The 4th Production Video Blog of The Hobbit contains a short scene of what appears to be Gandalf etching his mark on Bilbo’s door. (See 05:00 in the video posted here). The image shows a bent nail at the base of Gandalf’s staff (see part of his cloak to the right), etching a rune into Bilbo’s green door. The rune is certh 19 G which, in addition to being the first sign in Gandalf’s name, is also used as his mark throughout The Lord of the Rings — e.g., labeling the firecrackers he brings for Bilbo’s birthday party, as a signature in his urgent letter to Frodo, as his secret mark on Weathertop, etc.
Readers of The Hobbit will remember that Gandalf marks Bilbo’s door in order to lead the Dwarves to Bag End: “… with the spike of his staff [he] scratched a queer sign on the hobbit’s beautiful green front-door.” The next day, when he arrives with the Dwarves, he beats “a hard rat-tat on the hobbit’s beautiful green door … with a stick” which “knock[s] out the secret mark that he had put there the morning before”. Bilbo is of course unaware of any of this, and therefore expresses some surprise and irritation at the Dwarves’ presumptuous arrival and assumptions, remarking: “I have no signs on my door—it was painted a week ago—, and I am quite sure you have come to the wrong house”. Gloin responds: remarking ”I assure you there is a mark on this door—the usual one in the trade … ‘Burglar wants a good job, plenty of Excitement and reasonable Reward,’ that’s how it is usually read.”
Of course, Tolkien never provided his readers with an image of this complex mark. Rather than invent it, the filmmakers seem to have opted instead for the reasonable replacement of Gandalf’s initial.
Marc Zender
[I would like to add to this information that in fact we do know the actual sign Tolkien wanted to appear on Bilbo's door. In J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator by Scull & Hammond, p. 99, we can find Tolkien's sketch with the door of Bag End, with Gandalf and three mysterious signs. They seem to be Anglo-Saxon runes (used in The Hobbit for the Dwarvish script): B for Burglar, D for Danger and a sign of a jewel/diamond for Reward. See the actual inscription in our news from 2009 - here).
This is our news from January 4th, 2012. We have changed the picture: now you can see there the results of the cooperation of Marc Zender, Florian “Lothenon” Dombach and Richard “Galadhorn” Derdzinski in deciphering the runic signs. See also the comments. There are new theories there.
Elrond knew all about runes of every kind. That day he looked at the swords they had brought from the trolls’ lair, and he said: “They are not troll-make. They are old swords, very old swords of the High Elves of the West, my kin. They were made in Gondolin for the Goblin wars. (…) This, Thorin, the runes name Orcrist, the Goblin-cleaver in the ancient tongue of Gondolin; it was a famous blade.”
(The Hobbit, “A Short Rest”)
Earl Carvalho, a member of TheOneRing.net staff, has informed us about these interesting examples of the use of Tolkien’s runes in The Hobbit movie pre-production. Thanks to the publication of the Dwarves’ characters photos (see Thorin’s photo – here) we can see some interesting Cirth inscriptions on Thorin’s sword, Orcrist, and on his ring:
1. Thorin’s Ring – The ring on Thorin’s right hand seems to have the Dwarven (Angerthas Moria?) rune R on its front face. It’s difficult to determine what the runes on the other faces say (if those actually are runes), but it is possible that another rune is HW. Thorin also wears another ring on his left hand, and it seems to have some sort of design, but we cannot be certain that it works itself out to a rune.
2. Orcrist – The pommel of Thorin’s sword has the Elvish runes O R KH R I S T inscribed on it. The language is Sindarin and the script are old Elvish runes called Angerthas Daeron (we shall remember that the runes of Middle-earth were primarily the script of the Elves of Beleriand in the First Age). Let us compare this inscription with the runes from another sword found by Thorin’s Company in the trolls’ lair – Glamdring (see here).
Photo of Orcrist and Thorin’s Ring edited by Ryszard “Galadhorn” Derdzinski
G-i-P stands for Gwaith-i-Phethdain, ‘The Fellowship of the Word-smiths’ or the linguistic website devoted to post-Tolkienian constructions in the “reconstructed” languages of Middle-earth [link].
