Frequently Asked Questions – The Tolkien Society

YOU ARE READING: Frequently Asked Questions – The Tolkien Society AT PhebinhvanhocEN

tolkien’s mythology

• do balrogs have wings? can they fly?
• is legolas blond or dark?
• who was tom bombadil?
• who is older, tom bombadil or treebeard?
• is the glorfindel from the lord of the rings the same as the one from silmarillion?
• what is known about the other two wizards?
• do the elves have and tolkien’s hobbits pointy ears?
• do hobbits have big feet? are they fat?
• are there female killer whales?
• why didn’t the eagles take the ring directly to ride destiny?

reading/studying tolkien

• in what order should i read tolkien’s middle earth books?
• i’m having trouble getting into the silmarillion. do you have any advice?
• can I learn to speak or write elvish?
• I’m doing a final project. tell me about tolkien.
• can i read books that inspired tolkien?

tolkien the man

• why is tolkien so popular?
• did tolkien win any awards for his books?
• why was tolkien given the unusual third name reuel ?

other

• will the silmarillion be adapted into a movie or tv series?
• can i contact tolkien’s estate and/or tolkien’s publishers?
• how do i start my own? tolkien society?
• suggest some good companions for tolkien books.
• where can i find maps of middle earth?
• i have a book of tolkien i want to sell. How can I find out how much it is worth? Where can I sell it?

although visual artists almost always depict winged balrogs, a tolkien reader is often less convinced. in ‘the bridge of khazad-dûm’, tolkien says that “the shadow that surrounded him [the balrog] spread like two enormous wings” (p. 330). this metaphorical reference to wings is followed shortly thereafter with the description that the balrog “crawled slowly towards the bridge, and suddenly rose to a great height, and its wings spread from wall to wall” (p. 330). There is no further mention of the wings when he plunges into the abyss, or later when Gandalf describes his long fight with the Balrog. tolkien’s description may just be a way of saying that the balrog’s shadow seemed to take the form of wings, because if it did possess wings, i would expect it to flap them when it plummeted in moria, or use them in its battle with gandalf in the top of the mountain.

when drafts of the silmarillion on morgoth’s ring were published, it was discovered that tolkien wrote of the balrogs: “they rose swiftly, and passed with winged speed over hithlum, and came to lammoth like a fire storm.” (p. 297). Again, at first glance it may seem like real wings are implied, but it’s also possible that “winged speed” is used in a metaphorical sense. In general, it’s impossible to say categorically whether balrogs have wings or not , so it’s up to each reader to decide.

You are reading: Order to read tolkien books

[page references are to Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary Edition, 2004; morgoth’s ring, 2002 uk paperback]

Throughout the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien never describes the hair color of Legolas, nor of many other members of the fellowship. Legolas’s father, the Forest King, in The Hobbit (later revealed to be named Thranduil) is described as having golden hair, so Legolas may have followed him. at one point in the chapter “the great river”, tolkien mentions that “his [legolas’s] head was dark” (p. 387) against the sky, but as this was at night, it certainly doesn’t help determine the color of the river. lego hair. in appendix f to the lord of the rings it is explicitly stated that the elves were “tall, white-skinned, and gray-eyed, though their hair was dark, except in the golden house of finarfin” (p. 1137). However, this seemingly clear statement was contradicted by the publication of the Book of Lost Tales in 1983. According to a passage there, the dark-haired and facial features were assigned to the Noldor. In short, Legolas hair color cannot be determined by reading Tolkien’s texts, it is another matter on which the reader is free to make his own decision.

[page references are from Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary Edition, 2004]

Ever since The Lord of the Rings was published, Tom Bombadil has intrigued many readers. when frodo asks goldberry who tom is, and she replies “he is” (p. 124); Some readers have assumed that he is God, or Tolkien’s equivalent, Eru. Tolkien invented Tom Bombadil before 1934, basing Tom’s physical characteristics on one of his children’s Dutch dolls. Tom first came to life in an oral tale before appearing in a poem published in Oxford Magazine. Tolkien originally added him to the narrative of his emerging “new hobbit” sequel because he already existed and needed to give his hobbits an adventure along the way. Even before Tolkien began writing The Lord of the Rings, he informed his publishers that Tom Bombadil was the “country spirit (disappears) of Oxford and Berkshire” (letter 19, p. 26). Although Tolkien is recorded as stating that he greatly disliked allegory, there is evidence that he could write allegorically when the occasion arose, e.g. leaf per niggle.

tom himself declares that he is “the greatest” and that he “was here before the river and the trees… tom remembers the first drop of rain and the first acorn” (p. 131). This probably indicates that Tom entered the world at the same time as the Ainur, when they arrived to begin shaping the world according to the vision they had witnessed in the music of creation. This hypothesis leads to the possibility that Bombadil is one of the Maiar, but he chose to remain in Middle-earth rather than make his home in Valinor. It is difficult to be completely conclusive about the nature of Bombadil because Tolkien said that he deliberately included Tom as an intentional enigma.

