Cirth   Cirth

Cirth [ˈkirθ] was created by J.R.R. Tolkien and appears in his novels. It is modelled on the Anglo-Saxon Runic alphabet, and is used to write Sindarin, one of the Elvish languages, and Khuzdul, the language of the Dwarves It is also used as a alternative alphabet for English. It appears in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings in inscriptions in wood and stone.

Notable features

Internal history

Angerthas Daeron

Towards the end of the First Age in Beleriand, Daeron, the Minstrel and Loremaster of King Thingol of Doriath, organized the Cirth into what became known as the Angerthas Daeron ("Runes of Daeron"). Daeron's alphabet was originally used by the Grey Elves (Sindar) in Beleriand as an informal alphabet for their language, Sindarin. Later the Deep Elves (Noldor) in Eregion added additional letters to represent sounds not found in the Sindarin, but in the langauges of the other people living in the area. The Angerthas Daeron was used primarily for carved inscriptions. For most other forms of written communication the Tengwar were used.

Cirth (Angerthas Daeron)

Cirth (Angerthas Daeron)

Angerthas Moria

During the beginning of the Second Age in Eregion, Dwarves first came to know the Elvish runes of the Noldor. They modified the runes to suit the specific needs of their language, Khuzdul. The Dwarves spread their revised alphabet to Moria, where it came to be known as Angerthas Moria ("Runes of Moria") . The Dwarves used the runes extensively, and developed both carved and pen-written forms. They spread their alphabet whereever they went through out Middle-earth. Variations of Angerthas Moria were also used by other races for their languages, such as the Mannish tongue Westron.

Cirth (Angerthas Moria)

Cirth (Angerthas Moria)

Angerthas Ererbor

At the beginning of the Third Age, the Dwarves were driven out of Moria. Some migrated to the Grey Mountains, some to the Iron Hills, and some came to Lonely Mountain (or Erebor). The Dwarves in Erebor modified the Cirth even more. Several letters reverted back to the original Angerthas Daeron phonetic value. They also added a number of extra characters.

Cirth (Angerthas Ererbor)

Cirth (Angerthas Ererbor)

Source: https://ring-lord.tripod.com/cirth/

Sample text (in Angerthas Moira)

Sample Cirth inscription (in Angerthas Moira)

Translation (by Manosij Majumdar)

Balin son of Fundin Lord of Moria

Source: http://ring-lord.tripod.com/cirth/ex_moria2.htm

Sample text (in Quenya in Angerthas Erebor)

Sample Cirth inscription (in Quenya in Angerthas Erebor)

Transliteration

Ilye firini nar nóne lére ar imye taliesse yo auviesse. Nante arwa handasseo yo immo-isto ar mauya tien lenga imbi inte otornasseva feasse.

Transliteration

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Links

Information about Cirth
http://ring-lord.tripod.com/cirth/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirth
https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Cirth

Cirth Rune generator
http://derhobbit-film.de/rune_generator.shtml

Cirth fonts
https://www.fonts4free.net/cirth-erebor-font.html

Tolkien's alphabets and languages: Cirth | Sarati | Tengwar for Quenya | Tengwar for Sindarin | Uruk Runes | Links | Books about Tolkien's languages | Tolkien's books

Constructed scripts for: Ainu | Arabic | Chinese languages | Dutch | English | Hawaiian | Hungarian | Japanese | Korean | Lingala | Malay & Indonesian | Persian | Tagalog / Filipino | Russian | Sanskrit | Spanish | Taino | Turkish | Vietnamese | Welsh | Other natural languages | Colour-based scripts | Tactile scripts | Phonetic/universal scripts | Constructed scripts for constructed languages | Adaptations of existing alphabets | Fictional alphabets | Magical alphabets | A-Z index | How to submit a constructed script

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