Elrond, Tauriel, and now Lindir… We find out more and more about the characters in The Hobbit movie who will speak Elvish (mainly Neo-Sindarin made by David Salo). Bret McKenzie, who unofficially played “Figwit” the Elf in The Lord of the Rings (for this fan-created name see here), spoke with ComingSoon.net about his role as Lindir in The Hobbit:
“I’ve got a cameo as an elf. Or another cameo. My character is called Lindir. I hang out with Elrond… I’ve got a few lines in Elvish.
The Gwaith, the Fellowship is very happy it will have more and more phrases to analyze! More about this story can be found at TORn (see here).
G-i-P stands for Gwaith-i-Phethdain, ‘The Fellowship of the Word-smiths’ or the linguistic website devoted to post-Tolkienian constructions in the “reconstructed” languages of Middle-earth [link].
Earl Carvalho, a member of TheOneRing.net staff, has informed us about this interesting discussion at The One Ring Forums.
“Demosthenes” from the forum was working on the frame-by-frame of the last Hobbit teaser. When he was drawn to the scene where Gandalf descends (or ascends) inside the hollow tower (in Moria or Dol Guldur?) he has spotted that the door-frame (pillars and lintel) on the extreme right of the shot seemed to be carved with some sort of runes (?). To see these signs click the pictures above. For the discussion on The One Ring Forum see here.
Maybe the friends of G-i-P could help to decipher this inscription and to resolve the mystery of the “hollow tower” in the commentaries?
G-i-P stands for Gwaith-i-Phethdain, ‘The Fellowship of the Word-smiths’ or the linguistic website devoted to post-Tolkienian constructions in the “reconstructed” languages of Middle-earth [link].
Let us watch and listen to Evangeline Lilly or Tauriel the Silvan Elf in the Hobbit movies. In the interview for Access Hollywood, recorded during the Real Steel premiere, she chats Laura Saltman about filming Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit. So, is she worried about how J.R.R. Tolkien fans will take to her character? Plus, Evangeline speaks Sindarin! We’ve tried to decipher these phrases and here it is – the reconstruction of the Sindarin sentences which will be probably used in the Hobbit movie:
(1) Tolo hí! ‘Come down’ (or: ‘Come here’): tolo! ‘come’, sí ‘here’ (lenited hí)
(2) Lyst in saim ‘The cells are empty’: lost ‘empty’, in ‘the’ (pl.), sam, pl. *saim ‘chamber, *cell’
[according to "Edhelharn" Lilly actually says Tolo hi! (si < hi 'now', cf. edro hi ammen) and Lyst i saim (i < in 'the pl.', cf. Echad i Sedryn).]
Evangeline Lilly, who played the role of Kate Austen on Lost, is now living in New Zealand for the duration of Peter Jackson’s dual Hobbit shoots, playing a newly-created character not from the books – Tauriel the Silvan Elf from Mirkwood. In an interview in the SFX magazine Evangeline answered few questions concerning the movie:
Now you’re in New Zealand filming The Hobbit with Peter Jackson. It’s a long commitment which would make some actors balk. Was that a concern?
I will be in and out of New Zealand for the course of a year. It worked out well. For a lot of actors, being that tied down would be problematic for their careers because they wouldn’t have the freedom to take any other part in the meantime. For me it’s perfect because I want to have time to spend with my family and relax and focus on my writing. This role gives me a framework within which to do that because I’m not working all the time but I’m working enough. When you’re not working at all, you get lost in space and time and don’t accomplish anything. It’s a flexible work environment and I don’t have to be estranged from my family.
When you played Kate you were always doing physical scenes and stunts. How are you prepping for The Hobbit?
With every film, you have to educate yourself on the material and it’s often things you don’t know a lot about. Right now I’m studying Elvish and having conversations with people about learning how to be an archer, a swordsperson and how to fight like an elf instead of a gritty convict. [Laughs]
Did you have any reservations about joining The Hobbit cast?
With The Hobbit, it was a no-brainer because I have been a fan of those books since I was 13-years-old.
During last Geek Kon at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which was held on September 9 to 11, there were three Tolkien-related events, all involving David Salo, an expert on the JRR Tolkien’s invented languages. David’s main contribution to the study of the languages of Middle-earth has been the book A Gateway to Sindarin (see cover on the left). He also was employed as the “Tolkien linguist” for Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. As we have already analized it on the G-i-P website, he translated phrases and passages from the script into various Middle-earth languages, primarily Sindarin (“Elvish”). David also devised passages in Khuzdul (the secret language of the dwarves), including choral portions in the musical score for the scenes in Moria. David also translated the phrases seen engraved on the swords and other armaments, and he recorded readings of his translations for the language coaches to use in training the actors.