[page references are from Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary Edition, 2004]

readers have noticed that gandalf says that treebeard is “the oldest living thing that still walks under the sun in this middle earth” (p.499), and celeborn calls treebeard “the eldest” (p.981) . Although celeborn may have been using the word more as a courtesy title than a literal statement of fact, Gandalf’s comments seem more difficult to counter. however, christopher tolkien has with ample justification said on other matters that his father liked to make hyperbolic statements, and this may be the case here. perhaps tolkien had forgotten that he had used the adjective “elder” for both tom bombadil and treebeard.

There’s no doubt that treebeard is old, but even he admits that there are trees in fangorn older than him. however, when tolkien refers to him as eldest, he must mean that he is the oldest walking and talking sentient being in fangorn. At one point, Treebeard says that there are only three Ents left who walked the forest before dark. this must refer to the darkness that entered the world with morgoth. however, the bombadil was present before the first acorn, which must predate the forest before dark. Therefore, while it is difficult to be certain of Tom’s origins, it is possible to argue with more certainty that Tom Bombadil is in fact the greatest of all the inhabitants of Middle-earth.

[page references are from Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary Edition, 2004]

yes. The answer to this question was hotly debated by fans for nearly two decades, but when The Peoples of Middle-earth was published in 1996, it was possible to give a definitive answer. In the Silmarillion, Glorfindel dies fighting a Balrog during the fall of Gondolin. In writing The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien simply reused the previous character’s name and characteristics from the as yet unpublished narrative. Much later in his life, Tolkien wrote two essays on Glorfindel: in these he concluded that the two Glorfindel were in fact one and the same. after death, glorfindel’s spirit went to the command rooms where he was cured, but eventually reincarnated and returned to middle-earth, probably in the second age. in one text it is even said that glorfindel returned at a time similar to the blue wizards, however, unlike them, he was sent to help elrond in the war in eriador.

in the chapter ‘the voice of saruman’ in the two towers, when saruman argues with gandalf he refers to “the staffs of the five wizards”; And since readers know about Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast, they have often speculated on who the other two Istari were. Interested fans had to wait for the publication of Unfinished Tales in 1980. When Tolkien was working on the Lord of the Rings Index in the summer of 1954, he produced an essay on the Istari, in which Tolkien states: “of the blue [wizards] little is known in the west” (p. 390/504). Tolkien went on to say that they went east with Saruman, but never returned and their ultimate fate is unknown. however, in more hastily written annotations, the ithryn luin [blue wizards] are said to be followers of oromë and are named individually as alatar and pallando. (p. 393/508)

Gathering unfinished tales, Christopher Tolkien was unable to decipher all of his father’s writings on this subject, but after further study for the peoples of Middle-earth, he was able to discern another note. he states that the names of the magicians were morinehtar and rómestámo (pp. 384-5). they came to middle-earth in the second age, possibly with glorfindel, but unlike him, their mission was to provoke a rebellion among men against sauron in the dark east. apparently contrary to what is written elsewhere that they failed in their mission, in this note they managed in the second and third ages to dilute the forces that would have supported sauron. Without his help, Sauron’s forces in the War of the Ring might well have overwhelmed and outnumbered the forces of the West.

[page references: unfinished stories 1980/1998 uk paperbacks; peoples of middle earth, 2002 british paperback]

yes, they do. Tolkien doesn’t often go to great lengths to describe the minute physical details of his characters, so it’s possible to read The Lord of the Rings and his other writings without noticing that elves or hobbits have pointed ears. however, in a 1938 letter (no. 27, p. 35) to his American publishers, Tolkien says that hobbits have “a jovial round face; [with] ears only slightly pointed and ‘elvish’”. from this it is clear that the elven ears were more obviously pointed. This was confirmed when The Lost Path was published in 1987. In the etymologies under the first definition of ‘las’, which is the element in lasse meaning ‘leaf’, there is this note: “Quendian ears were more pointed and leaf – in the form of [?human]” (p.368).

