The Alphabet of Rúmil and Early Noldorin Fragments is the thirteenth issue of Parma Eldalamberon, a journal of linguistic studies of the Elvish languages and names in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Contents[]
- Cover: "Rúmilian" — Adam Christensen
- "The Alphabet of Rúmil" — J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Arden Ray Smith
- Introduction
- Texts and Commentary
(contains 26 documents of the Rúmilian script, Sarati)
- "Early Noldorin Fragments" — J.R.R. Tolkien, eds. Christopher John Gilson, William Lloyd Welden, Carl F. Hostetter, and Patrick Howard Wynne
- Heraldic Devices of Tol Erethrin
- Goldogrin Pronominal Prefixes
- Early Chart of Names
- The Official Name List
- The Gnomish Lexicon Slips
- Early Noldorin Grammar
- Noldorin Word-lists
- Noldorin Dictionary
- List of abbreviations
- Back cover — Adam Christensen
Description[]
The Rúmilian Sarati are the earliest of the Elvish writing systems devised by Tolkien, ultimately envisioned as the historical precursor to the Fëanorian Tengwar, the Elvish script seen in The Lord of the Rings. "The Alphabet of Rúmil" is an edition of Tolkien's Rúmilian writings, with examples of the script reproduced in facsimile, including charts of the sounds represented by the letters, and both Elvish and English texts written in Rúmilian. Transcriptions of these texts and detailed commentary on the chronology of the documents and evolution of the conception of the writing system are included in this edition.
"Early Noldorin Fragments" is a collection of Tolkien's word-lists and grammatical descriptions of the Noldorin language from the 1920s. These trace the evolution the language from its beginnings as the Goldogrin of the "Gnomish Lexicon" (I·Lam na·Ngoldathon: The Grammar and Lexicon of The Gnomish Tongue) to its conception as the Exilic Noldorin that would appear in "The Etymologies" (The Lost Road and Other Writings). These writings reveal the emergence of significant conceptual details, such the use of vowel mutation to mark Noldorin plural nouns, and the place of Old Noldorin in the internal history of the language. Detailed annotations and commentary on these conceptual developments in the documents are included in this edition.
External links[]
- Official product on Eldalamberon.com
- Book review by John Garth, Tolkien Studies volume 2