[< Previous Phrase] Markirya [Next Phrase >]

The thirty-first line of the Markirya poem (MC/222). The first word is the adjective atalantëa “downfallen” followed by the allative (“upon”) plural form of the noun mindon “tower”.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

atalantëa mindon-na-r = “*downfallen tower-upon-(plural)”

Conceptual Development: In the first draft, Tolkien used atalantëa, but in the second draft he switched to the plural form of the adjective atalantië to agree with the plural noun. He then deleted this to revert to the uninflected form of the adjective atalantëa (MC/222). This is likely because adjectives are not inflected when modifying nouns with plural noun cases; see the section on Adjectives and Noun Case Endings in the entry on adjectives. In the first and second drafts Tolkien first used the longer allative plural form of the noun mindoninnar but revised this to a more abbreviated form mindonnar in the second draft (MC/222).

[< Previous Phrase] Oilima Markirya [Next Phrase >]

The twenty eighth line of the Oilima Markirya poem (MC/214). The first word is the aorist tense of the verb lant- “to fall”, its subject being the “old darkness” (aire móre) of the previous phrase. This is followed by the preposition no¹ “upon” with a compound of the adjective lanta “fallen” with the noun mindon “tower”, loosely translated as plural “towers” in the English.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

lant-e no lanta-mindon = “*fall-(aorist) upon fallen-tower”