Download Some Dwarvish Fonts

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Are you looking to download some fonts for Dwarf Runes?  These are good places to start:
fontspace.com
dafont.com
fonts2u.com


Keep in mind that the people compiling these fonts don't distinguish between the runes we have been learning (Cirth, from Appendix E of Lord of the Rings), the runes on Thror's Map in The Hobbit, and runes from any other generic fantasy dwarves.

From those sites, here are some of the more useful fonts:

Angerthas Moria
classic look
dafont.com/angerthas-moria

The Cirth Erebor set 
classic look
This is the font I have used for my examples.
Be aware that the characters do not correspond directly to the keyboard. 
fontspace.com/dan-smiths-fantasy-fonts/cirth-erebor
dafont.com/cirth-erebor
fonts2u.com/cirth-erebor

Angerthas
handwritten (brushstroke) look
fontspace.com/bruce-kvam/angerthas
fonts2u.com/angerthas-runes
 
Moria
informal look
Has phases of the moon in place of the numerals.
dafont.com/moria

Angerthas Moria (a different "Angerthas Moria" font)
informal look
fonts2u.com/angerthas-moria

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Here are runes in Thror's Map style.

Dwarf Runes
classic look, incomplete alphabet
fonts2u.com/dwarf-runes 

Moon Runes
handwritten (brushstroke) look
A complete alphabet, though not all the numerals are in rune-style
fonts2u.com/moon-runes  

Tolkien Dwarf Runes
handwritten  (blobby-pen) lookincomplete alphabetdafont.com/tolkien-dwarf-runes
fonts2u.com/tolkien-dwarf-runes 

Thror's Map uses Anglo-Saxon Runes, so consider just downloading an Anglo-Saxon Rune font.
Most of these are "complete" alphabets, but not all the letters may correspond to characters found on Thror's map.
The lower-case letters are more likely to be "standard" characters, with variant forms in the capitals.  The C/K character on Thror's map might be in the C, c, K, or k position.
fonts2u.com/anglosaxon-runes
fontspace.com/dan-smiths-fantasy-fonts/anglosaxon-runes
fonts2u.com/anglo-saxon-runes-regular
fonts2u.com/futhark-aoe
dafont.com/futhark-aoe
dafont.com/ancientrunes
dafont.com/oxford-runes
dafont.com/english-runic
dafont.com/beowulf-runic
dafont.com/modraniht-runic
dafont.com/historical-runes

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Just for fun, here are a couple of fonts with "ordinary" letters in a runic-looking style.
fontspace.com/dan-smiths-fantasy-fonts/ds-runenglish-2
fontspace.com/manfred-klein/runish-quill-mk
dafont.com/odinson


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More About Dwarf Runes

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      » Khuzdul Language »   

Writing with a Pen, and Some Extra Characters for Writing English

 

The distinctive shape of "runes" derives from carving the runes.  Straight lines are much easier to carve than curves.  When carving runes on wood, vertical lines can easily be cut across the grain of the wood, but horizontal lines (along the grain) are likely to either split the wood or be difficult to read. We don't know how much early Dwarves carved on wood, but we do know the practice was common among early northern Europeans, whose runes Tolkien used as models.

However, when someone writes with a pen in a runic script, those constraints no longer apply.  We do have some of Professor Tolkien's thoughts on what his runes would look like when written with a pen.

In The Treason of Isengard (History of Middle Earth, volume VII), Christopher Tolkien describes  some notes his father made "from the period shortly before the beginning of the Lord of the Rings -- more or less contemporary with the Quenta Silmarillion," discussing runes.  At this point, Professor Tolkien was thinking primarily of Elves using runes, but we know, from the Book of Mazarbul found at Balin's tomb in Moria, that Dwarves did sometimes write their runes on paper.

I here add the written forms of the runic letters to my previous charts.  Most of the letters are shown in two versions, one approximating more closely the original runic shapes, and one showing a more "handwritten" effect. 

Tolkien continued to revise his runic alphabet after these notes were made, so not all the letters  published Appendix E to Lord of the Rings, have "written" versions.  I think you will probably be able to easily fill in the missing letters, if you use these forms.

The pale green lines show the "base line" for lining up letters, just like the lined paper I learned on in elementary school.

This is what a passage looks like in these letters (Christopher Tolkien's handwriting):

 

Don't worry about how it translates.  It uses a slightly earlier version of which sounds are associated with each letter.  (Also, it is in Sindarin Elvish.)  I include this to show you how the letters look.

(I am not sure how Professor Tolkien derived some of those letters.  A few of those look strange to me.  And I am pretty sure it is wrong that the second form for Û is identical to the form for N.  But that is how Professor Tolkien wrote it, or at least how Christopher copied it.)

»◊«

 In the same notes, quoted in Treason of Isengard, are included some additional characters Professor Tolkien modified to represent sounds in English.  In particular, English has more variations in vowel sounds than any of the languages of Middle Earth.

