J O N K E R S R A R E B O O K S
of the princes and queens who had led the revolting Noldor to exile in Middle-earth. After the overthrow of Morgoth at the end of the First Age a ban was set upon her return, and she had replied proudly that she had not wish to do so… In the event, after the fall of Sauron, in reward for all that she had done to oppose him, but above all for her rejection of the Ring when it came within her power, the ban was lifted, and she returned over the Sea, as is told at the end of The Lord of the Rings.” There is a section of technical instruction about metre, “The metre is iambic, in lines of 5 or 6 feet each. The first part, lines 1-7, is in alternating lines: 5, 6, 5, 6, etc. The separate line 8 has also 5 feet...” And a glossary, “Varda: ‘the Exalted’, greatest of the queens of the Valar… Laurë is translated ‘gold’ but it was not a metallic word... Calaciryo. Gen. of Cala-cirya, “light-cleft,” the great ravine in the mountains of Valinor...” etc. ‘A Elbereth Gilthoniel’ appears in full on p.250 of The Fellowship of the Ring . It is heard by Frodo and Bilbo as they leave the Elven Hall of Fire. Bilbo alludes to its meaning, “It is a song to Elbereth [or Varda]... They will sing that, and other songs of the Blessed Realm, many times tonight.”, and later “I’ll take a walk, I think, and look at the stars of Elbereth in the garden...”. It is essentially a hymn written in Sindarin, the language of the Grey Elves and the most widely spoken Elvish language during the Third Age, and is woven throughout The Lord of the Rings , ap- pearing several times in different forms. It is notable that until this translation and notes, Tolkien leaves the meaning deliberately opaque, possibly to give the impression of mystery about Middle Earth or to encourage the reader to enjoy the phonics of the language for its own sake, something Tolkien set a great store by. Tolkien’s notes deal mostly with the subtleties of the different Elven dialects, “The language is Sindarin, but of a variety used by the High Elves (of which kind were most of the Elves in Riven- dell), marked in high style and verse by the influence of Quenya... For instance, silivren would recall to Elvish minds the silmarils and describe the stars as crystalline forms shining from within with a light of mysterious power.”
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