[page references: the letters of j.r.r. tolkien, 1981 & 2006; the lost road, 2002 uk paperback]

no, hobbits don’t have big feet. Mr. proudfoot (and no doubt his family) have big feet (for a hobbit) (and both were on the table) but no other hobbit with big feet is described. The idea that hobbits have big feet seems to have started with the Hildebrant brothers, who made numerous popular illustrations in the 1960s and 1970s. they also showed dwarfs with very large feet. tolkien didn’t.

the main description of the hobbits in the lord of the rings is in the prologue:

“because they are small people, smaller than dwarfs; less burly and stocky, that is, even when they’re not really much shorter. his height is variable, oscillating between two and four feet of our measurement… the bandobras took… he was four feet and five and could ride a horse. it was surpassed in all hobbit records by only two famous people of old.”

that story is told in the lord of the rings. so it’s ironic that the théodens left poor merry behind because he wasn’t big enough to ride one of his warhorses. merry eventually outgrew bandobras (possibly in revenge for being left behind by théoden). (no: it was the draft that did it, and pippin grew too).

tolkien continues:

“…they rarely wore shoes, as their feet had sturdy leather soles and were covered in thick curly hair, much like the hair on their heads…”

and more:

“harfoots were darker skinned, smaller and shorter, and had no beards or boots; his hands and feet were clean and agile…the floors were wider, of heavier construction; their feet and hands were bigger… the falohides had lighter skin and hair, and were taller and thinner than the others…”

and says “the harfoots…were the most normal and representative variety of hobbit” and also the most settled. All four hobbits in the fellowship appear to have been Harfoots with (at least in the case of Merry, Pippin, and Frodo) some Phallohid ancestry.

Humans who go barefoot all their lives often develop feet that are wider and stronger than modern feet, but not abnormally long (or rubbery) feet. The quartermasters of the lord of the rings and the hobbit movies could have saved the cost, setup time and actors’ discomfort of all those rubber feet and invested in some nice curly wigs for the actors’ feet! !

As for being corpulent, Tolkien often says that hobbits enjoyed eating and drinking. people who do hard physical work (such as farming) can eat a lot without gaining weight. however, the average hobbit seems to have been at least well covered. “fat in the stomach, short in the legs”, tolkien comments in card 27. but they were not always corpulent. like humans, they tended to expand as they aged. in rivendell (‘many gatherings’), frodo discovers that “looking into a mirror he was surprised to see a reflection of himself much thinner than he remembered: he looked remarkably like bilbo’s young nephew who used to go for walks with his uncle in the shire…” Frodo, who is middle-aged, has grown corpulent, but soon thins out again when he begins to walk. (and running.)

pippin tells bergil son of beregond in minas tirith, “I am nearly twenty-nine years old…although I am but four feet tall, and not likely to grow any taller, except sideways.” Pippin is young, something like a human in his twenties, and clearly expects to be wider when he is older. however, he was wrong about growing up (see above, entdraught).

it is a tradition among filmmakers and some illustrators to make sam gamgee fat. In the story, Sam is never called fat, and as a young (and hard-working) Hobbit he is probably fitter than any of them. Pauline Baynes’s illustration of the Fellowship, made while Tolkien was alive, shows the four Hobbits in a similar way. In the Two Towers movie, Gollum calls Sam a “stupid fat hobbit” (who always laughs). In the book, Gollum calls Sam Cross rude, unpleasant, suspicious, not nice, and unpleasant. and silly (several times), in addition to “thinking it” stupid and slow (wrongly, as it often happens). but never fat.

why fatten up sam? could be “watsonization”. In the Sherlock Holmes movies (not the books), Dr. Watson sometimes turns into a bumbling, portly goofball, ostensibly for a cheap laugh. (Sean Astin, who plays Sam in the movies, was told by his agent to gain weight or the part would go to “a fat guy in England”, rumored to be comedian Johnny Vegas. Although Vegas is a good comedian, da fear thought peter jackson might have seen the image of sam gamgee in him, however, sean obediently put on the weight, telling an interviewer that he stopped when he realized pj would be happy for him to keep gaining weight indefinitely. why his sam is about the same size when he leaves hobbiton and when he comes to mouth bane after a few weeks of semi-starvation.) however the movie makers may have made sam corpulent but at least no fool did you.

