namárië interjection "farewell" (Nam, RGEO:67)
Quenya
namárië
Farewell
namárië
farewell
arwen vanimelda, namárië
Arwen beautiful and beloved, farewell
namárië
interjection. farewell, (lit.) be well, let it be well (to you)
namárië! nai hiruvalyë valimar
farewell! maybe thou shalt find Valimar
Sixteenth line @@@
namárië! nai hiruvalyë valimar
farewell! be-it-that you will find Valimar
The 16th phrase in the prose Namárië, which is essentially the same as its poetic version, differing only in its more literal translation. This is nothing particularly notable about its word order.
Mairen
well
Mairen fem. name(UT:210), initial element perhaps related or identical to mai "well". The second element is obscure; the root REN "recall, have in mind" (PM:372) could be related; if so the name may imply "well remembered", "(of) good memory" or something similar. It may also connect with the adj. maira, q.v. and compare the masc. name Mairon (PE18:163).
mai
well
mai (1) adv. "well" (VT47:6), apparently also used as prefix (PE17:17:162, 163, 172)
mandë
well
mandë (2) adv. "well" (VT49:26; this is "Qenya"). Rather mai in Tolkiens later Quenya.
tampo
well
tampo noun "well" (QL:93)
mai
adverb. well, well; [ᴱQ.] too much
márië
goodness
márië (1) "goodness", "good" as noun (abstract formation from the adj. mára). (PE17:58, 89). Genitive máriéno, dative máriena, locative máriessë (PE17:59, occurring in the greeting (hara) máriessë "(stay) in happiness", PE17:162) Allative márienna *"to goodness", used as an interjection "farewell" (archaic namárië, q.v.),
tampo
noun. well
ehtelu-
verb. well, bubble out
máralë
noun. goodness
máriën
noun. goodness
This was the poem that Galadriel recited to Frodo and the fellowship as they departed Lórien (LotR/377). It is the longest canonical Elvish text published by Tolkien, and one of the longest texts in the corpus. In the literature, it is usually called the Namárië or “Farewell” poem, though in one place Tolkien gave it the formal title Altariello nainië Lóriendesse “Galadriel’s lament in Lórien” (RGEO/58).
As a poem, this text is freer in word order and syntax than ordinary Quenya prose (RGEO/58). This makes it somewhat difficult to interpret the poem, since the English translation of the poem does not correspond directly with the Elvish wording. Fortunately, Tolkien published an extensive commentary on the poem within his lifetime (RGEO/58-62), making the proper interpretation the poem abundantly clear. In this commentary, Tolkien included a prose version of the poem, written in a “normal style” and with more ordinary (and therefore easier to follow) word order. The prose version of the poem is discussed in a separate entry.
The text below mostly divides the poem into one phrase for each line of the original poem. The exceptions are lines 5-6, 9-10 and 13-14 which are organized differently to facilitate discussion. The English glosses are from the translation of the poem in the 50th anniversary edition of The Lord of the Rings. Only proper names are capitalized. Interpretations are discussed in the entries for individual phrases.