The Cellar Quenya

Quenya Quenya

Quenya, or High-elven, is a language developed in Valinor and spoken, according to Tolkien’s last conceptions, by the Vanyar and Ñoldor Elves. The latter when they went into exile from Valinor brought it into Middle-earth, where it acquired some peculiarities. To this Exilic Ñoldorin dialect belongs most of our Quenya evidence. Quenya soon ceased to be a daily language in Middle-earth: the Ñoldor, that were a minority compared to the Sindar in Beleriand, took on Sindarin instead, and king Elu Thingol of Doriath finally forbade the Sindar to use Quenya after he learnt that the Ñoldor had slaughtered the Teleri, their kinfolk, at Alqualondë. Quenya nevertheless remained in use among the Ñoldor as a cultured and ceremonious language. It was also known and practised by the Númenoreans in the same circumstances.

The works of John Ronald Reuel and Christopher Tolkien are under the copyright of their authors and/or rights holders, including their publishers and the Tolkien Estate.

Quotations from other authors, editors and translators mentioned in the bibliography are under the copyright of their publishers, except for those whose copyright term has ended.

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