Cirth

Cirth is a fictional rune-like script invented by J. R. R. Tolkien for the constructed languages he devised and used in his works.

Cirth was created by Daeron, the minstrel[?] of king Thingol of Doriath. Although they were largely replaced by the Tengwar (which was devised and brought by Fëanor), it was adopted by Dwarves to write down their Khuzdûl language because its straight lines were better suited to carving than the curved strokes of the Tengwar. An example of Cirth is the inscription on Balin's tomb in Moria and the inscriptions at the title page of The Hobbit and on the top of the title pages for The Lord of the Rings.

See also:

• Tengwar
• Middle-earth
• Languages of Middle-earth

External resources:

• http://ring-lord.tripod.com/cirth/index.htm
• The Tolkien language mailing list (http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/misc/local/TolkLang/)