13 questions · Literature
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, born in 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa, and raised in England, was a professor of Old English at Oxford and, on the side, the inventor of modern fantasy. The philologist who reinterpreted the heroic epic 'Beowulf' had been constructing invented languages since his youth. Because languages without speakers are dead, he invented a world to go with them: Middle-earth, with its Elves, Dwarves and a mythology worked out across millennia: maps, calendars and family trees included. The beginning is legend: while marking exam papers, Tolkien scribbled on a blank page the sentence 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.' It became the children's book 'The Hobbit' (1937): Bilbo Baggins sets out with 13 dwarves and the wizard Gandalf to face the dragon Smaug and on the way finds an unremarkable ring. The publisher wanted a sequel; after twelve years' work Tolkien delivered an epic: 'The Lord of the Rings' (1954/55). The gentle hobbit Frodo must destroy the One Ring of the dark lord Sauron in Mount Doom; at his side Sam, Gandalf, Aragorn and the Fellowship, at his heels the torn creature Gollum ('my precious'). Against all the author's expectations, the work became the cult book of the sixties, the century's most-read novel, and through Peter Jackson's films a world event once again. The mythology behind it, his life's work 'The Silmarillion', appeared only posthumously, edited by his son Christopher. Tolkien died in 1973; on the gravestone he shares with his wife Edith stand the names of his most beautiful pair of lovers: Beren and Lúthien. Did you know that Tolkien developed his Elvish languages, like Quenya and Sindarin, far enough that poems can be written in them? For him the language came first: the stories had to follow it.
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The Lord of the Rings
Published in three volumes in 1954/55: twelve years of work, the century's most-read novel.
💡 Did you know? „The Lord of the Rings“ founded the modern fantasy genre and was later filmed to worldwide acclaim.
on an exam paper
'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit'; the professor was marking exams at the time.
💡 Did you know? „In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit“ Tolkien scribbled on a blank exam sheet while marking.
Frodo
At his side the loyal Sam: at his heels the torn creature Gollum.
💡 Did you know? Frodo carries the Ring to Mount Doom: but in the end it is Gollum's greed that destroys it.
my precious
The creature consumed by the Ring was once the hobbit Sméagol.
💡 Did you know? Gollum was once the hobbit Sméagol, whom the Ring disfigured over centuries.
professor at Oxford
His 1936 'Beowulf' lecture still counts as a turning point in the field.
💡 Did you know? As an Oxford professor of Old English, Tolkien created his fantasy world almost as a hobby.
the languages
Quenya and Sindarin are developed far enough that poems can be written in them.
💡 Did you know? Tolkien invented the Elvish languages first and then the world, „so the languages would have someone to speak them.“
Middle-earth
With maps, calendars, family trees and millennia of history: the foundation of modern fantasy.
💡 Did you know? For Middle-earth Tolkien devised maps, languages, scripts and millennia of history.
Smaug
He hoards the dwarves' treasure in the Lonely Mountain: Bilbo is to burgle him as 'master thief'.
💡 Did you know? The dragon Smaug guards a stolen dwarven hoard: until Bilbo spots his one vulnerable spot.
The Silmarillion
Edited by his son Christopher and published in 1977: the creation story of Middle-earth.
💡 Did you know? „The Silmarillion,“ his mythological life's work, was completed and published only posthumously by his son Christopher.
C. S. Lewis
In the literary circle of the 'Inklings' they read to each other at the Eagle and Child pub: Tolkien helped Lewis back to faith.
💡 Did you know? With C. S. Lewis, Tolkien discussed his work in the Oxford circle of the „Inklings“: often at the pub.
Beren and Lúthien
The lovers from 'The Silmarillion': Edith, dancing, had once inspired the Lúthien scene.
💡 Did you know? The shared grave bears the names „Beren“ and „Lúthien“: the lovers from his own mythology.
South Africa
He came to England at three: he barely remembered Africa.
💡 Did you know? Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, but came to England as a small child.
Foto: Unknown photo studio commissioned by Tolkien's students 1925/6 (private communication from Catherine McIlwaine, Tolkien Archivist, Bodleian Library) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien (1892 to 1973) was an English writer and philologist. With „The Hobbit“ and „The Lord of the Rings“ he founded the modern fantasy genre.
💡 Did you know? Tolkien invented his world's languages first and the stories afterward: Middle-earth grew out of sheer delight in invented words.
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