yes, although the portrayal of orcs reproducing in isengard in peter jackson’s movies has created a strange impression that orcs breed in packs. original Lord of the Rings readers weren’t much more enlightened. Some readers have assumed from Gandalf’s comment “I must rest here for a moment, even if all the orcs that have spawned pursue us” (p. 327), that orc reproduction was similar to spawning fish. However, too much has been read into Gandalf’s comment uttered under extreme duress after a mental duel with the Balrog in the Mines of Moria. later in the battle of hornburg the game refers to half-orcs and goblins, and later aragorn also mentions half-orcs in isengard. These comments, if gamling and aragorn are correct, imply that the orcs had reproductive qualities similar to those of humanity.

Confirmation comes in a single sentence in the silmarillion which reads “the orcs had life and multiplied after the manner of the sons of ilúvatar” (chapter 3, p. 50). Much more information can be obtained from an essay reproduced in the “Myths Transformed” section of Ring of Morgoth (pp. 418-19). this reveals that, under the morgoth, men could mate with orcs, producing larger and more cunning races. saruman rediscovered this and did the same, resulting in larger and more cunning man-orcs and vile and treacherous man-orcs. Incidentally, during the course of this essay, Tolkien reveals that the orcs were not immortal, on the contrary, they were short-lived compared to men of a superior race, such as the Edain (p. 418).

Tolkien does not describe any female orcs in published texts, but in a 1963 letter, which went on sale in 2002, he did refer to the subject in his reply to Mrs. Munby. Tolkien said: “there must have been female orcs. but in stories that seldom see orcs except as soldiers in armies serving evil lords, we naturally wouldn’t learn much about their lives. not much was known.” [page references: The Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary Edition, 2004; the silmarillion, 1977; morgoth’s ring, 2002]

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This question has become more prevalent in recent years after moviegoers watched Gandalf’s dramatic rescue of Orthanc by the eagles and ring bearers from Mount Doom with no apparent motivation for his appearances. however, tolkien was aware of this question at an early stage, especially after reading the first movie plot for the lord of the rings in 1957, in which, according to tolkien, “people gallop on eagles at the slightest provocation” (letter no. p. 261). he knew from the force of history that they should be used sparingly.

in tolkien’s mythology, eagles are the servants of the lord of the valar, manwë. In the Silmarillion they were sent by Manwë to spy on Morgoth’s fortress, Thangorodrim, and protect Gondolin against Morgoth’s servants, and they played a role in trying to protect the Elves during Gondolin’s fall. Eagles already had a prescribed role, so they weren’t always at Gandalf’s beck and call.

Another point worth considering is that an eagle of the size capable of carrying a tall humanoid would be an obvious target for both Orc archers and flying Nazgûl. on a mission where secrecy was key, employing a giant eagle to carry the ring is not the most sensible option. Of course, the ultimate answer to someone asking this question is to reply that if the eagles had taken the ring to ride destiny, then there would be no story, and who would want that?

[page references are to letters from j.r.r. tolkien, 1981 & 2006]

this really is something that is almost impossible to be prescriptive about. each reader is different. For example, the age of the reader is a very important factor. if you are a 9 year old then the first book should definitely be the hobbit. Kids ages 11 and up may be fine with The Lord of the Rings below, perhaps followed by the stories in Tales of the Perilous Kingdom. the silmarillion is quite a heavy read, and should probably be covered a bit later.

however an adult may be better off starting with the lord of the rings followed by the children of húrin, the unfinished tales, the silmarillion and the various volumes of the history of middle earth. even this is a bit prescriptive. A reader may particularly enjoy epic poetry, so he may prefer to read the Ballads of Beleriand much earlier than someone who doesn’t like verse.

The most obvious order to read the middle earth books is probably to follow the order the books were published. this is:

• the hobbit
• the lord of the rings
• the adventures of tom bombadil and other verses from the red book
• the silmarillion
• unfinished tales
• the history of middle-earth series
• the sons of húrin
• beren and lúthien
• The gondolin falls

if you want to read tolkien’s middle earth works roughly in the order they were written, here’s a very rough guide:

• the book of lost tales [volumes 1 & 2]
• the tales of beleriand
• the making of middle earth
• the lost road
• the hobbit
• the return of the shadow
• the betrayal of isengard
• the war of the ring
• sauron defeated [part one]
• the peoples of middle earth [part one]
• [the lord of the rings]
• the notions club papers [in sauron defeated]
• unfinished tales [ omit narn i hîn húrin]
• the sons of húrin
• beren and lúthien
• the fall of gondolin
• ring of morgoth
• the war of the jewels
• [the silmarillion]
• the peoples of middle earth [last part]

However, it doesn’t really matter what order someone reads the books in. they should be read in the order the reader chooses, but above all they should be enjoyed.

