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Full Ring Verse in Nûrlâm
Tolkien left us translation of the Ring inscription into Black Speech. The whole verse was however longer:
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie
There was a translation by Elerrina (EL) in journals “Quettar” #16 (pp. 6–7, 1982) and “Vinyar Tengwar” #13 (pp. 13–15, 1990). It was not flawless but became the additional word base for later Black Speech dialects. This translation doesn't satisfy objectives of Nûrlâm, so below a correct translation into Nûrlâm will be presented. Anyway more than half of Elerrina's inventions will be used at least partially.
Please note, that the full Ring verse was composed by Elves after they discovered about the One Ring.
Sauron's spell in Black Speech included only the Ring Inscription.
He didn't knew about three elven rings before finishing the One,
also he personally gave only six rings to Dwarves, and the seventh was given to Durin III by Elves.
Anyway, the Ring Verse is a good translation excercise.
The List of required words
The following words (listed alphabetically) are required for translation:
| English | Nûrlâm | Etymology and Comments |
|---|---|---|
| dark | bûrz | TK “Lugbûrz” (Dark Tower), from BS “burzum” (darkness) |
| die | mat- | EL |
| ghur- | DS (Moria) < DS (PO) “gura-”, “guru-” < Sindarin “guru” < Etym. “ÑGUR” | |
| doomed | dûmpuga | EL, either from Etym. “MBAD” written reversed (“MB” is one letter in Elvish writing systems), see also Quenya “umbar”, or just stylized English word (possibly both) |
| dwarf | gazat | EL, from Khuzdul “khazad” (dwarves) |
| elf | golug | TK1), Angband Orkish “golug” (Noldor elves) from ÑGOLOD, Noldorin “golodh” (one of the wise folk, Gnome2)). The same as Elerrina's |
| for | ûr | EL, dative case suffix |
| hall | shamb | NL < Noldorin “tham, thamb” (hall), Quenya “sambe” (room, chamber), Primitive Elvish “stambē”, “stabnē” < Etym. “STAB” |
| in | or | LOS, Inessive case because Dwarves and Dark Lord remain statically in their halls of stone and Mordor |
| king | durbal | NL < EL “durub” < TK “durbat” (to rule); Qenya “tára”, “táro”, Noldorin “taur”, “tor-”, “-dor” < Etym. “T”, “TAƷ” (high, loft, noble) + Etym. “TUR” (power, control, mastery); more like supreme leader |
| arn | NL < various elvish “aran”, “âr” as in PN “Aragorn” < Etym. “GHAR”, “GAR” (hold, have, possess); more like local leader |
|
| land | uzg | EL |
| lie | kât- | LOS, from Quenya “caita” < Etym. “KAY” |
| lord | mâgz | NL, Valarin “māχan” (authority) |
| man, men | tark | TK, DBS, LOTR; Taken from language of orcs of Misty Mountains and other northern groups; Quenya “Tarcil” (high-man) < Etym. “TUR” (master, lord, mighty) + “KHIL” (follow) > Quenya “hildi”, mortal men were called “followers” being awaken after elves |
| mortal | matûrz | EL |
| Mordor | Uzgbûrz | see “dark” and “land”. “Mordor” is already translated from Sindarin as “Dark Land”, so “Dark Land of Mordor” will be a wordiness in literal translation. |
| nine | krith | EL |
| of | ob | EL, genitive/possessive case suffix |
| on | ir | LOS, Adessive case because Dark Lord sits on top of his throne |
| seven | udug | NL < EL “udu” and Noldorin “odog” < Etym. “OT-” |
| shadow | bath | NL < Etym. “WATH” (shade) |
| dâd | NL < Etym. “DAY”; compare with early Noldorin “Daeðelos” (Shadow of Fear), changed into “Dor Daedeloth” (Land of Great Dead), names for land of Morgoth | |
| sky | nût | EL |
| stone | gund | EL, from Etym. “GOND”, compare with “Gondor” meaning “Stone Land” in Sindarin or “Gondolin” |
| their | takob | EL |
| three | krig | NL < Hurrian “kig-” + EL “gakh” + EH “krilg”; changed to avoid confusion with AN “gâkh-” (may, let) |
| throne | daulîm | NL, lit. “great seat”; NL “lîm” (seat) < EL “ulîma” + Valarin “Maχallām” (throne); NL “dau” (great) < Sindarin “daer” (great, large); compare with LOS “dur” (big, large) with same etymology |
| under | lata | EL |
| where | amin | EL “amal” (where) + NL “in” < ? Qenya “erin” (v) (remains), however “-in” in Qenya is 3rd person suffix (changed to 1st person in later Quenya) |
“Dark Lord” may be also translated as “Morgoth”, but this First Age translation was rejected by Tolkien, and also will sound a little like “heresy”. Also Tolkien said about Sauron “By the end of the Third Age (though actually much weaker than before) he claimed to be Morgoth returned” (Letter #183). Therefore this translation of “Dark Lord” will suit such claim, but Ring Verse was composed earlier, in Second Age; so I've decided to use different one.
The Translation
Krig nazg arnûr golug lata nût Udug gazat mâgzûr or takob gundshamb Krith tark-haizûr matûrz dûmpuga ghurut Ash mâgzbûrzûr daulîmbûrzir tab Uzgbûrzor amin bathum katû Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul Ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul Uzgbûrzor amin bathum kâtû
Original text is quite straightforward and does not contain complex grammar. Case endings differ from Elerrina's version, word order was altered for better rhyme in Nûrlâm. As in the English translation, each line in Nûrlâm consists of 9 or 11 syllables (except “One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them”), however without direct correspondence (e.g. “elf line” has 9 syllables and “mortal men line” has 11 in Nûrlâm while in English it's vice versa).
Links
- One Ring at Wikipedia
- One Ring at Tolkien Gateway
