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