Rúmil

We have little biographical information about Rúmil. What there is belongs to an older tradition, and represents opposing narrative structures. At one point it's suggested that he joined the rebellion of the Noldor, returned to Middle-earth, and was captured by Morgoth before ultimately escaping and later returning into the West. Later versions deny this, implying that he was one of the Noldor who chose to remain in Aman. Both versions of Rúmil's story date to an early phase of Tolkien's work, and it's unclear whether either was intended to stand in the later Silmarillion.

The derivation of the name Rúmil is not fully explained, but in his linguistic appendix to The Book of Lost Tales (in volume I of The History of Middle-earth), Christopher Tolkien speculates on a connection to the root rûm, 'secret' or 'mystery' or its derivative rui, 'whisper'.

If this speculation is correct, then it fits well with Rúmil's identity as the inventor of writing. In Old English the word rune meant 'secret, mystery', and its Germanic forerunner runa could be interpreted as 'whisper'. Though Rúmil devised the Elvish script rather than runes, the etymological connection to ancient writing systems nonetheless seems too close to be coincidental.