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Sentences in Khuzdul (Dwarvish)

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Everything we know about forming sentences in Khuzdul comes from one war cry and four isolated verbs.  That is to say, we know practically nothing!

Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu! "Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!"

felek:  to hew rock

felak:  a stone-cutting tool; also, to use such a tool

salôn, sulûn:  to descend swiftly (used of rapids on a river)

gunud:  to dig underground

Khazâd means “Dwarves,” ai (shortened from aya) means “upon”, and mênu means “you” (plural pronoun, accusative case).  Notice that there is nothing in this sentence that explicitly means “are”!  Apparently, in Khuzdul, as in some other languages, the form “____ ____” can be used to mean “____ is _____.”

That suggests that the inscription on Balin's tomb:  Balin Fundinul uzbad Khazaddûmu – traditionally translated "Balin son of Fundin, Lord of Moria." – might equally well be translated “Balin, son of Fundin, is Lord of Moria.”  Under the circumstances, maybe “was Lord of Moria” would be more appropriate.

However, we still don't know how to form any other sentences, or how to use the few verbs we know.  I regret to tell you that the information we need just doesn't exist.

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Forming Khuzdul (Dwarvish) Words

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Each basic idea in Khuzdul is represented by a group of consonants (most often 3 consonants).  This is called the “stem.”  Nouns, verbs, and other words are then formed by adding vowels in appropriate patterns, and sometimes adding a prefix or suffix.

Kh-Z-D (stem for “Dwarf”  Notice that “Kh” is one consonant sound.)

Khuzd (Dwarf)

Khazâd (Dwarves)

Khuzdul (Dwarvish)

As noted in the lesson on Writing Dwarvish, “Th,” “Dh,” “Sh,” “Zh,” “Kh,” and “Gh” are each a single consonant in Dwarvish. 

This system of consonant stems is typical of Hebrew, Arabic, and related languages.  A dwarf would probably look at the English words

wake (present tense verb)

woke (past tense verb)

awake (adjective)

and conclude that English has a “stem” W-K, designating the state of being awake.

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What are the patterns for converting a root to a usable word?  We can figure out a few patterns, but often the analysts are guessing, based on one or two known Dwarvish words. 

Following Ardalambion's notation, let us represent the consonants of a 3-letter root by the numbers 1, 2, and 3.  Using Kh-Z-D as an example: 1=Kh, 2=Z, 3=D.

stem: 1-2-3

singular noun: 1u23  (frequently)

Kh-Z-D (stem for “Dwarf”) → Khuzd (a Dwarf)

B-N-D (stem for “head”) → bund (a head)

R-Kh-S (stem for “orc”) → Rukhs (an Orc)

plural noun:  1a2â3 (frequently)

Kh-Z-D (stem for “Dwarf”) → Khazâd (Dwarves)

T-R-G (stem for “beard”) → tarâg (beards)

R-Kh-S (stem for “orc”) → Rakhâs (Orcs)

Other known plurals, such as shathûr (clouds) and bizâr (valleys) do not follow this pattern exactly.

a person, place, or thing characterized by the root:  1a23ûn

Th-R-K (speculated to be the stem for “staff”) → Tharkûn (Gandalf's Dwarvish name, speculated to mean “staff-man”)

N-R-G (stem for “black”) → Nargûn (Mordor)

one who does:  a1a2â3 (based on one example)

Z-Gh-L (speculated to be the stem for “make war”) → Azaghâl (name speculated to mean “warrior”)

adjective:  frequently 1a2a3 or 1i2i3

B-R-Z (stem for “red”) → baraz (red)

N-R-G (stem for “black”) → narag (presumed adjective “black”)

S-G-N (presumed stem for “long”) → sigin (long, used of a plural noun)

Does that mean adjectives for singular nouns are 1a2a3, and adjectives for plural nouns are 1i2i3?  No one knows for sure.  Several known adjectives do not fit either pattern.

adjective, patronymic, genitive: suffix -ul

Khuzd (a Dwarf) → Khuzdul (Dwarvish)

Fundin → Fundinul ({son} of Fundin)

When the root has only two consonants, then often (though not always), use those as letters 2 and 3 of the pattern.

Z-N (stem for “shadow, dimness”) → uzn (a shadow)

Z-N (stem for “shadow, dimness”) → azan (shadows) (Why not azân?  Possibly the second vowel appears short because it is in a compound word, Azanulbizar, Dimrill Dale.)

For nearly every one of these “patterns,” there are examples of words that do not fit the pattern.  Take everything with a grain of salt!

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Ardalambion has a listing of all the known Dwarvish words, from all of Professor Tolkien's writings and letters.

 « Khuzdul Language «        Dwarvish Index         » Khuzdul Sentences »    

Khuzdul – The Dwarvish Language

 « Dwarf Runes «        Dwarvish Index         » Khuzdul Words »   

This material is mostly based on Ardalambion's analysis. 

Dwarvish is a difficult language to study – not least because we have very little information about it. Don't expect to be conversing fluently in Dwarvish. Tolkien simply didn't leave enough information about the language.

