VOICES: Shibboleths

SUMMARY: Sometimes even the most trivial matter can have major repercussions.

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Aman, Valian Year 4685:

"I don’t care what thou sayest, Atar," Fëanáro exclaimed to Finwë. "Changing the pronunciation of ammë’s name is an affront to her memory and to me."

"It is not an affront Fëanáro," Indis interjected into the argument between father and son. She was cradling her firstborn, a daugther whom they had named Findis. "It is merely the way it is. Most of the Noldor now use ‘s’ where they once used ‘þ’."

"Thou didst use it when thou didst walk among the flowers of thy brother’s gardens," Fëanáro said, almost accusingly. "Why dost thou not continue to use it even now?"

"But I no longer walk in Ingwë’s gardens, hina, but in thine atar’s." Indis explained in a reasonable tone, giving her husband a fond smile which he reciprocated. "I have joined the people of the Noldor and I will speak as they do. That is not a belittlement of thine ammë, but a symbol of my love for thine atar and his people, including thee."

The eldest son of Finwë ignored that last statement. "All the loremasters find the change deplorable," he said sullenly. "We fear that the damage this merging will do in confusing stems and their derivatives that have been distinct in sound and sense has not yet been sufficiently considered." He turned to Finwë, giving him a pleading look. "Atar, as Noldóran, it is thy duty to instruct the people in the proper way of things, including the proper use of our language. Why dost thou persist in perpetuating this error?"

Finwë gave his son a sympathetic look. "Is it indeed an error, yonya, or merely the natural evolution of our language? I remember well how Quenya was spoken among us at Cuiviénen and I tell thee that the language thou speakest today is not the language spoken among us in the dawning of our existence."

"Yet we have always kept the sounds separate from one another," Fëanáro protested.

"Have we?" Finwë asked. "Even between the three kindreds there are differences in how we say certain words and yet we are still intelligible to one another. What harm is there truly in this one small change?"

To that Fëanáro had no real answer save one: "If that be thy resolve, then I will no longer be called yondo Finwëo but yondo Þerindëo." He purposely stressed the first sound of his ammë’s name. "Thou hast been led astray, Atar. But I and my sons are thine heirs by right and the elder house." He gave Indis and the infant a hateful glare. "Let thou sa-si with thy new wife then if thou canst speak no better." With that he stormed out of the palace, never looking back.

****

Aman, Valian Year 4900:

"The strife between Fëanáro and the other Noldor over this change from ‘þ’ to ‘s’ is getting out of hand," Aulë commented to his fellow Valar as they were taking their ease in one of Námo and Vairë’s gardens in Valmar. It was a terraced garden which overlooked the Ezellohar and the Máhanaxar further on. It was a favorite place for the Valar to congregate and watch the mingling of the Lights without disturbing the Children, who tended to be somewhat intimidated when confronted with more than one of the Valar or their Maiar servants at any one time. At the moment they were enjoying the antics of a group of elflings, all under twenty, playing catch-me around the Trees or rolling down the Mound, their tunics and dresses grass-stained, much to the dismay of their minders.

"Oh?" Manwë asked.

Aulë nodded. "I learned from one of my Maiar that Nelyafinwë and Ñolofinwë got into a fight over how the latter was apparently, and I quote, ‘too stupid to know how to speak correctly’."

"Ah...." the Elder King said in a noncommittal tone. "They’re both a bit old for that sort of thing, aren’t they?"

Aulë shrugged. "At least they had the sense not to do it in my smithy," he said with a gleam in his eyes, "or they would both be spending the next twenty years cleaning out the blast furnaces and the ovens before I ever let them resume working on their projects."

The other Valar smiled, knowing how much Aulë cared for the Noldorin princes and enjoyed teaching them his craft.

"It’s a pity, though," Oromë opined, "for Finwion...."

"You know he refers to himself as Þerindion," Námo interrupted with a sly grin.

Oromë snorted. "Whatever he chooses to call himself, he is correct in his arguments, just not in his delivery. He’s made this almost a personal grudge."

"He has decided that the use of ‘s’ over ‘þ’ is not only a belittlement of the memory of his amillë but a diminishment of himself in the eyes of his people."

Aulë snorted. "I overheard him the other day muttering how it was all a ‘plot’ against him and that we are the ones behind it, fearing his growing powers."

