a fragment translated into Sindarin by Ryszard Derdzinski
This Sindarin translation was made especially for our Elendili Forum. We have chosen the poem The Song of Ælfwine (on seeing the uprising of Eärendil) by J.R.R. Tolkien from The Lost Road, p. 100-102 as our hymn, the anthem of Elendili. I have translated only the fourth stanza, but I have tried to do it using the original metre of ann-thennath (cf. Three Elvish Verse Modes by P. Wynne and C. F. Hostetter in Tolkien's Legendarium). The accompanying artwork is by Malgorzata Pudlik with the author's permission.
A Falas athan Gaer ‘Wathui!
A Dor ias Edhil dhorthar hi!
A Círbann - bar guren velui!
In felf na-falas dringar hi,
i mŷl ‘lain horthar; Orn lothui!
Adui hain palan-diron im
ir cenin Vengîl eriol
or gardh od Annûn annui,
fael or Gondobar-naur lachol,
a laeg or di, buig ar arui.
A Gîl i ‘wath no vroniol
úmarad fired le vi fuin.
English translation (original text by J.R.R. Tolkien):
O Shore beyond the Shadowy Sea!
O Land where still the Edhil are!
O Haven where my heart would be!
The waves still beat upon thy bar,
The white birds wheel; there flowers the Tree!
Again I glimpse them long afar
When rising west of West I see
Beyond the world the wayward Star,
Than beacons bright in Gondobar
More fair and keen, more clear and high.
O Star that shadow may not mar,
Nor ever darkness doom to die.
Artwork Farewell to Middle-earth by Malgorzata Pudlik
[Mutation are removed but marked with a ° sign for clarity,
reconstructed words marked with a * sign]
A Falas athan Gaer °Gwathui!
Oh Shore beyond [the] Sea Shadowy!
A Dor *ias Edhil °dorthar °si!
Oh Land in-which Elves dwell now!
A Círbann - bar guren °melui!
Oh Haven - home [of] heart-my beloved!
In felf na-falas dringar °si
The foams to-beach beat now
i mŷl °glain horthar; Orn lothui!
the mews white speed; Tree flowering!
*Adui hain palan-°tiron im
Again them afar-watch I
ir cenin °Mengîl eriol
when I-see Way-star rising
or gardh od Annûn annui,
above [the] world from West Western
fael or Gondobar-naur lachol
gleaming above [more than] Gondobar-fires flaming
a laeg or °ti, °puig ar arui
and sharp above [more than] it, clean and lofty
A Gîl i °gwath no °broniol
Oh Star which the shadow is enduring
úmarad fired le °mi fuin.
not-doomed to-die you [are] in darkness.
ias 'in-which, where'; recontructed by me on the basis of S ennas 'there', which according to C. F. Hostetter seems to be a development from a primitive locative demonstrative pronoun seen in CE *entassé = *entá 'that place (over here)' + locative ending *-ssé 'in'. Thus ennas is literally 'in that place (over there)' (VT #31, p. 26). If so, Q *yassë 'in which, *where' (I 357) < *CE jassé < *JA- 'there, over there' would become S *ias. The same conclusion in B. Welden's and Ch. Gilson's Ring Poem presented in VT #13, p. 13 (quotation from D. Willis' Sindarin Dictionary)
adui 'again', adjectival form of adv. ad 'back, again, re-' (V 349).