There is no doubt that after the relative simplicity of the prose in The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, the more severe and “biblical” style of the Silmarillion may be an unfamiliar jolt to some readers.

There are several possible remedies:

1. skip the first two sections and start reading ‘from the beginning of days’. when you’ve finished the book, go back and read those two missing sections: ‘ainulindalë’ and ‘valaquenta’.
2. write brief notes about the characters mentioned and refer to the family trees at the end of the book .
3. if you’ve read the lord of the rings, go back just before the attack on the top and read strider’s summary of the story of beren and lúthien (p. 210). then go directly to the ‘of beren and lúthien’ chapter in the silmarillion.
4. read the sons of húrin, which is almost written in the same depth and style as the lord of the rings but is a version expanded version of the same basic story as ‘de túrin turambar’.
5. some readers find the silmarillion style hard to get used to. try reading the final section, “of the rings of power and the third age”. this summarizes some of the events of the lord of the rings, but is written in the same style as the silmarillion.
6. if you still have problems, get a copy of the unfinished tales and read ‘of tuor and his coming to gondolin’, which is part of a silmarillion story but written in the same style and depth as the lord of the rings.
7. several people have found that listening to martin shaw’s reading of the silmarillion in its entirety helps them to go ahead and read the book themselves.

Above all, persevere because you will be rewarded for all your hard work with some wonderful epic tales!

[page references are from Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary Edition, 2004]

There are parts of languages ​​elaborated in depth, but not a complete grammar. tolkien himself said that he didn’t feel like conversing in elvish, which was fine because he didn’t earn enough to converse, except perhaps about stars and trees and death. however, he wrote poems in various elvish languages, and recited them for his pleasure, and also some phrases like the elvish greeting with which frodo greets gildor, elen síla lúmenn ‘omentielvo (a star shines at the hour of our death). meeting). some language enthusiasts write short poems in Elvish for the same reason. he made many different dialects of elvish and changed them (this is what he liked to do). there are fewer of the other languages, although there is quite a bit of Adûnaic (Númenórean) grammar in sauron defeated.

the first place to start with tolkien’s languages ​​is appendix e and appendix f to the lord of the rings (the return of the king), where the languages ​​are described, the letters tengwar and cirth are described, and a guide to the pronunciation is given. There is additional information as well as examples of scripts written by Tolkien himself on the path continues, a music book, along with a CD of some of Tolkien’s songs.

jim allen’s introduction to elvish is old, but it remains the only substantial book on the subject. Ruth Noel’s Tolkien’s Languages ​​of Middle-earth is a more schematic and less precise guide, but it is a starting point. We also have in our Peter Roe booklet series a concise list of Sindarin words compiled by Ken Chaij, which may be useful as a reference for someone who has already read The Lord of the Rings and its appendices. The Elvish language community has two journals devoted to Tolkien’s languages, Parma Eldalamberon and Vinyar Tengwar. They often include previously unpublished material from Tolkien’s articles and have been produced with the help of Christopher Tolkien.

j.r.r. Tolkien regarded his invented languages ​​as a pleasure, a study and an art throughout his life. they were his work, extracted from knowledge that he accumulated over 70 years. he didn’t approach his art as an obsession or a battlefield. a man of strong opinions, however, he strove to establish peace and reconciliation in his academic roles. His goal was to deeply understand and respect the work of others.

The authorized biography, and one of the earliest is still one of the most comprehensive and highly readable: Humphrey Carpenter’s J.R.R. tolkien, a biography. this should be supplemented by letters from j.r.r. tolkien by humphrey carpenter (and christopher tolkien). For more details on Tolkien’s early life, his experience during World War I, and the development of his mythology, the best source is Tolkien and John Garth’s The Great War. The timeline produced by Christina Scull and Wayne Hammond for their J.R.R. Tolkien’s Companion and Guide tracks Tolkien’s life and career on an almost daily basis. Some family photographs are reproduced in John and Priscilla Tolkien’s charming Tolkien Family Album.

if you are interested in tolkien’s art, the best books are wayne g. Hammond & christina scull tolkien: artist and illustrator and the art of the hobbit. If you’re studying Tolkien at a higher level, Tom Shippey’s Path to Middle-earth is an essential starting point. take a look at our tolkien books page for a more exhaustive list of suggestions.

