Cuivienyarna Fragment
by Ryszard Derdzinski

 

Cuivienyarna or 'The legend of the Awaking of the Quendi' is a tale preserved in almost identical form among both the Elves of Aman and the Sindar. According to this legend the Three Clans of the Quendi were in the beginning derived from three Elf-fathers: Imin, Tata, and Enel. This tale is a surviving Elvish fairytale or child's tale, mingled with counting-lore. J.R.R. Tolkien is an author of the English text The Legend of the Awaking of the Quendi being a part of the 11th vol. of the History of Middle-earth - The War of the Jewels, p. 420-424. Below I present a fragment of Cuivienyarna translated by me into Quenya - the legend's 'original' language.

 

Yallo minyė hröantar ner ontainė Ardo hrįvello, i Eldar olostaner cemeno sśmassė, undu i laiqua salquė, ar cuivintė ya tuianer aquė. Nan Minyė Eldar - estainė Alaontanė ar Eruonyar - ścuiner ilyė aquė. Eru vallė sa ilya Elda caitanė yo marta vesserya. Nan neldė Eldar cuivė minyė ilyallon ar nentė i neri, an nerion hröar nar poldė ar neri nar veryė ar canyė etyanórissen.
Sin neldė Eldatari nar estainė yįrequentassen Imin, Tata ar Enel. Entė cuiver sin onótiessė, nan titta lśnen imbė ilquen; ar tellon - equė Quendi - i quettar an min, atta ar nel ner ontainė: anyįrė ilyė notessellon [...]

While their first bodies were being made from the 'flesh of Arda', the Quendi slept 'in the womb of the Earth', beneath the green sward, and awoke when they were full-grown. But the First Elves (also called the Unbegotten, or the Eru-begotten) did not all wake together. Eru had so ordained that each should lie beside his or her 'destined spouse'. But three Elves awoke first of all, and they were elf-men, for elf-men are more strong in body and more eager and adventurous in strange places. These three Elf-fathers are named in the ancient tales Imin, Tata, and Enel. They awoke in that order, but with little time between each; and from them, say the Eldar, the words for one, two, and three were made: the oldest of all numerals [...] (The War of the Jewels, p. 421)   

Glossary:

 

olosta 'sleep' is my invention from the stem ÓLOS- (LR 379).
sin onótiessė 'in this order'.
notesse, pl. notessi is my invention for 'numeral'.

 

 

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