Sindarin: Gnostic or Tolkien?

When I speak of Sindarin, I meant the Gnostic ("no-sic", not "nah-sic."), but for anyone who reads this, let me explain. Yes, J.R.R. Tolkien stated Sindarin to being the Grey-elven language of the Elves, the other one being Quenya, the High-elven. If this is confusing, remember that conlangs derive their names from a real-life source. Tolkien used Sindarin to illustrate the language of the Elven in The Lord of the Rings.

Of course, the name "Sindarin" sounds like a misspelling of "Mandarin," but that I consider quite a good joke. Sindarin derives from the Welsh sendal, or "grey-elven," a reference to Celtic mythology in Wales. Merlin Pendragon, the founder of [no-sis] ism, instated Sindarin to be a holy tongue, explaining why Gnosticism (no-sis-ism) has its own language. Now, Sindarin is historically a synthesis of Welsh and Greek, coining gnosis (no-sis) from the Greek gnosis (nah-sis), but for Tolkien, it is used as the language of the Elven.

The LOTR movie trilogy did not have any grey elves. The Elven (including Elrond, Arwen and Legolas) are white-skinned, being played by those of the Caucasian race in reality. I know, I know: The religion of Gnosticism (no-sis-ism) ought to be a fantasy itself, but we have to place the reality of things into order. If you are reading this, please bear with me.

Posted Feb 22, 2026, 7:42 PM UTC

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