Cirth

Cirth [ˈkirθ] was invented by J.R.R. Tolkien for use in his novels. It is modelled on the Anglo-Saxon Runic alphabet, and is used to write the language of the Dwarves (Khuzdul) in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings in inscriptions in wood and stone. It is also used as a alternative alphabet for English.

Internal history

In Tolkein's Middle-earth the Cirth script, or Certhas Daeron, is created by an elf called Daeron, the minstrel of king Thingol of Doriath. It was later expanded and became known as Angerthas Daeron. The Dwarves adopted Cirth to write their language, Khuzdul, as its straight lines were better suited to curving in hard surfaces than the more curved Tengwar letters. Cirth was used by some men and orcs.

Notable features

Type of writing system: alphabet
Direction of writing: left to right in horizontal lines
The phonetic values of the letters vary for different languages
Dots are used to separate words
Used to write: Dwarfish (Khuzdul), Elvish, (Quenya and Sindarin), Orcish, English

Cirth

A chart showing the Cirth letters and their transliteration

Notes

Where letters have two transcriptions, the first is the older version and the second the newer
Letters with an asterisk are only used for Dwarvish
Letters in brackets are only used for Elvish