L’s Comments (group member since May 08, 2013)

L’s comments from the Tolkien's T.C.B.S group.

Other constructed languages ~

Naffarin was the first language Tolkien constructed by himself during his adolescence; only one sentence remains which shows a Spanish affinity.

Gautisk is a Germanic "unrecorded" language in which Tolkien called himself Undarhruiménitupp.

Mágo/Mágol is based on Hungarian.

The Black Speech is spoken in the land of Mordor, created by evil (Sauron) and replacing many Orkish languages.

There are 2 forms of the black speech. (1) Pure forms used by Sauron himself and the Nazgûl, and the Olog-hai, and (2) the more "debased" form used by the soldiery of the Barad-dûr at the end of the Third Age.

Westron ~ spoken by both Men and Hobbits in the Third Age. It is also known as the 'common speech' (or tounge) and is spoken alongside other Mannish languages: such as Rohirric and Dalish.

Sindarin ~ is strongly influenced by Finnish and Welsh.
The only known Sindarin word for this language is 'Eglathrin'. It was spoken in the First Age.


Called in English "Grey-elvish" or "Grey-elven", it was the language of the Sindarin Elves of Beleriand. These were Elves of the Third Clan who remained behind in Beleriand after the Great Journey. Their language became estranged from that of their kin who sailed over sea. Sindarin derives from an earlier form of language called Common Telerin which itself had evolved from Common Eldarin, the tongue of the Eldar before their divisions, e.g. those Elves who decided to follow the Vala Oromë and undertook the Great March to Valinor. Even before that the Eldar Elves spoke the original speech of all Elves, or Primitive Quendian.

In the Third Age (the setting of The Lord of the Rings), Sindarin was the language most commonly spoken by most Elves in the Western part of Middle-earth. Sindarin is the language usually referred to as the elf-tongue or elven-tongue in The Lord of the Rings. When the Quenya-speaking Noldor returned to Middle-earth, they adopted the Sindarin language. Quenya and Sindarin were related, with many cognate words but differing greatly in grammar and structure. Sindarin is said to be more changeful than Quenya, and there were during the First Age a number of regional dialects. The tongue used in Doriath (home of Thingol King of the Sindar), known as Doriathrin, was said by many Grey-elves to be the highest and most noble form of the language.

In the Second Age, many Men of the island of Númenor spoke Sindarin fluently. Their descendants the Dúnedain of Gondor and Arnor continued to speak Sindarin in the Third Age. Within this fictional universe, Sindarin was first written using the cirth, an Elvish alphabet. Later, it was usually written in tengwar. Tolkien based the sound and some of the grammar of Sindarin on Welsh,[3] and Sindarin displays some of the consonant mutations that characterize the Celtic languages.[4] The language was also influenced by Old English and Old Norse

Quenya ~ is Tolkien's most complete language. Inspiration came from 'Finnish' as well as Latin and Greek.


Within Tolkien's fictive universe, Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi ('speakers') in Quenya. Quenya translates as simply "language", or in contrast to other tongues that the Elves met later in their long history "elf-language". After the Elves divided, Quenya originated as the speech of two clans of "High Elves" or Eldar, the Noldor and the Vanyar, who left Middle-earth to live in Eldamar ("Elvenhome"), in Valinor the land of the immortal and God-like Valar. Of these two groups of Elves, the Noldor returned to Middle-earth where they met the Sindarin-speaking Grey-elves. The Noldor eventually adopted Sindarin and used Quenya primarily as a ritual or poetic language, whereas the Vanyar who stayed behind in Eldamar retained the use of Quenya. In this way, the Quenya language was symbolic of the high status of the Elves, the firstborn of the races of Middle-earth, because of their close connection to Valinor, and its decreasing use also became symbolic for the slowly declining Elven culture in Middle-earth. In the Second Age of Middle-earth's chronology the humans of Númenor learned the Quenya tongue. In the Third Age, the time of the setting of The Lord of the Rings, Quenya was learned as a second language by all Elves of Noldorin origin, and it continued to be used in spoken and written form, but their mother-tongue was the Sindarin of the Grey-elves. As the Noldor remained in Middle-earth, their Noldorin dialect of Quenya also gradually diverged from the Vanyarin dialect spoken in Valinor, undergoing both sound changes and grammatical changes.

The language featured prominently in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as in his posthumously published history of Middle-earth The Silmarillion. The longest text in Quenya published by Tolkien during his lifetime is the poem "Namárië", and other published texts are generally no longer than a few sentences. At his death Tolkien left behind a number of unpublished writings on Quenya and later Tolkien scholars have prepared his notes and unpublished manuscripts for publication in the journals Parma Eldalamberon and Vinyar Tengwar, also publishing scholarly and linguistic analyses of the language. Although Tolkien never created enough vocabulary to make it possible to converse in Quenya, fans have been writing poetry and prose in Quenya since the 1970s. This has required conjecture and the need to devise new words, in effect developing a kind of neo-Quenya language.

Ah! like gold fall the leaves in the wind, long years numberless as the wings of trees!

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, was published on 21 September 1937.

Set in a time "Between the Dawn of Færie and the Dominion of Men" The Hobbit follows the quest of home-loving hobbit Bilbo Baggins to win a share of the treasure guarded by the dragon, Smaug. Bilbo's journey takes him from light-hearted, rural surroundings into more sinister territory. The story is told in the form of an episodic quest, and most chapters introduce a specific creature, or type of creature, of Tolkien's Wilderland. By accepting the disreputable, romantic, fey and adventurous side of his nature and applying his wits and common sense, Bilbo gains a new level of maturity, competence and wisdom. The story reaches its climax in the Battle of Five Armies, where many of the characters and creatures from earlier chapters re-emerge to engage in conflict.

