25 Apr, 2021
2021/4/25 6:01:18 (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time, London, Dublin, Lisbon, Casablanca, Monrovia
The team is in sunny-then-rainy north Wales at the lushly beautiful, National Trust-owned Bodnant Garden, where experts examine an eclectic treasure trove of finds.A gentleman brings along a treasured and delightful letter from JRR Tolkien, written to him after, as a 14-year-old, he’d sent the Lord of the Rings author fan mail. It’s “precious” in more ways than one.Elsewhere, there is a pipe inscribed by its owner during a spell as a prisoner of war in Italy and Germany after he was captured at Tobruk. And there is what an expert describes as a “silent witness” to history, a soup ladle found after a dive to a wrecked steam clipper.For those in the UK you can watch it at 7pm tonight or on the BBC iPlayer at 55 minutes into the programme. The letter was valued at
£10,000.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000vlsp
25 Apr, 2021
2021/4/25 6:34:20 (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time, London, Dublin, Lisbon, Casablanca, Monrovia
26 Apr, 2021
2021/4/26 5:42:46 (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time, London, Dublin, Lisbon, Casablanca, Monrovia
Hi
Trotter!
Did you watch the BBC show yesterday? I can't watch it from Italy, apparently.
Could you tell us more, please?
I read on the web the letter ("Dear Charles...") is dated "3 May 1957" and has been valued £10.000 by their expert.
Here a link with two photos of the letter: Link no longer works
26 Apr, 2021
2021/4/26 5:48:39 (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time, London, Dublin, Lisbon, Casablanca, Monrovia
Mauro D86 wrote:
Hi Trotter!
Did you watch the BBC show yesterday? I can't watch it from Italy, apparently.
Could you tell us more, please?
Sent you a PM
21 Dec, 2021
2021/12/21 4:20:50 (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time, London, Dublin, Lisbon, Casablanca, Monrovia
Partial transcription of the letter, I'm not sure about a few words which are replaced by "?":
Dear Charles,
Thank you for your letter. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed the "Ring" books.
Your runic letter was correct and readable. But the runes used in *The Hobbit* are not my invention. Just as the language of the time was turned into English, so were the runes of the day. So I used a selection, more or less applicable to modern English spelling, of the runes formerly used by the English in England. Owing to the ? of the Latin letter the runes went out of use, were never in fact used for writing books except the two letters borrowed from the Runic Alphabet and used in writing *English*: ᚦ and ᚹ, written forms þ and ƿ ( ? from ƿ =p ). þ was used for *th*, -- or rather, represented the *sounds* we shall have in *thin*, *this*, until it was replaced by *th* in the 14th. century. It lingered on ( broken down in shape to y, [two more cursive variants]) in the abbreviations *yͤ* *yͭ* = *the*, *that*, of [continued on the back page]
[half page not shown]
not the z in their own language, except occasionally for *ts* (? German).
Variant signs occur which seem to be used for *x* (=ks): among them Ψ.
Of course the Runes were properly used to spell by *sound* and they do not fit modern English very well. The *Angerthas* at the end of Vol iii will give you plenty of signs for all the sounds of English, and more -- or for the letters and most common ? ?, if you care to ? them.
Yours sincerely
J.R.R.Tolkien
For Charles's letter, see
https://www.tolkienguide.com/modules/n ... ewtopic.php?topic_id=4312
21 Dec, 2021
2021/12/21 5:21:50 (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time, London, Dublin, Lisbon, Casablanca, Monrovia
Various members help transcribe the letter in April after the programme was broadcast. These are the words that you have a ? for.
Owing to the competition of the Latin letter the runes went out of use.
( distinct from ƿ =p )
-- or for the letters and most common letter-combinations, if you can rearrange them
21 Dec, 2021
2021/12/21 8:22:16 (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time, London, Dublin, Lisbon, Casablanca, Monrovia
Trotter wrote:
Various members help transcribe the letter in April after the programme was broadcast. These are the words that you have a ? for.
Owing to the competition of the Latin letter the runes went out of use.
( distinct from ƿ =p )
-- or for the letters and most common letter-combinations, if you can rearrange them
Great, thanks! Do you also recognize the words in "(? and(?) German)" ?
Also the last sentence looks like "if you care to rearrange them" to me.
21 Dec, 2021
2021/12/21 12:02:52 (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time, London, Dublin, Lisbon, Casablanca, Monrovia
Trotter wrote:
Various members help transcribe the letter in April
Where is this transcription?
zionius wrote:
Great, thanks! Do you also recognize the words in "(? and(?) German)" ?
The word before “German” is “mod.” (modern German).
zionius wrote:
Also the last sentence looks like "if you care to rearrange them" to me.
Without a doubt, yes.
21 Dec, 2021
2021/12/21 12:55:35 (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time, London, Dublin, Lisbon, Casablanca, Monrovia
Also, a few minor corrections, in bold:
zionius wrote:
Owing to the ? of the Latin letter the runes went out of use, were never in fact used for writing books
Latin letter
swent out of use,
& were never
zionius wrote:
It lingered on ( broken down in shape to y, [two more cursive variants]) in the abbreviations *yͤ* *yͭ* = *the*, *that*, of
I don’t know what the last word on this page is, but not “of”.
zionius wrote:
Of course the Runes were properly used to spell by *sound* and they do not fit modern English very well.
, and they do not fit mod. English
spelling very well
21 Dec, 2021
2021/12/21 13:30:23 (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time, London, Dublin, Lisbon, Casablanca, Monrovia
Side 1: last word is "which"
Side 2: "Various signs" (not "Variant signs")