Sindarin 

king’s letter

King’s Letter

This document, the longest extent text in Sindarin, was part of an the omitted epilogue to The Lord of the Rings written in the early 1950s and first published by Christopher Tolkien on in Sauron Defeated in 1992 (SD/128-131). It was a letter from Aragorn to Sam informing Sam of the king’s impending visit. Christopher Tolkien described three versions of the text, with various translations. Another version, the earliest draft, was published in J.R.R. Tolkien, the Art of the Manuscript in 2023 (AotM/63).

The analysis here is based on the first version of the letter given by Christopher Tolkien, which has the clearest English translation on SD/128. However, the final uin is altered to ned as in the final version (SD/129). Other than this change, the only major differences in the three versions given by Christopher Tolkien is in word order and the inclusion of ar Arnor “and Arnor” among the lands ruled by Aragorn. The earliest draft has a few additional differences.