In general use, a writer of Tengwar did not use separate characters for vowels, but instead represented them by the inclusion of separate markings above or below the consonantal letters. There was, however, an alternative means of writing Tengwar known as 'full writing', in which vowel characters were included, just as in our own Roman alphabet. In this mode, it was necessary to mark which vowels were long, and to do that an andaith ('long mark') was used.
Notes
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We have no dating for the 'full writing' mode in which the andaith was used, but it is implied to have emerged after the original development of the Tengwar system. 'Full writing' was also known as the Mode of Beleriand, suggesting that it first emerged there, being created either by the Sindar or (perhaps more likely) the Noldor after their Return. This mode of writing was used for the inscription on the West-gate of Moria and so, at the very latest, it must have been in use by the middle years of the Second Age when that gate was made.
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- Updated 11 April 2023
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