Of Writing

Here are some highlights concerning written language in Middle-earth:

• "The scripts and letters used in the Third Age were all ultimately of Eldarin origin, and already at that time of great antiquity" (p. 395, The Return of the King). This is Tolkien's bread and butter: language. 
• There were two main forms of writing: Tengwar or letters and Cirth or runes.
• Tengwar was created by the Noldor; the oldest form was made by Rumil. The most common form was created by Fëanor. "They were brought to Middle-earth by the exiled Noldor, and so became known to the Edain and Númenoreans" (p. 395, The Return of the King). 
• Cirth was created by the Sindar, those Elves that had not traveled to the Blessed Lands. Men, Dwarves, and Orcs fashioned much of their own writings from this style. 
• "Their richest and most ordered form was known as the Alphabet of Daeron, since in Elvish tradition it was said to have been devised by Daeron, the minstrel and loremaster of King Thingol of Doriath" (p. 397, The Return of the King). 

Middle-earth timeline: End of Third Age-Beginning of Fourth

Today's reading comes from: The Return of the King, pages 395-416