` 3`Vn 9`6 -

Ennyn Durin Aran Moria. Pedo mellon a minno.
Im Narvi hain echant. Celebrimbor o Eregion teithant i-thîw hin.

A Elbereth Gilthoniel was an aerlinn of the Elves of Imladris. Imladris was inhabited by the refugees of Eregion[7] and is one of the places that might have kept the Mode of Beleriand, even in the 3rd Age.

] ljwl7l3 s`j3h6`lj A Elbereth Gilthoniel
8`j`r7l6 ql5] 6`V7`lj silivren penna míriel
h yl6lj ]sj]7 ljl6]3 o menel aglar elenath!
6]d]l7l2 q]j]62`V7`lj Na-chaered palan-díriel
h s]j]47lt`6 l5h7]3 o galadhremmin ennorath,
e]6.Öjh8 jl j5]3h6 Fanuilos, le linnathon
6lr ]l]7 8`V 6lr ]l]7h6 nef aear, sí nef aearon!

Notes

  1. This letter is not attested in any Sindarin text, neither is the sound it theoretically represented, but we can theorize that this sound existed in very early Sindarin (g disappeared in the middle of words via this sound. Cf. early Quenya ȝ). If the Noldor came to Middle-earth when this sound still existed, it is likely that they represented it by this tengwa, before finally disappearing. See also Gasdil.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Because of their doubled lúvar, those tengwar were considered as lenghtened forms of Vala and Órë, which had the values of m and n, respectively.
  3. Maybe for prevocalic and final w (e.g., tawarwaith, tiw). If that's the case, it shouldn't be used for the diphthong au (finally spelled -aw).
  4. 4.0 4.1 These letters were used for the initial soft sounds rh and lh (spelled hr and hl in Quenya).
  5. This letter (previously Ázë) became ss for Quenya writing. But it is not known which took it from which. There are two equal probabilities
  6. Sindarin didn't possess palatalized sounds. hy had became h. Hyarmen was employed for this soft sound, not to be confused with ch.
  7. This mysterious letter, said to have the value hw, had never appeared in any of the Sindarin texts. It is unknown why was it employed instead of Hwesta and when. It was probably used much later by the Mannish modes, where Hwesta was used for the sound ch or chw.
  8. The lenited g sound was indicated by a sign called Gasdil, which is an elaboration of the letter Halla. It is used like the apostrophe, to indicate a missing g: galadh, "tree", but i ‘aladh, "the tree"
  9. This original letter is similar to Silme Nuquerna however it is a different shape. The sound it represents is the vowel y (not to be confused with the consonantal Quenya y in yulma)

References

Languages and scripts in Tolkien's works
Elvish Angerthas (Angerthas Daeron) · Avarin · Cirth (Certhas Daeron) · Common Eldarin · Mátengwië · Moon-letters · Nandorin · Primitive Quendian · Quenya (Exilic · Valinorean · Vanyarin) · Sarati · Silvan Elvish · Sindarin (Doriathrin · Falathrin · Númenórean · Mithrimin · Old) · Telerin (Common) · Tengwar
Mannish Adûnaic · Dalish · Drúadan · Dunlendish · Halethian · Northern Mannish · Pre-Númenórean · Rohanese · Taliska · Westron (Bucklandish · Hobbitish · Stoorish)
Dwarvish Angerthas (Erebor · Moria) · Aulëan · Iglishmêk · Khuzdul
Other Black Speech · Old Entish · Orkish · Valarin · Warg-language
Earlier legendarium Gnomish · Gnomic Letters · Gondolinic Runes · Ilkorin · Keladian · Noldorin (Kornoldorin) · Melkian · Oromëan · Qenya · Valmaric script
Outside the legendarium Animalic · Arktik · Goblin Alphabet · Mágol · Naffarin · New English Alphabet · Nevbosh · Privata Kodo Skauta
Real-world Celtic · English (Old · Middle · AB) · Finnish · Germanic · Gothic · Hebrew · Runic alphabet · Welsh
"A Secret Vice" (book) · "The Lhammas" · "The Tree of Tongues" · Sub-creation