You can also contact our education secretary at education@tolkiensociety.org if you have any questions about tolkien. In addition, if you are a teacher and would like to use one of Tolkien’s books in a class, our secretary will be happy to help you with your study plan.

Two enterprising publishers have recently introduced dedicated ranges of specific books designed to appeal to readers interested in Tolkien’s inspirations.

five titles are available in penguin books with full introductions under the signed legends of the ancient north:

• beowulf – a verse translation of michael alexander
• the elder edda – translated by andy orchard
• the saga of the volsungs – translated by jesse l. byock
• sir gawain and the green knight – translated by bernard o’donoghue
• the wanderer: elegies, epics, riddles – translated by michael alexander

meanwhile, the tolkien library has collected less academic editions. These contain texts from the late nineteenth century that may have been known to Tolkien. Several are also illustrated with the most popular contemporary illustrations of the time, and all are featured by fantasy author Cecilia Dart-Thornton. the full list is:

1. the song of the nibelungs by william macdougall, illustrated by margaret armor
2. the poetic edda translated by olive bray, illustrated by william gershom collingwood
3. the story of the shimmering plain by william morris, illustrated by walter crane
4. the book of red fairies by andrew lang, illustrated by henry justice ford
5. the princess and the elf by george macdonald, illustrated by jessie wilcox smith
6. the saga of eric brighteyes by h. emaciated rider, illustrated by lancelot speed
7. the ouroboros dragon by e.r. edison, illustrated by keith henderson
8. the book of wonders and lord dunsany’s last wonder book, illustrated by s.h. sime
9. the story of king arthur and his knights written and illustrated by howard pyle
10. grimm’s fairy tales translated by lucy crane, illustrated by walter crane

This is a difficult question. At the turn of the millennium, The Lord of the Rings was voted first in a poll conducted by Waterstone to find the Book of the Century. this “shocking result” was later confirmed by surveys conducted by both the folio society and the bbc’s great reading campaign (2003). tolkien was a good writer and understood how language works from the inside out. he wrote about fantastic beings in such detail and placed his characters in believable settings and situations that make his narratives palatable to almost any open-minded, imaginative reader. He provides a lot of background to what he writes, people find that the Lord of the Rings story echoes all sorts of dilemmas that pertain to the present day as well as the world of the imagination. There is also a belief among some that Tolkien’s environmental concerns coincided with the countercultural revolution of the 1960s onward. Tom Shippey addresses Tolkien’s popularity in his Author of the Century book, which argues for Tolkien’s literary value, merits that have often been denied by the literary elite.

Tolkien won few awards during his lifetime. book awards weren’t as common as they are today, and even today awards rarely identify a budding classic.

In April 1938, The Hobbit won an award from the New York Herald Tribune for the best juvenile story (that is, written for children) of the season. (letters of j.r.r. tolkien, letter 28.)

In 1957, The Lord of the Rings won the International Fantasy Award at the 15th World Science Fiction Convention. As a point of historical interest, this award preceded the “sales boom” of the 1960s and prompted filmmaker Forrest Ackerman to show an interest in adapting the story to the screen. (Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, letter 202.) It is not true, as has sometimes been suggested, that the book was obscure until it was published in the American paperback.

tolkien said he thought the rocket statuette was “foolish”, but the speeches at the convention were “much smarter”. he kept the statuette, which is still in the family’s possession.

the hobbit was awarded the keith barker millennium book award presented in 2000 by the youth library group, the school library association and the library association school library group for the most important children’s book published between 1920 and 1939. This medal, an off award in memory of librarian Keith Barker, was awarded under the auspices of cilip, the chartered institute of librarians and information professionals, awardees of the prestigious united kingdom carnegie medal.

The Hobbit did not win a Carnegie in its year of publication, narrowly losing out to the family of a final street by Eve Garnett. Eve Garnett’s book, as excellent as it was at the time, is now rarely remembered.

The Hobbit was also named “the most important novel of the 20th century (for older readers)” in Books for Keeps’s survey of children’s books of the century.