And here we have a great news! We are delighted to know that David Salo is currently performing the same tasks for The Hobbit!
Book:The Frodo Franchise. ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and Modern Hollywood Author: Kristin Thompson Publisher: University of California Press, 2007 Page: 95 and note: 28
“(…) Predictably, websites sprang up to record and translate these passages into Elvish, with participants in the project using the pause buttons on their DVDs and also production photos such as the ones reproducted on pages 50 and 52 of Weapons and Warfare. There are at last two such websites. Salo brought the whole thing full circle by contacting one of the sites and providing the original Elvish text. It’s likely that some of the participants in the project were disappointed when he did.”
And note:
“See Galadhorn, “Mazarbul Wall Inscriptions: Languages in the Lord of the Rings Movies” (n.d.): http://home.planet.nl/~raas0056/mazarbul/ , and links in Ryszard Derdzinski, “Other Inscriptions” (n.d.): www.elvish.org/gwaith/movie_otherinscr.htm . Salo’s contribution is linked on the latter page as “Gabil gund Mazarbul” (30 Nov. 2002).
G-i-P stands for Gwaith-i-Phethdain, ‘The Fellowship of the Word-smiths’ or the linguistic website devoted to post-Tolkienian constructions in the “reconstructed” languages of Middle-earth [link]. Now Elendilion will continue the G-i-P‘s tradition of the linguistic reports concerning Peter Jackson’s movies, especially The Hobbit film.
Somebody may wonder if the upcoming The Hobbit movie will contain as rich linguistic material as the three parts of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings. Will the actors speak languages of Middle-earth? Which languages? Will we see new beautiful artifacts with runes or Fëanorian letters like swords or the artwork? Will they sing in Elvish or Dwarvish in The Hobbit soundtrack? We can say “Yes, they will”. We can say also that it is very possible all the linguistic material is already translated by a Tolkienian linguist (David Salo?) or by a group of the linguistis.
Probably the first sentences in the languages of Middle-earth which were already revealed are two Khuzdûl phrases which can be found on P. Jackson’s vlog’s entry [see here]. So Khuzdûl will be featured for sure! These phrases are:
[Adam Brown, "Ori":] Gelek d’ash undbar[or Gelek dashund bar]
‘?’ [my transcription can be erroneous]
[Marc Zender comments:
First, I think Adam Brown (Ori) actually says Gelekh dash undbar, with aspirated -kh at the end of the first word. Listen carefully to Roisín Carty (the dialog coach) and then to Brown. But notice also (at 05:41 in the video) that behind Roisín, on the white board, is written R, TH, KH, strongly suggesting that they were working on the special sounds of Khuzdul: uvular R and aspirated TH and KH. (There is also written “axe = b…” and “axes = b…”, where the hidden elements must have given singular bark and plural baruk, to illustrate Khuzdul plural formation.) But much of Adam’s sentence is newly invented vocabulary, and I’m afraid I can’t make it out with any certainty.]
[Marc Zender comments:
I think he actually says Khuzd belkul!, with a final -l, and naturally he provides his own translation: “mighty dwarf”. Now, khuzd is of course well known as the singular for “dwarf”. As for the unattested belkul, this may contain the -ul adjectival suffix seen in Khuzdul ‘Dwarvish’. Its radicals would then seem to be B-L-K “mighty,” and I suppose that it is imagined by David Salo as having been a borrowing from Elvish. Compare Noldorin beleg “great, mighty” (< BÉL-EK, Etym.), Quenya melehta “mighty” (PE17:115) and, of course, Melkor “He that arises in might”. Note also the noun + adjective order of “dwarf mighty” for “mighty dwarf”. This is a typical feature of Semitic syntax, from which Salo would seem to have drawn some inspiration. Yet the pattern in Khuzdul noun compounds is generally, though admittedly not always, the reverse — e.g., Sigin-tarâg, long + beards, for “Long beards” (PM:321). So this syntactical construction is one I’m still a bit uncertain of.]
