A Elbereth Gilthoniel or Aerlinn in edhil o Imladris is an aerlinn (poem) of Rivendell addressed to Varda, sung in Sindarin and in iambic tetrameter. The first stanza (the only one known) rhymes aababcc.
O Elbereth Starkindler
(white) glittering slants down
sparkling like jewels
from [the] firmament [the] glory [of] the star-host!
To-remote distance far-having gazed
from [the] tree-tangled middle-lands,
Fanuilos, to thee I will chant
on this side of ocean, here on this side of the Great Ocean!
The rest of it is not saved but it is possible that Oh Snow-white is a Westron translation or variation of this aerlinn. Variations of this hymn are sung throughout the book, such as the very last one written down:
…and as if in answer, from down below, coming up the road out of the valley, voices sang:
A! Elbereth Gilthoniel!
silivren penna míriel
o menel aglar elenath,
Gilthoniel, A! Elbereth!
We still remember, we who dwell
In this far land beneath the trees
The starlight on the Western Seas.
—Frodo Baggins in The Return of the King, “The Grey Havens”
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