Quanta Sarmë

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Tengwar Parmaite by Måns Björkman

Quanta Sarmë was a spelling of Tengwar devised by Fëanor in Valinor which used full letters for vowels, rather than tehtar.

Unlike Rúmil of Tirion, Fëanor considered vowels as independent sounds and not just "colours" of the consonants; it was his preferred (and perhaps intended) way of writing, however its use is mentioned to be connected only with the Lambengolmor, and for special purposes only.

No texts of this original system are known, and its usage and characters are a mystery, but it is said that it was used in Middle-earth for other languages, like Sindarin, where the tehta-mode was considered inconvenient.

It is possible (and indeed very likely) that the Mode of Beleriand was one of those systems originating from the Quanta; the letter ossë is maybe the only remnant of that (otherwise extinct) system.

Possible examples

Although nothing is known about the Quanta Sarme, these examples suppose that it used the letter Ossë and Úrë as a vowel.

  • ],Ö], azya
  • l]y]55], Yavanna
  • ½]5., hanu

References