Cirth

Cirth
The word "Cirth" written using the Cirth in the Angerthas Daeron mode
Type	Alphabet
Languages	Khuzdul, Sindarin, Quenya, English
Creator	J.R.R. Tolkien
Direction	Varies
ISO 15924	Cirt, 291

The Cirth ([ˈkirθ]; plural of certh [ˈkɛrθ], in Sindarin meaning runes) are a semi-artificial script, with letters shaped on those of actual runic alphabets, invented by J. R. R. Tolkien for the constructed languages he devised and used in his works. Cirth is written with a capital letter when referring to the writing system; the runes themselves can be called cirth.

In the fictional history of Middle-earth, the original Certhas Daeron was created by the elf Daeron, and was later expanded into what was known as the Angerthas Daeron. Although the Cirth were later largely replaced by the Tengwar, they were adopted by Dwarves to write down their Khuzdul language (Angerthas Moria and Angerthas Erebor) because their straight lines were better suited to carving than the curved strokes of the Tengwar. Cirth was also adapted, in its oldest and simplest form, by various peoples including Men and even Orcs.

During the Chaining of Melkor, the Sindar of Beleriand began developing an alphabet for their language. Its letters were entirely made for carving on wood, stone or metal, hence their angular forms and straight lines. These letters were named cirth (sing. certh). The corresponding Quenya words are certar ([ˈkɛrtɑr]) and certa ([ˈkɛrtɑ]). The assignment of values was unsystematic. The form of a certh consisted of a stem and a branch. The attachment of the branch was, if on one side only, usually made on the right side. The reverse was not infrequent, but had no phonetic significance.
Two basic principles were followed: