radiance, splendour
Quenya
alcar
alkar
alcar
noun. glory, splendour, radiance, brilliance
alcar
noun. radiance
alcar i ataren
Alcar i Ataren
Tolkien’s translation of the Gloria Patri prayer into Quenya, composed sometime in the 1950s (VT43/7), first published in the “Words of Joy (Part One)” article in Vinyar Tengwar #43. The translation was abandoned half way through the second line. Tolkien did not provide an English translation of the prayer; following the editors of the “Words of Joy” article, I used a modern English translation of the prayer (VT43/38).
Further discussion can be found in the analysis of the individual phrases. My analysis largely follows that of the “Alcar i Ataren” section (VT43/36-38) of the “Words of Joy” article.
alcar mi tarmenel na erun
Alcar mi Tarmenel na Erun
Tolkien’s translation of the Gloria in Excelsis Deo prayer into Quenya, composed sometime in the 1960s (VT44/31), first published in the “Alcar mi Tarmenel na Erun” article in Vinyar Tengwar #44. Tolkien only translated the first two lines of the prayer. Tolkien did not provide an English translation of the prayer; following the editor of the “Alcar mi Tarmenel na Erun” article, I used a modern English (King James) translation of the prayer (VT43/31).
Tolkien made three translations of the lines; the version presented here is Arden Smith’s “reconstructed” version, which is version II with corrections from the incomplete version III. Note that Arden Smith was uncertain of the order of composition of the versions, suggesting that version I might have followed II and III, but his analysis (and mine) assumes that the versions were created in the order they appeared on the page (VT44/32).
Further discussion can be found in the analysis of the individual phrases. My analysis largely follows that of the “Alcar mi Tarmenel na Erun” section (VT44/31-7).
alcar i ataren ar i yondon ar i airefëan
glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
The first line of Alcar i Ataren, Tolkien’s translation of the Gloria Patri prayer. The first word is alcar “glory” followed by dative clauses: i Ataren “for the Father” (atar dative), ar i Yondon “and for the Son” (yondo dative), ar i Airefean “and for the Holy Spirit” (Airefëa dative).
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> alcar i Atar-en ar i Yondo-n ar i Aire-fea-n = “✱glory [be] Father-to and the Son-to and the holy-spirit-to”
Conceptual Development: Before airefean, Tolkien first wrote and rejected faire aistan, the first word meaning “spirit” and the second a dative form of the adjective aista “holy”.
alcar mi tarmenel na erun
glory [be] to God in the highest
The first line of Alcar mi Tarmenel na Erun, Tolkien’s translation of the Gloria in Excelsis Deo prayer. The first word is alcar “glory”, followed by mi Tarmenel “in the highest”, more literally “✱in High-heaven”. The fourth na word is the imperative of the verb ná- “to be”. The last word Erun “to God” is the dative form of Eru “God”.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> alcar mi Tar-menel na Eru-n = “✱glory in High-heaven be God-to”
Conceptual Development: In version I, Tolkien first wrote tarmenissen, apparently the locative plural of tarmen “?high place”, perhaps meaning “?in high places”. He revised this into an assimilated locative tarmenelde of Tarmenel.
In version II he first wrote the allative form Erunna “✱towards God” before changing to the dative form Erun “to God”, also used in version II.
In version III he only wrote the word alcar. For this reason, the phrase in this entry is derived from version II.
| I |II|III| |alcar| |{tarmenissen >>} tarmenelde|mi tarmenel|...| |na Erun|{Erunna >>} na Erun| |
alcarissen
in light-rays
alcarissen _("k")_noun "in light-rays" (a "Qenya" form from MC:221; alcar means "glory" in Tolkien's later Quenya)
alcarin
proper name. Glorious
Tar-Alcarin was the 17th ruler of Númenor (LotR/1035, UT/222). His name is simply the shortened form of alcarin(qua) “glorious”. Alcarin “Glorious” was also a sobriquet for Atanatar II, the 16th king of Gondor (LotR/1038, 1045).
alcarinquë
proper name. Glorious
A star (S/45) or possibly the planet Jupiter (MR/435). Its name is simply the noun form of the adjective alcarin(qua) “glorious”, or possibly a feminine form as suggested by Vyacheslav Stepanov (many star names on MR/435 seem to be gendered).
alcarin
glorious, brilliant
alcarin adj. "glorious, brilliant" (shorter form of alcarinqua, q.v.) (PE17:24), hence Alcarin masc. name (or title) "the Glorious", title taken by Atanatar II of Gondor, also name of one of the Kings of Númenor (Appendix A).
alcar oroméva
the splendour of Oromë
alcar oromëo
the splendour of Oromë
vanda sina termaruva elenna·nóreo alcar enyalien
This oath shall stand in memory of the glory of the Land of the Star
First phrase @@@
-inqua
glorious
-inqua adjectival ending, seen in alcarinqua "glorious" (WJ:412) from alcar "glory". Etymologically, -inqua means "-full", like "glory-full" in this case. A variant *-unqua is implied in WJ:415 (only referred to in archaic form -unkwā). "The forms using u were mainly applied to things heavy, clumsy, ugly or bad", whereas -inqua (in the same source derived from -inkwā) is neutral.
