Author: Milan Rezac (milan.rezac@canrem.com)
  Filename: poems/Rezac.FeanorOath
  Listed in: TolkLang 9.47 (English translation in TolkLang 9.55)
  Discussed in: TolkLang 9.52, 9.56, 9.59

  A Poetic Translation of the Oath of the Feanorians, as given in the Annals
of Aman, Morgoth's Ring.
  Vanda Feanaaroo Nosseo

  Nai kotumo ar [0] nilmo, kalima Vala
  thauza ar poika, Moringothonna [1],
  Elda ar Maiya ar Apanoona [2],
  Endooresse Atan sin uunoona,
  ilar [12] thanye, ilar melme, ilar malkazon [3] samme,
  osta [4] ilar harwe, lau Ambar tana [5],
  soo-thauruvaa Feanaarollo, ar Feanaaroo nossello,
  iman [6] askalyaa [7] ar charyaa, ar mi kambe mapaa,
  heraa [8] hirala ar haiya hataa
  Silmarille.  Sii vandalme ilyai [14]:
  unqualee son antaavalme mennai [9] [15] Aure-mettaa,
  qualmee tenn' [15] Ambar-mettaa!  Quettalman lasta,
  Eru Iluuvatar!  Oiyaamoorenna
  mee-quetamartya [10] iire queluvaa tyardalma.
  Ainorontesse tirtasse lasta
  ar ilma-vandaa [13] enyalaz, Varda Manwe [11]!

  Be he foe or friend, be he foul or clean,
  brood of Morgoth or bright Vala,
  Elda or Maia or Aftercomer,
  Man yet unborn upon Middle-earth,
  neither law, nor love, nor league of swords,
  dread nor danger, not Doom itself,
  shall defend him from Feanor, and Feanor's kin,
  whoso hideth or hoardeth, or in hand taketh,
  finding keepeth or afar casteth
  a Silmaril.   This swear we all:
  death we will deal him ere Day's ending,
  woe unto world's end!  Our word hear thou,
  Eru Allfather!  To the everlasting
  Darkness doom us if our deed faileth.
  On the holy mountain hear in witness
  and our vow remember, Manwe and Varda!

  No attempt has been made to fit the half-lines to Siever's types. However,
the two beats per halfline and OE alliterative schemes have been observed
(with two exceptions, where the alliteration does not fit into regular OE
schemes), though they do not correspond to the English version; consequently,
the word order has been changed slightly, and several other changes have been
made; see the notes for details.
  The language of the translation is Book Quenya. The following differences
have been observed:
   (a)  Final long vowels have been kept in nouns where they are indicated in
the Plotz letter; in verbs where there are precedents (for example 'antaava'
and 'antavaaro' in Fiiriel's song indicate original long '-aa-' before '-va'
and long '-aa' in '-va'; so probably also '-uva'); elsewhere if the etymology
seems to warrant it. Final long dipthongs have not been reduced ('ilyai'). The
same treatment goes for non-initial syllables immediatelly preceding the main
stress (indeed, the vowel reduction in these may be a symptom of the same
process, affecting wholly unstressed syllables). Where long vowels are quite
uncertain, they have been written as short (e.g. in the imperative).
  (b)  'z' is used to indicate a weak dental continuant, possibly like English
'r'; it has developed from original medial 'd' and 'z'.
  (c)  'Th' and 'ch' (from 'th', an aspirate, and '3') have not been changed
to 's' and 'h', which have their normal values.
  (d)  When two vowels come into contact, their quantity has been reduced,
since that is evidenced already in the Plotz letter.
  (e)  'y' after front vowels has been preserved (as in 'haiya' < 'haaya',
probably later 'haia').
  (f)  Vowels before double consonants in the primary stressed syllable have
been reduced.

  [0] 'Ar' has been use through this poem for "or" (its original meaning
'beside' seems to be well suited thereto). Note that 'ar' has 'r', since
Noldorin seems to exhibit it also ('Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth'); but plurals
have '-z': cf Danian 'Danas' vs. Q. 'Nanar'.
    ## (AA 9.59) "and" = 'ar' = "or" risks unclearness, elsewhere if not here.
I suggest {awa} = "away" ETYM > *'au' = "or" (as alternatives may <exclude>
each other); Arabic 'aw' = "or". Tolkien took a few Quenya words from Arabic.
    (MR 9.62) I still prefer 'ar' here, as 'au' is vinyakaarie, etc.
  [1] = Moringotho + onna "creature" (rather than Melkorohiin, Melkorseen).
  [2] "After-born" for "After-comer".
  [3] < *'makla-z-ghom'. Quenya pl. '-r' < *'-z' < *'-s' if Danian 'Danas' =
Q. 'Nanar' = "Danian Elves" is related (message 9.56).
    ## (AA 9.59) ETYM PE '-la' > Q. '-il' for this suffix (see {tek}) shows
that this 'a' is short, and BQ would already have 'makil' (via *'makl') nom.
Thus BQ pl. likely analogical 'makilii', gen. pl. 'makilion'.
    (MR 9.62) Oblique stem may still have been *'makla-'.
  [4] 'osta' rather than 'osse' (cf. Noldorin 'gost').
  [5] "that" (anaphoric) for "itself", + 'lau' emphatic = "not Doom itself".
  [6] = "whoso", cf Hom. Grk. 'hostis'.
  [7] emphatic for 'halya' < {skal} (cf. 'ataltane' < {talat}), to preserve
the alliteration.
  [8] cf. 'kher-' = "possess", Letters #144.
  [9] = "until" for "ere".   (## AA "ere" = "before")
  [10] 'quetamartya' = "doom" instead of 'martyaa', to preserve alliteration;
for 'queta', cf. 'avaquet'; for the construction, cf. 'siilankaalan'.
  [11] An alternative, preserving the more usual structure 'vandaalma', would
be to have 'Airevezuu' = "holy pair" for 'Varda Manwe':  'ar enyalaar
vandaalmaa, Airevezuu'!
  [12] 'ilar...ilar' = "neither...nor" (cf. Hom. Grk. 'oute...oute'); see [0].
    ## (AA 9.59) Greek 'X-te' means not "X and" but "and X" (ditto some other
Greek conjunctions that are put after the first word of their right argument).
So "nor" = "and not" = 'ar uu', "neither X nor Y" = 'uu X ar uu Y'.
  [13] 'ilma' for his original 'lma' as per his corrigendum in TolkLang 9.56.
    (9.56) 'ilma' < *'lma' with vocalized 'l'.
  [14] ## (AA 9.59) Plotz Letter says pl. '-ar' nom., '-ai' acc. But 'ilyai' is
nom. here.
    (MR 9.62) I am using '-ar' as noun nom/acc pl., '-ai' as adj nom/acc pl.,
    as usage of '-ar'/'-ai' in Narqelion and '-ar'/'-e' in Namaarie (LOTR).
  [15] For original `mennai` and `ten'` as per MR's (9.62) acceptance of AA's
(9.59) suggested corrigenda.