The Silmarillion won the Locus Award in 1997. Locus is a respected publication in the American science fiction and fantasy publishing industry.

j.r.r. tolkien recorded in his essay ‘english and welsh’:

“…the only prize I won (there was only one other competitor) [was] the skeat prize for English at the University of Exeter…”

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spent the prize money on books about medieval Welsh.

personal awards:

on the academic front, tolkien never “done a doctorate”. as we sometimes say now, he was too busy working professionally on the kind of things that people normally do a doctorate on, but the university of liege in belgium awarded him a doctor of letters (d. litt.) and philosophy in 1954 and similarly a re. litt from the university of dublin in ireland that same year. in both cases this was for his contribution to their field of medieval philology and literature in general, and his services to universities in particular as an examiner and collaborating researcher.

(this was not for his fiction, of course. the lord of the rings had just started publication, although he noted with some puzzlement that in belgium he was also greeted by faculty as “the creator of monsieur bilbo baggins”, since that the hobbit had been out since 1937 and was quite well known).

In 1972, the year before his death, j.r.r. tolkien was honored as c.b.e. (commander of the order of the british empire) for his contribution to literature, and also (probably even more importantly to him) he received an honorary doctorate of letters from oxford university for his contribution to philology. Until the end of his days, Tolkien never applied for a doctorate, although he had worked at that level many times and held three professorships in his lifetime.

In Britain, the title of “Professor” accompanies a specific, high-level academic post or chair, rather than a regular tenured or senior teaching position.

in letters 309, tolkien writes: “this was (i believe) the surname of a friend of my grandfather’s. the family believed he was French (which is formally possible); but if so, it is a rare possibility that it appears twice in the o[ld] t[estament] as another unexplained name for jethro’s father-in-law moses. all my children, and my children’s children, and their children, have the name.”

tolkien’s father, arthur, also bore the name, so the grandfather in question was john benjamin tolkien, who gave it to him (but did not bear it himself). It’s not clear why the family was so attached to the name, and based on Tolkien’s comments, it seems he didn’t have a clear answer either.

hanks and hodges oxford dictionary of given names gives “m. biblical name (meaning ‘friend of god’ in Hebrew) borne by a character mentioned in a genealogy”. Withycombe in the Oxford Book of English Christian Names (loosely applied) does not mention it at all, implying that it was not historically used as a given name in England. reaney and wilson in a dictionary of english surnames (oxford) list the form revel, which comes from a french name revel(l) and variants (one of which is reuel), from the old french for jock, reveler or rebel, ultimately instance of rebellious Latin.

thus Biblical reuel (if Hebrew) and French revel are two different and unrelated names, and either is a possibility. if it is a surname, then revel would be the correct form, and reuel (from the eleventh century) one of those strange spellings that result from writing u as ‘v’ or vice versa. since tolkien says nothing about whether his grandfather was biblically inclined or whether he had a friend named revel (or reuel), possibly whose handwriting was not very clear, we don’t know anything about the name.

the family used the pronunciation “roo-el”.

A correspondent for our website who gave the name (independently) to one of his sons adds: “Jewish faith holds that if you are a person’s namesake, your good deeds are also counted for him, so! it’s interesting that maybe this friend [of tolkien’s grandfather] was special enough to get the good works of the whole tolkien line!”

the tolkien family at the time was normally devout christian protestant, but a boy’s name for a relative or friend is often thought of as a tribute or spiritual tie, so the namesake was probably someone of importance to john benjamin tolkien. beyond this, the reason for this unusual name is a mystery.

not. Or at least not in the short term. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have, of course, been adapted several times on screen. This was made possible in 1969 when an agreement was reached between Tolkien’s publishers (Allen & Unwin) and United Artists, who bought the film rights to both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

the film rights to the silmarillion have never been sold, and it is unlikely that they ever will. snippets of ‘silmarillion’ material, however, appear in the lord of the rings, primarily through songs and poems recited by the characters, and the appendices, and thus it is possible that a film studio could push the limits copyright by adapting these excerpts. .

It has been speculated that the copyright protection on the silmarillion will expire in 2043 and then it will be free for anyone to adapt. Under UK law, copyright protection lasts 70 years after the author’s death (Tolkien died in 1973). However, if Christopher Tolkien is considered to be the author of the work (he is credited as “publisher”), copyright protection will last for 70 years after his death. while the legality is somewhat ambiguous, it’s clear that the silmarillion won’t be in the public domain for long.

you can. probably the best way would be to use this contact form on the heritage website.

