Gaerlin Legolas 

translated into Sindarin by Ryszard Derdzinski

 

One of two Christmas 2002 gifts for the friends of Gwaith-i-Phethdain is Sindarin translation of a fragment of The Lord of the Rings, Chapter The Field of Cormallen, poem Legolas' Song of the Sea. A person who encouraged me to translate this Tolkien's poem into Sindarin was a friend of our website, Teanna. She wrote: «This is my favorite bit of poetry from LOTR (and makes a great rowing or paddling song for sea kayak or viking longship)». So here it is: Legolas' poem with short introduction. All in Sindarin, language of Mirkwood Elves.

 

Pent Legolas: «Ar im padathon vi eryn en-dôr vain hen i nâ îdh far. Ned orath i telithar, ae hîr nín Edhellen devitha, pin o gwaith vín anglennatha simen; ar ir telitham natha dôr hin i 'alu, dan na lû thent. Na lû thent: ahad, cuil, haran inath in Edain. Dan Anduin nef, ar Anduin tôg dadbenn na 'Aear. Na 'Aear!

Na 'Aear, na 'Aear! Mýl 'lain nallol,

I sûl ribiel a i falf 'loss reviol.

Na annûn hae, ias Anor dannol.

Cair vith, cair vith, lastal hain canel,

Lamath in-gwaithen i gwennin no nin?

Gwannathon, gwannathon taur i onnant nin;

an midui orath vín a dennin inath vín.

Trevedithon 'aear land erui ciriel.

Falvath enainn bo Mathedfalas dannol,

Lamath vilui vi Tol Gwannen cannen,

Vi Tol Ereb, ned Bar-in-Edhil i Edain ú-gennir,

Ias lais ú-dhannar: dôr en-gwaith nín an-uir!»

A linniel hen Legolas gwannant dadbenn en amon.

 

Word-for-word translation:

 

Said Legolas: «And I shall-walk in [the] woods of land fair this, which is rest enough. In days which will-come, if lord my Elven will-allow, some [pl.] from people our will-approach hither; and when we-shall-come [it] shall-be land this the blessing, but for [a] time short [in meaning of while]. For [a] time-short: month, life, hundred years of Men. But Anduin [is] on-this-side [in meaning of near], and Anduin leads down to [the] Sea. To [the] Sea!

To [the] Sea, to [the] Sea! Gulls white [are] crying,

The wind [is] blowing and the foam white [is] flying,

To West far, in-which Sun [is] falling.

Ship grey, ship grey, do-you-hear them calling,

Voices of my-people that passed before me?

I-will-leave, I-will-leave forest that bore me;

for last days ours and falling years ours.

I-will-traverse Sea wide lonely sailing.

Waves [are] long [pl.] on Last Shore falling,

Voices [are] sweet in Isle Lost calling

In Lonely Island, in Elvenhome that Men did-not-see,

In-which leaves fall-not: land of people mine for-ever!»

And singing this Legolas went-away downwards of [the] hill.

 

Glossary:

*ae 'if'; conceivably reconstructed for Movie Sindarin by David Salo after Quenya ai-quen `if anybody, whoever' (WJ 372).

*simen 'hither'; recontructed by me after Quenya sinóme 'hither': sin 'this' + men > *simmen > *simen.

*natha 'will be'; recontructed, cf. Sindarin no 'be!', being a derivative of the verb *na- 'to be'.

*ahad 'month'; recontructed after Quenya asta < CE *a-sata (cf. VT #42, p. 19-20, stem SAT-.

*haran 'hundred'; recontructed after Quenya *haran 'hundred' in haranye 'the last year of the century' (RotK Appendix D).

no 'under, *before'; recontructed by David Salo.

 

main page