ae adar nín

Ae Adar Nín

Tolkien’s translation of the Lord’s Prayer into Sindarin, composed sometime in the 1950s, first published in the “Ae Adar Nín” article in Vinyar Tengwar #44 (VT44/21). According to Bill Welden, it is written on the back of the postcard used to write version V (the second-to-last version) of Átaremma, Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the same prayer. Tolkien omitted the last two lines of the prayer from the Sindarin translation.

Tolkien did not provide an explicit translation, so the English text is from the common English translation of this prayer among Catholics. English words with no Sindarin counterpart are in brackets. Further discussion can be found in the analysis of the individual phrases. My analysis largely follows that of Bill Welden’s “Ae Adar Nín” article (VT44/21-30), though I also consulted David Salo’s analysis of the prayer (GS/231-3).

Elements

Word	Gloss
ae Adar nín i vi Menel	“our Father who [art] in Heaven”
no aer i eneth lín	“hallowed be thy name”
tolo i arnad lín	“thy kingdom come”
caro den i innas lin	“thy will be done”
bo Ceven sui vi Menel	“on Earth as [it is] in Heaven”
anno ammen sír i mbas ilaurui vín	“give us this day our daily bread”
ar díheno ammen i úgerth vin	“and forgive us our trespasses”
sui mín i gohenam di ai gerir úgerth ammen	“as we forgive those who trespass against us”

a

interjection. o

interj. o. A Elbereth Gilthoniel 'O Elbereth Who lit the Stars'.

a

o

;  O Elbereth Gilthoniel A Elbereth Gilthoniel. The alternative form ae may be used when the next word begins in a: Ae Adar nín, O my Father (VT44:23). By another theory, ae represents a + the definite article i (✱a i Adar nín "o the Father of mine").