Alphabet of Daeron

An alphabet of characters constructed from straight strokes, designed primarily to be carved into wood or stone. In its original form it was devised by Daeron, the loremaster of King Thingol of Doriath, and was thus known as the Certhas Daeron or Alphabet of Daeron. Among the Sindar it was little used, especially after the Fëanorian script was brought to Beleriand, but the Dwarves found it well suited to their needs, and eagerly adopted the new alphabet.

Daeron's original alphabet assigned signs to sounds in an arbitrary manner. In the Fëanorian Tengwar, however, the form of the characters followed phonetic rules, and Daeron later began to adapt his Runes in a similar manner. This more sophisticated version of the alphabet was known in Elvish as the Angerthas Daeron. The Runes were further developed by the Noldor of Eregion in the Second Age, and it was from their version of Daeron's alphabet that the Runes of nearby Moria, the Angerthas Moria, emerged.