Atan
the second folk
Atan pl. Atani noun "the Second Folk", an Elvish name of Mortal Men, the Second-born of Ilúvatar. Cf. also Núnatani (WJ:386), Hróatani (PE17:18), q.v. Atanalcar masc. name, "Man-glory" (UT:210, cf. alcar). Atanamir masc.name, "Edain-jewel"? (Appendix A). Atanatar masc. name, "Father of Men" (Appendix A), also common noun atanatar, pl. Atanatári, "Fathers of Men", a title that "properly belonged only to the leaders and chieftains of the peoples at the time of their entry into Beleriand" (PM:324, SA:atar)
na
to be
na (1) form of the verb "to be", evidently the imperative (or subjunctive): Tolkien stated that na airë would mean "be holy" (VT43:14), and san na (q.v.) must mean "thus be" = "let it be so"; see ná #1 Cf. also the sentence alcar mi tarmenel na Erun "glory in high heaven be to God" (VT44:32/34). Inserted in front of a verb, na expresses a wish: aranielya na tuluva "may thy kingdom come" (ibid).
ná
is
ná (1) vb. "is" (am). (Nam, RGEO:67). This is the copula used to join adjectives, nouns or pronouns "in statements (or wishes) asserting (or desiring) a thing to have certain quality, or to be the same as another" (VT49:28). Also in impersonal constructions: ringa ná "it is cold" (VT49:23). The copula may however be omitted "where the meaning is clear" without it (VT49:9). Ná is also used as an interjection "yes" or "it is so" (VT49:28). Short na in airë [] na, "[] is holy" (VT43:14; some subject can evidently be inserted in the place of [].) Short na also functions as imperative: alcar mi tarmenel na Erun "glory in high heaven be to God" (VT44:32/34), also na airë "be holy" (VT43:14); also cf. nai "be it that" (see nai #1). The imperative participle á may be prefixed (á na, PE17:58). However, VT49:28 cites ná as the imperative form. Pl. nar or nár "are" (PE15:36, VT49:27, 9, 30); dual nát (VT49:30). With pronominal endings: nányë/nanyë "I am", nalyë or natyë "you (sg.) are" (polite and familiar, respectively), nás "it is", násë "(s)he is", nalmë "we are" (VT49:27, 30). Some forms listed in VT49:27 are perhaps to be taken as representing the aorist: nain, naityë, nailyë (1st person sg, and 2nd person familiar/polite, respectively); does a following na represent the aorist with no pronominal ending? However, the forms nanyë, nalyë, ná, nassë, nalme, nar (changed from nár) are elsewhere said to be "aorist", without the extra vowel i (e.g. nalyë rather than nailyë); also notice that *"(s)he is" is here nassë rather than násë (VT49:30).Pa.t. nánë or né "was", pl. náner/nér and dual nét "were" (VT49:6, 9, 10, 27, 28, 30, 36). According to VT49:31, né "was" cannot receive pronominal endings (though nésë "he was" is attested elsewhere, VT49:28-29), and such endings are rather added to the form ane-, e.g. anen "I was", anel "you were", anes "(s)he/it was" (VT49:28-29). Future tense nauva "will be" (VT42:34, VT49:19, 27; another version however gives the future tense as uva, VT49:30). Nauva with a pronominal ending occurs in tanomë nauvan "I will be there" (VT49:19), this example indicating that forms of the verb ná may also be used to indicate position. Perfect anaië "has been" (VT49:27, first written as anáyë). Infinitive (or gerund) návë "being", PE17:68. See also nai #1.
-ië
suffix. is
-ië (3) "is", -ier "are", stative verb suffix occurring in Fíriel's Song: númessier "they are in the west", meldielto "they are...beloved", talantië "he is fallen", márië "it is good" (< *númessë "in the west", melda "beloved", *talanta "fallen"); future tense -iéva in hostainiéva "will be gathered" (< *hostaina "gathered"). Compare ye "is", yéva "will be", verbs that also occur in Fíriel's Song. This suffix is probably not valid in LotR-style Quenya: -ië is an infinitival or gerundial ending in CO, for ye "is" Namárië has ná, and the phrase "lost is" is vanwa ná, not *vanwië.
alta
radiance
alta (2) noun "radiance" (VT42:32, PE17:50). Cf. variant ñalta.
alta
noun. radiance
ea-
verb. be, exist
fairë
radiance
fairë (3) noun "radiance" (PHAY)
nalta
radiance, glittering reflection
nalta ("ñ")noun "radiance, glittering reflection" (from jewels, glass or polished metals, or water) (PM:347)
nëa
to be
nëa (2) an optative form of the verb na- "to be"? (nëa = LotR-style Quenya nai?): ya rato nëa "which soon may (it) be" = "which I hope will be soon" (Arct)
ye
is
ye (2) copula "is" (FS, VT46:22); both earlier and later sources rather point to ná (q.v.) as the copula "is", so ye may have been an experiment Tolkien later abandoned. Future tense yéva, q.v.
úyë
is
úyë vb., a form occurring in Fíriel's Song (cf. VT46:22), apparently ye "is" with the negative prefix ú-, hence "is not" (úyë sérë indo-ninya símen, translated "my hearth resteth not here", literally evidently *"[there] is not rest [for] my heart here")
alcar (so spelt in CO, VT43:37-38, and VT44:32/34; otherwise "alkar")noun "glory, radiance, brilliance, splendour" (WJ:369, CO, VT43:37-38, VT47:13, AKLA-R; the latter source also lists an alternative longer form alcarë, also occurring in VT44:7/10) Compare Alcarin, Atanalcar.