Editing Tengwar (section)

== External history ==

=== Precursors ===

The [[sarati]], a script developed by Tolkien in the late 1910s and described in ''[[Parma Eldalamberon]] 13'', anticipates many features of the Tengwar: vowel representation by [[diacritic]]s (which is found in many Tengwar varieties); different Tengwar shapes; and a few correspondences between sound features and letter shape features (though inconsistent).

Even closer to the Tengwar is the Valmaric script, described in ''Parma Eldalamberon 14'', which Tolkien used from about 1922 to 1925. It features many Tengwar shapes, the inherent vowel {{IPA|[a]}} found in some Tengwar varieties, and the tables in the samples V12 and V13 show an arrangement that is very similar to one of the primary Tengwar in the classical Quenya "mode".

In his ''An Introduction to Elvish'', Jim Allan compared the Tengwar with the London merchant [[Francis Lodwick]]'s 1686 ''Universal Alphabet'', both on grounds of the correspondence between shape features and sound features, and of the actual letter shapes.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Allan |editor-first=Jim |title=An Introduction to Elvish |publisher=Bran's Head Books |isbn=0-905220-10-2}}</ref>

=== Tengwar ===

[[File:One Ring inscription.svg|thumb|300px|The two-line inscription on the [[One Ring]], written in the [[Black Speech]] of [[Mordor]] using Tengwar: "Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul / ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul".]]

[[File:One Ring inscription Atul.svg|thumb|Tengwar "atul" element recurring in the ring inscription]]

The Tengwar script was probably developed in the late 1920s or in the early 1930s. ''The Lonely Mountain Jar Inscription'', the first published Tengwar sample, dates to 1937.<ref>''[[The Hobbit]]'', most editions with colour plates.</ref> The full explanation of the Tengwar was published in Appendix E of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' in 1955.<ref>''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', Appendix E, "Writing: The Fëanorian Letters "</ref>

The ''Mellonath Daeron Index of Tengwar Specimina'' (DTS) lists most of the known samples of Tengwar by Tolkien.

There are only a few known samples predating publication of ''The Lord of the Rings'' (many of them published posthumously):

* ''The Lonely Mountain Jar Inscription'', published 1937<ref>[http://www.forodrim.org/daeron/mdtci.html#DTS1 DTS 1]</ref>
* ''Middle Page from the [[Book of Mazarbul]]''<ref>[http://www.forodrim.org/daeron/mdtci.html#DTS13 DTS 13]</ref>
* ''Last Page from the Book of Mazarbul, Last Line'', this and the above one originally prepared for inclusion in ''The Lord of the Rings''<ref>[http://www.forodrim.org/daeron/mdtci.html#DTS14 DTS 14]</ref>
* ''Steinborg Drawing Title''<ref>[http://www.forodrim.org/daeron/mdtci.html#DTS15 DTS 15]</ref>
* ''Ilbereth's Greeting'' from [[The Father Christmas Letters]], dating to 1937<ref>[http://www.forodrim.org/daeron/mdtci.html#DTS22 DTS 22]</ref>
* ''The Treebeard Page''<ref>[http://www.forodrim.org/daeron/mdtci.html#DTS24 DTS 24]</ref>
* ''Edwin Lowdham's Manuscript'' from [[The Notion Club Papers]] has [[Old English language]] text written in Tengwar (with a few [[Adûnaic]] and Quenya words), dating to 1945/6.<ref>[http://www.forodrim.org/daeron/mdtci.html#DTS50 DTS 50]/[http://www.forodrim.org/daeron/mdtci.html#DTS51 51]</ref>
* The Brogan Tengwa-greetings, appearing in ''[[The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien]]'', No. 118, tentatively dated to 1948<ref>[http://www.forodrim.org/daeron/mdtci.html#DTS10 DTS 10]</ref>

The following samples presumably predate the Lord of the Rings, but were not explicitly dated: 

* ''Elvish Script Sample I, II, III'', with parts of the English poems ''Errantry'' and ''Bombadil'', first published in the ''Silmarillion Calendar 1978'', later in ''Pictures by J. R. R. Tolkien'',<ref>[http://www.forodrim.org/daeron/mdtci.html#DTS16 DTS 16], [http://www.forodrim.org/daeron/mdtci.html#DTS17 DTS 17], [http://www.forodrim.org/daeron/mdtci.html#DTS18 DTS 18]</ref> 
* ''So Lúthien'', a page of the English ''Lay of Leithian'' text<ref>[http://www.forodrim.org/daeron/mdtci.html#DTS23 DTS 23]</ref><ref>Facsimiled in ''[[The Lays of Beleriand]]'':299.</ref>