Richard Armitage (“Thorin”) said in the interview on Jackson’s videoblog:
We’ve all learnt a bit of the Dwarf language, Khuzdûl, so we all have a kind of selection of words to fall back on, and curses and battle-cries
We trust the latter means that we may, at long last, hear the famous words Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!uttered on a field of battle.
We’re waiting for new information about the languages of Tolkien in Jackson’s movies. Feel free to send the reports to elendilion@elendilion.pl We’re looking forward to your comments too.
Jako młody Krasnolud, Thorin doświadczył terroru i obserwował zniszczenia jakie swym ogniem siał smok w Królestwie Krasnodudów w Ereborze. Po zabiciu wielu współbratymców Thorina, wielki gad Smaug osiadł w Samotnej Górze i przywłaszczył sobie skarbiec złota i klejnotów. Nikt nie przybył z pomocą garstce Krasnoludów i w końcu ta dumna i szlachetna rasa została zmuszona pędzić los wygnańców. Przez lata trudów Thorin urósł w siłę, stał się nieulękłym wojownikiem i szanowanym przywódcą. W sercu rosła pokusa by odzyskać przynależne jego ludowi ziemie i zniszczyć bestię która ściągnęła na jego pobratymców tyle nieszczęść. Więc kiedy przeznaczenie podsunęło mu niezwykłego sojusznika, postanowił spróbować szans w pomście.
As a young Dwarf prince, Thorin witnessed the destruction and terror wrought when a great fire-breathing Dragon attacked the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor. After slaughtering many of Thorin’s kin, the great serpent, Smaug, entered The Lonely Mountain and took possession of its vast store of gold and jewels. No-one came to the aid of the surviving Dwarves, and thus, a once proud and noble race was forced into exile. Through long years of hardship, Thorin grew to be a strong and fearless fighter and revered leader. In his heart a fierce desire grew; a desire to reclaim his homeland and destroy the beast that had brought such misery upon his people. So when fate offers him an unusual ally, he seizes the chance for revenge.
Krasnoludcy Władcy w rzeczy samej, Balin i Dwalin są blisko spokrewnieni z Thorinem. Poza pokrewieństwem ci bracia są jego najbardziej zaufanymi i lojalnymi przyjaciółmi. Stary wojownik, Bdalin przeżył ciężkie czasy i walczył w wielu bitwach, skrywa jednak wątpliwości co do wyprawy i odzyskania skarbów z pod Samotnej Góry. Dwalin nie ma żadnych złych przeczuć – jego wiara w Thorinowe przywództwo jest niezachwiana. Wyśmienity i zadziorny wojownik, z naturalną tendencją do nieufności wobec nie Krasnoludów, w szczególności Elfów. Dwalin nie jest kimś, kogo chciałbyś rozgniewać…
The 4th Production Video Blog of The Hobbit contains a short scene of what appears to be Gandalf etching his mark on Bilbo’s door. (See 05:00 in the video posted here). The image shows a bent nail at the base of Gandalf’s staff (see part of his cloak to the right), etching a rune into Bilbo’s green door. The rune is certh 19 G which, in addition to being the first sign in Gandalf’s name, is also used as his mark throughout The Lord of the Rings — e.g., labeling the firecrackers he brings for Bilbo’s birthday party, as a signature in his urgent letter to Frodo, as his secret mark on Weathertop, etc.
During last Geek Kon at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which was held on September 9 to 11, there were three Tolkien-related events, all involving David Salo, an expert on the JRR Tolkien’s invented languages. David’s main contribution to the study of the languages of Middle-earth has been the book 
“(…) Predictably, websites sprang up to record and translate these passages into Elvish, with participants in the project using the pause buttons on their DVDs and also production photos such as the ones reproducted on pages 50 and 52 of Weapons and Warfare. There are at last two such websites. Salo brought the whole thing full circle by contacting one of the sites and providing the original Elvish text. It’s likely that some of the participants in the project were disappointed when he did.”
Somebody may wonder if the upcoming The Hobbit movie will contain as rich linguistic material as the three parts of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings. Will the actors speak languages of Middle-earth? Which languages? Will we see new beautiful artifacts with runes or Fëanorian letters like swords or the artwork? Will they sing in Elvish or Dwarvish in The Hobbit soundtrack? We can say “Yes, they will”. We can say also that it is very possible all the linguistic material is already translated by a Tolkienian linguist (David Salo?) or by a group of the linguistis.
