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Nebrachar
English
Gnomish & Noldorin
Cirth

9lR`c4bfcl0`c`oczF`.l@cR
Dir avosaith a gwaew hinar
Like a wind, dark through gloomy places
zdaSl9`zRL9`cRrz@cl9I
engluid eryd argenaid,
the Stonefaces searched the mountains,
9lR`8S6az9l@`.l@`@z2RctcR
dir Tumledin hin Nebrachar
over Tumledin (the Smooth Valley) from Nebrachar,
LRt`6z0cla`6cz0b@`6crRc!cl9P
Yrch methail maethon magradhaid.
orcs snuffling smelt out footsteps.
9c6Rb9`9lR`.c@ct`9cac0`2z@@
Damrod dir hanach dalath benn
Damrod (a hunter) though the vale,
4z@`flRlb@`rcR`6zlalz@I
ven Sirion gar meilien,
down mountain slopes, towards (the river) Sirion went laughing.
rcla`aSl0lz@`.z2`zrac4cR
gail Luithien heb Eglavar
Lúthien he saw, as a star from Elfland shining
9lR`c4bfcl0`.c@`@z2RctcRP
dir avosaith han Nebrachar.
over the gloomy places, above Nebrachar.

Commentary
In 1931, J. R. R. Tolkien made a conference touching about his invention of languages, and claiming that this seemingly curious hobby was a peculiar form of art. The text, a very important one to get what his imaginary languages were to him, was published in the collection The Monsters and the Critics with the title A Secret Vice. Tolkien produced several poems as examples, three in Qenya and one in Noldorin: Nebrachar. We reproduce it here with its author’s own translation.

The text is transcribed in Elvish runes or cirth according to Tolkien’s given valuation in the Angerthas Daeron. We made use of Daniel Steven Smith’s typeface Cirth Erebor.  Open this mode in Glaemscribe

References
Tolkien, John Ronald Reuel. The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. London: HarperCollins, 2006. 256 p. ISBN 0-261-10263-X.

The works of John Ronald Reuel and Christopher Tolkien are under the copyright of their authors and/or rights holders, including their publishers and the Tolkien Estate.
Quotations from other authors, editors and translators mentioned in the bibliography are under the copyright of their publishers, except for those whose copyright term has ended.
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