Personal growth and forms of heroism are central themes of the story. Along with motifs of warfare, these themes have led critics to view Tolkien's own experiences during World War I as instrumental in shaping the story. The author's scholarly knowledge of Germanic philology and interest in fairy tales are often noted as influences.

"creoso mellon!" (Welcome Friend)

Woolfie wrote: "This might prove interesting.
Tales Before Tolkien: The Roots of Modern Fantasy"

Very interesting indeed! Thank you for the link.

Ref. Treasures from the Misty Mountains.

What Tolkien items do you own/ collect?

Do you own any films on DVD or perhaps extended editions?

Do you own any Special Editions of any of Tolkien's books?

T.C.B.S (Tea Club and Barrovian Society).

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit...

Design copyright of 'The Estate of J.R.R. Tolkien' and used by kind permission of the Executors.
Published in 1937, these words introduced a new world, Middle-earth, to us all. They were written by J.R.R. Tolkien, an academic in his '40s who enjoyed telling stories and who one day suddenly found a blank sheet in a pile of examination papers he was engaged in marking. The rest is history. [1]
In 1969 the Tolkien Society was founded to further interest in the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.B.E., the author of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and other works of fiction and philological study. Based in the United Kingdom and registered as an independent, non-profit making charity, number 273809, the Society has an international membership which benefits from regular publications and events.

The Society helps to bring together those with like minds, both formally and informally, with gatherings throughout the year. There are three gatherings each year at a national level. The first is the Annual General Meeting and Annual Dinner, held in the spring in a different town or city in the UK. At the AGM, the running of the Society is discussed and Committee members are elected. After the gently formal Dinner there is always a guest speaker, either someone who knew J.R.R. Tolkien or someone describing how his works have affected their life and work.

The Tolkien Society is home ground for 'those who would wander with friends in Middle-earth'.
The second event, the Seminar, takes place on a summer weekend at venues around the UK and occasionally overseas. Talks are presented a Tolkien-related theme. These can range from high seriousness to lighthearted in tone and there is always something for everyone. The second day is usually filled with a visit to a historic site or other local event to interest or entertain.

The third and largest gathering of the Tolkien Society year is Oxonmoot, held over a weekend in late September, often in a college of Oxford University. Events are many and varied, and may include talks, slide shows, a guided walk around historic Oxford, a lunchtime reception, and an evening party with an opportunity to present music or drama or take part in a creative costume masquerade, or simply socialise and enjoy company. On Sunday we visit Wolvercote Cemetery to remember J.R.R. Tolkien and how his work has brought us and many others together. It is a great time for making new friends in the Society - and meeting old friends again.

Within the Society there are local groups called Smials, after hobbit homes. Here both members and non-members gather to be sociable, talk about Tolkien's works and anything else that interests them and arrange outings of mutual interest. Smials are one of the social lifelines of the Society. There are also postal smials for those who live far from a local group, with regular newsletters and occasional meetings.
There are also Special Int
erest Groups on various topics such as Tolkien Collecting and Tolkien's languages.

The Society produces two regular publications. The bulletin Amon Hen appears six times a year with news from around the whole range of Tolkien-related interests, reviews, letters, artwork and articles humorous and serious. The annual journal, Mallorn, is more serious in nature with longer critical articles and essays. Nearly all the material appearing in the journals is the work of Society members, often giving them their first opportunity of presenting their work to a wider audience. There are also occasional booklets produced by the Society, its Special Interest Groups, and sometimes Smials and individual members.

The Society has close and friendly links both with the late Professor's family and publishers, and with fellow literary societies and other groups in all fictional fields.
The Society also maintains an extensive Library and Archive, both of which are accessible to Society members. The Archive can also be visited by non-members. Access is currently by appointment only.
And as you may have noticed, the Society has its own Website with much information about publications, biography and events as well as news updates and a Guestbook through which anyone can request information or answers to questions about Tolkien's life and works, publications, publishing and performing rights, events and local contacts. All we ask is that you give us a correct email address to reply to and a bit of time to find an answer.

The Tolkien Society is home ground for 'those who would wander with friends in Middle-earth'.
a perfect house, whether you like food or sleep, or story telling, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all...

Website ~ www.tolkiensociety.co.uk

The Inklings were a gathering of friends – all of them British, male, and Christian, most of them teachers at or otherwise affiliated with Oxford University, many of them creative writers and lovers of imaginative literature – who met usually on Thursday evenings in C.S. Lewis’s and J.R.R. Tolkien’s college rooms in Oxford during the 1930s and 1940s for readings and criticism of their own work, and for general conversation. “Properly speaking,” wrote W.H. Lewis, one of their number, the Inklings “was neither a club nor a literary society, though it partook of the nature of both. There were no rules, officers, agendas, or formal elections.” An overlapping group gathered on Tuesday (later Monday) mornings in various Oxford pubs, usually but not always the Eagle and Child, better known as the Bird and Baby, between the 1940s and 1963. These were less formal meetings, and contrary to popular legend the Inklings did not read their manuscripts in the pub.

A short guide to a long and happy life...

A scientific look at Tolkien's world.

An interesting look at how JRR Tolkien influenced other authors and writers. Boosting fantasy's popularity.

Colin Duriez' look at Tolkien and his creation ~ the masterwork: the lord of the rings

The maps of Arda and of places in Middle-Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad

David Day's exploration of Tolkien's world.