Lore talk:Elder Alphabet

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Circled vs. Non-circled[edit]

So, nobody noticed the correlation between the circled and non circled characters and the 17 princes and 9 divines. I think that it is safe to start with the assumption that these symbols arent characters. I think that there is some supporting evidence such as the 17 "princes" are in their planes of oblivion (the circles) and the divines exist in tamriel (not circled). If the symbol is similar to a character it might be a means of suggesting which symbol represents which god. However, many gods have the same starting letter ie. Azura, Arkay, Akatosh. 75.171.253.22 08:43, 1 July 2012 (UTC)

names aren't going to do much good - the cultures of Tamriel use different enough names that the leading letters from one pantheon won't work - Shorr/Lorkhan, for example. I was going to say that the ninth Divine wouldn't have existed when the Elder Scrolls were made, before I realised that "when" and "made" are words that are nonsensical here. a more pertinent issue is that that the distinction of Divine or Daedric Prince compared to lesser god is a bit of a strange one that may or may not be cultural in any given instance. Many sources report 16 Princes; until the events of the Shivering Isles, there were only sixteen for a long time. But the variety of daedra worshipped is several times mentioned as extending beyond those Princes (Xivilai Moath, to name one), and at least one source claims that Lorkhan is a Daedric Prince, not an Aedra. Malacath, Meridia and possibly Mehrunes Dagon were not always Daedra, or possibly are not now, except by virtue of being in Oblivion. on the other hand, the Elder Scroll in question is being looked at by a player character, who all share a common set of cultural referents, so the orders of the cosmos may be personal rather than universal. 94.193.221.42 02:56, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
All of this is based on mere speculation based on two numbers, which at least in lore have a bit of wiggle-room, as mentioned, so even this isn't much of a coincidence, just one of many possible unconfirmable hypotheses. If you could make sense of the positioning of the symbols, or find a single shred of evidence linking even just one of the symbols to any specific prince or divine, there might be some validity to this, but as far as I'm aware, these symbols are not seen anywhere else in lore, so there's no way of making any kind of correlation that could be considered anything but guesswork. --TheRealLurlock Talk 12:10, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
Also the fact that the circles and series of connected lines could be a representation of the night sky and the constellations with each special symbol as a planet, the circled ones being oblivion realms. LoreMasterMark Talk 10:33, 6 June 2013 (UTC)
I agree, the way the glyphs are presented could imply that the Elder Scrolls are in fact star charts meaning the glyphs are probably pictograms rather than individual letters. This theory is further supported by the fact that, just like pagans on Earth, the pagans of Nirn assigned divinity to the celestial bodies orbiting their star, Magnus. Because of the ancient and persistent cultural dichotimization of Aedra and Daedra it makes sense that these glyphs could represent them and are distinguished between aedra and daedra accordingly. --"I seek to unravel the mysteries of Aetherius." (talk) 20:32, 18 October 2021 (UTC)

Amulet and The Eye[edit]

Can any of you notice a similarity between the Elder Alphabet and the letters that appear inside these two images found in Skyrim BSA files? The first is the Elder Council Amulet, and the second are the Inscriptures on the Eye of Magnus:

Elder Council Amulet
Eye of Magnus Incriptions

What do you think about those glyphs? Can they be useful in the research about TES? --Karnilmo 02:41, 2 September 2012 (UTC)

I've studied the Eye of Magnus inscriptions in depth, and they are not Elder runes - they are either a completely different language, or are just decorative. The Elder Council Amulet, on the other hand, does appear to have Elder characters inscribed on it. • JAT 02:57, 2 September 2012 (UTC)
The Eye of Magnus inscriptions appear similar to more complex Elvish languages like Falmer. Considering Magnus supposedly created Nirn, it is more likely than not Ehlnofex. I’m not sure about the amulet; logically they should be Elder Glyphs, but I swear it looks Elvish. Could the glyphs on the Amulet be from an Elvish language, like Aldmeris or even Ehlnofex, which is a translation of some of the elder glyphs?. —Bri the Burnt (talk) 06:30, 18 October 2021 (UTC)

More Stuff[edit]

In the game data there is a file called fxelderscrollletters.dds with 26 symbols. Also the texture for the whole scroll shows several big letters on the casing, and a row of really tiny symbols below the star on the "back" of the casing. --Alfwyn (talk) 23:22, 29 January 2013 (GMT)

Special Glyphs comparison with Characters (possible matchings)[edit]

  • Special Glyph #2 may be a match for #15a above
  • Special Glyph #3 may be a match for #28a above
  • Special Glyph #10 may be a match for #28b above
  • Special Glyph #14 may be a match for #15b above
  • Special Glyph #18 may be a match for #25b above
  • Special Glyph #20 may be a match for #23b above
  • Special Glyph #21 may be a match for #14b above
  • Special Glyph #25 may be a match for #9a above

— Unsigned comment by 186.228.167.233 (talk) at 06:34 on 25 March 2016 (UTC)

Name[edit]

Is the name 'Elder Alphabet' taken from anywhere in particular? I recall discussions a few years back about the Divine Script found on the Eye of Magnus and Apocrypha, but there wasn't a page made since 'Divine Script' is a purely fan-made term. The Magic Script page says the terms 'Magic Script' is found in Skyrim's creation kit - is that true for these, too? Otherwise, I think Lore:Elder Scrolls Writing is better, since that's the name featured in the Prophet concept art linked referenced on the page. Mindtrait0r (talk) 19:54, 26 January 2024 (UTC)