"That’s absurd," Varda said with a grimace. "Of all the arrogant...."

"I noticed that Arafinwë still uses ‘þ’ and has brought up his children in its use," Manwë said, seeking to stem his beloved’s tirade.

"Arafinwë loves the Vanyar for Indis’ sake and the Teleri for Eärwen’s," Námo replied with a nod. "He is moved by Fëanáro neither one way or the other but does as he wishes. I am more concerned about his daughter’s attitude toward her uncle."

"Artanis?" Vairë asked, looking puzzled. "Why are you so concerned with her?"

"She despises Fëanáro," Námo answered.

His spouse gave an elegant shrug. "Many despise Finwë’s eldest son."

"Yet there is something about these two that is different," Námo insisted, his expression musing. "Something happened between them that...." He shook his head, as if clearing it of some dark thought. "At any rate, I deem Artanis uses ‘s’ out of spite to Fëanáro and not because she thinks the use of it is correct. I fear there is actual hatred between uncle and niece and that cannot bode well for the future bliss of Aman."

Manwë nodded. "It is becoming a point of contention for sure. What of the other children?"

"Findaráto will use ‘þ’ while with his family," Aulë offered, "but I notice he slips into using ‘s’ once he is with his friends or speaking with any of the Valar or Maiar."

"I have to admit that when the Noldor first began addressing me as ‘Súlimo’," Manwë said with a smile, "I was taken aback, thinking that perhaps they were suffering some speech impediment."

The others chuckled.

"Their loremasters are correct that such a change can lead to confusion of meaning at times," Aulë said.

"Like the time Nessa asked me where Tulkas was," Oromë said, "and I said, ‘Sacëaryë Manwë’ and she thought I was saying ‘Þacëaryë Manwë." He gave his sister a wink while the others laughed.

Nessa shook her head at the memory. "All I could think was: ‘Pulling him where?’"

That set them laughing even harder and Nessa joined them.

"Still," Námo said once they calmed down, his expression becoming more somber, "I fear the division among the Noldor will only worsen as the pronunciation of words becomes not just a matter of linguistic debate but the dividing line between those who support Fëanáro in his leadership of the Noldor after Finwë and those who mayhap will declare their loyalties rather to Ñolofinwë. Nothing good can come of any of this."

Manwë nodded. "A situation that bears keeping an eye on."

To that they all agreed. For a while after there was companionable silence between them as they continued to enjoy the sight of the elflings at play. Finally, though, Vairë turned to Tulkas with a sly grin. "So just where were you pulling Manwë anyway?" she asked, being careful to use ‘þ’ instead of ‘s’.

"I wasn’t!" Tulkas protested in mock dismay while the others laughed. "I was just looking for him. Honest!"

"A likely story," Námo said with a dismissive sniff. "Now where do you suppose Tulkas was pulling our elder brother, hmmm?" he asked the others, giving them a wink.

They then spent the next several minutes coming up with one absurd possibility after another, much to Tulkas and Manwë’s embarrassment, as the Light of the Trees yet shone upon Aman and the Peace of the Valar continued to hold.

****

All words are Quenya.

Atar: Father.

Ammë: Hypocoristic form of Amillë: Mother.

Hina: Child.

Noldóran: King of the Noldor.

Yonya: My son.

Yondo Finwëo/Þerindëo: Son of Finwë/Serindë (Míriel).

Nelyafinwë: Maedhros.

Ñolofinwë: Fingolfin.

Súlimo: One of Manwë’s titles, originally Þúlimo.

Sacëaryë Manwë: Depending on which verb one is using, this can either mean, "He is seeking (saca-) Manwë" or "He is pulling (þaca-) Manwë".

Author’s Notes:

þ: This letter was known as ‘thorn’ in Old English and is represented in modern English by ‘th’. This was a distinct sound from ð 'eth'which is the th-sound heard in the word ‘with’. According to Tolkien, early in their history after reaching Aman, the Noldor began substituting ‘s’ for ‘þ’ and this led to a division among them that had ramifications beyond the linguistic:

Shibboleth: ‘A peculiarity of pronunciation that distinguishes a class of people or set of persons.’ In this case the use of ‘s’ for ‘þ’ became the way by which the Noldor distinguished between those who did not support Fëanor and those who did.