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Dates
Devised in the time before the Return of the Noldor to Middle-earth1
Origins
Created by Daeron, loremaster to King Thingol
Races
Devised by Elves, but most widely used in later times by Dwarves
Division
Daeron, the inventor of the first certhas, was one of the Sindar
Culture
Devised among the Elves of Doriath, and later used by the Elves of Eregion, from whom the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm adapted their own system
Pronunciation
ke'rthas
Meaning
Literally 'rune-rows', describing an alphabet of runes
Other names
Runes in general were also known as Certar or Cirth; an adapted system of certhas was known as an angerthas; specific examples of a certhas include the original Certhas Daeron (Alphabet of Daeron) and its derivatives: the Angerthas Daeron, Angerthas Moria and Ereborian Cirth

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  • Updated 14 June 2024
  • This entry is complete

Certhas

A runic system

A term meaning 'rune-rows', and used for a system of runes, and especially Daeron's original Certhas Daeron. It is also used in adapted form as Angerthas ('long rune-rows') to describe the systems that developed from Daeron's initial certhas, especially the Angerthas Daeron and the Angerthas Moria.

The word certhas is distinct in meaning from the plural cirth, which refers to a group of individual runes (or, when capitalised, the concept of runes in general). A certhas, on the other hand, refers to a particular systematic runic alphabet.


Notes

1

We are not given a precise date for Daeron's invention of the first certhas. The event is mentioned in The Grey Annals (in volume XI of The History of Middle-earth), but the dating there is not exact. Based on that source, we can say that the Certhas Daeron originated sometime after the Valian Year 1350, but long before the Return of the Noldor. This would place the first certhas deep in the long starlit ages of Middle-earth, about 1,400 solar years before the Moon and Sun rose for the first time.

See also...

Certhas Daeron

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About this entry:

  • Updated 14 June 2024
  • This entry is complete

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