Tolkien explained that the Dwarves kept their own language private , and learned the languages of neighboring folk when dealing with non-Dwarves. Even the names we know for Dwarves – Gimli, Thorin, Balin, etc. – are not those Dwarves “true,” private, Dwarvish names, but rather “public” names, mostly in the Human style.  (The one exception seems to be the Petty Dwarves in the Silmarillion, or perhaps only Mîm the Petty-Dwarf – if “Mîm” is in fact his private name.  Azaghâl (Silmarillion, Chapter20) and Gamil Zirak (Unfinished Tales) could be descriptive nicknames, rather than true private names.)

We do know a number of Dwarvish place names.  Most of what is known about the Dwarvish language comes from place names.  We also have one war cry:  Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu! "Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!", and the inscription on Balin's tomb:  Balin Fundinul uzbad Khazaddûmu, "Balin son of Fundin, Lord of Moria." 

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The two original Dwarf cities in the Blue Mountains were named Tumunzahar (translated into Sindarin Elvish as “Nogrod”) and Gabilgathol (translated into Sindarin Elvish as “Belegost,” Great Fortress).  We do not know the Dwarvish names for the cities at the Lonely Mountain or the Iron Hills.  “Erebor” is Sindarin Elvish (for “Lonely Mountain”); I can't imagine Thorin's Dwarves using the Elvish name “Erebor” for their home. 

 ‹«◊»›

Internal History

The Vala Aulë, creator of the Dwarves, invented a language for them, and taught this language to the first Dwarves.  The Dwarvish language changed only slowly with time.  Tolkien stated that, even in the Third Age, Dwarves from any part of Middle-Earth could easily understand each other's spoken language. 

Dwarves found the first Humans; the early Human language was influenced by Khuzdul, as well as by the languages of Elves who did not relocate to Aman.  The Human language of Númenor (Adûnaic) has strong similarities to Khuzdul.  

 « Dwarf Runes «        Dwarvish Index         » Khuzdul Words »   

Writing with Dwarf Runes

Dwarvish Index         » More About Dwarf Runes »         » Khuzdul Language »   

Dwarf runes are easy to use – unlike the Dwarvish language (Khuzdul), and unlike Elvish writing (Tengwar).  Dwarf runes behave exactly as speakers of English expect an "alphabet" to behave – one letter per sound, whether vowel or consonant, and all written left to right.

This lesson is based on Appendix E of Lord of the Rings.

History of Runes

The Cirth ("Runes") were originally developed in by the Sindar Elves of Doriath, for writing Sindarin.  The runes are traditionally attributed to the loremaster Daeron.  The Sindar were slow to adopt writing, but the Dwarves who visited and traded with Doriath took readily to the runes, and spread them widely, both among Dwarves and other races.  Over time, the runes were adapted for various languages.  The Noldor of Eregion are credited with adding a number of characters for sounds not found in Sindarin.

(This is at least how the Elves tell the story.  We have no record of the Dwarves' version of the history.  It seems farfetched to me to say that those early-adopter Dwarves waited centuries for the Noldor to invent characters for the sounds distinctive to Khuzdul, so perhaps the history, as recorded, has some elf-centric spin.) 

The runes as used by the Dwarves of Moria. 
These are probably the oldest Dwarvish version of the runes.

 "Glottal" is a sound, or change in sound, that does not register in the brains of most speakers of English, since it never affects the meaning or spelling of English words.  If you are writing Khuzdul, you will need that character.   (If you aren't writing Khuzdul, you probably won't have any occasion to worry about that character.)

There are references to both "Y" and "X" being used for the sound N.

Tolkien describes the "uh" and "eh" sounds as "vowels like those heard in English butter."  Those characters are used especially for the indistinct little vowel sounds, which apparently were as common in Dwarvish as in English. 

This is how Balin's name appears on his tomb.

 

 

The Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain ("Erebor") used a few distinctive variants in the runes.

 (The name "Erebor" is Sindarin Elvish for "Lonely Mountain."   I wonder how the Dwarves feel about using an Elvish name for their home?)

Here is a line from the title page of Lord of the Rings. Can you translate it?
Here Tolkien uses "<" as the rune for S, which is an older, Elvish usage.

 

 (Use your mouse to highlight over the white space, to see the answer.) The Lord of the Rings translated from the Red Book

Thror's map, in The Hobbit, is not written in Cirth at all. It is written in (mostly) Anglo-Saxon futhark. At the time The Hobbit was originally written, that story was set in a generic fantasyland. After Tolkien's publisher requested a sequel, and that sequel began to develop into Lord of the Rings, Tolkien realized that The Hobbit must have been set in the Silmarillion's Middle-Earth universe. Tolkien made a few minor changes to later editions of The Hobbit, the better to fit it to the Lord of the Rings. However, the runes on Thror's map remained unchanged.

Edit January 5, 2013:  Correct typo "Eregion"

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