You can also write to them.

tolkien family

all queries regarding the tolkien family should be directed to the tolkien estate.

tolkien property

maier blackburn prama house 267 banbury road oxford ox2 7ht united kingdom e-mail: info [at] maierblackburn.com

editors

david brawn editorial director, tolkien harpercollins publishers ltd. 77-85 fulham palace road hammersmith london w6 8jb united kingdom

what you need to start a tolkien society, primarily, is a way to inform other tolkien readers in your area that you want to start a society (or club, group, debate, association, etc.). Then be sure to keep in touch by hosting meetups and (if you like) posting a newsletter from time to time. That’s how the Tolkien Society began in 1969. Our founder, Vera Chapman, placed a small ad in a widely read literature and current affairs magazine asking people to contact her, and then arranged a meeting at an inn in London. then someone volunteered to host a meeting at her house, and so it went.

Sometimes these things start from very small beginnings. We were one of the first, although there was at least one long-running Tolkien society in America before us. many have come after, sometimes out of nowhere, sometimes starting out as a member of the tolkien society, sometimes as a subgroup of another local group. our membership dues basically pay for our publications and administration essential to the running of the society. if you want to start as a smial of the tolkien society, one of you in the smial must be a member, but the others don’t have to be. it’s something personal. our members will get our posts (and maybe show them to their friends!).

On a very simple level, if you can find three Tolkien readers who are happy to eat together and visit the castle occasionally, you probably have the nucleus of a Tolkien group.

beowulf, the volsunga saga, anything in william morris prose; the curdie stories of george macdonald; a harp or a guitar if you play one. red wine, beer and of course a pipe if you are a pipe smoker. english weather. apples (not the gummy kind). a friend if you like to read aloud. bored of the rings if you have a twisted mind. the path continues through swann and tolkien if you play the piano and can read music. a box of paints and an obsessive desire to draw maps. the light of the fire and a comfortable armchair. any mountain (the one-volume paperback is a good camping stool if you’re really stuck).

There may be others, but that will do for now.

In addition to the maps included in the books, various maps have been published over the years.

the following john howe artwork includes a booklet by brian sibley:

• round trip: tolkien’s hobbit map – for the hobbit
• tolkien’s maps of middle earth – for the lord of the ring
• the map tolkien’s beleriand: and the northlands – to the silmarillion

A Map of Middle Earth by Pauline Baynes was produced in consultation with Tolkien and was first published in 1970. Although reprinted several times, it can be hard to come by.

Karen Wynn Fonstad’s Atlas of Middle Earth is a favorite. barbara strachey’s travels of frodo tracks the participants mile by mile through the lord of the rings.

weta’s workshop has also produced replicas of the original maps found in the books.

There are no separate maps showing Middle Earth east of Mordor or south of the Mouths of Anduin.

the tolkien society does not give assessments or recommendations regarding the sale or purchase of books or memorabilia, as we have no professional experience in this area. however, we may pass along general “on the vine” information that members have mentioned to us. We have been asked if ebay is a good market, or if more specialized points of sale should be sought. We have heard that collectors monitor eBay and other popular auction sites, as well as more specialized outlets. If you’re looking to sell, monitoring eBay and other auction sites, as well as searching for rare and second-hand book dealers and looking at their listings, can help you get an idea of ​​current prices. looking at sales results or “finished goods” lists, when available, can give an idea of ​​what prices are actually being achieved, rather than simply waiting. The value of a second-hand item is axiomatically what someone will pay for it, and this can vary widely. while rare and collectible items can go up in price over time, they can also go down with fashion and demand.

Another method of gathering information on market values ​​is to ask an antique or second-hand book dealer or reputable auction house for an opinion, or how much they would pay for the item, as appropriate. Note that professional traders must buy at a lower price than they expect to sell, otherwise they would not be able to make a living. They may also charge for a valuation, especially if it’s a potentially high-value item. Also note that some merchants put items up for sale at very high prices and leave them on sale for a long time. these books are waiting for the buyer who has been looking for that particular issue or item, but may not reflect normal prices in the general market at the time. Usually, it is possible to auction an item at a “reserve price”: if the bids do not reach that price, the item does not sell and the seller can reconsider their pricing policy. the seller may have to pay an auction service fee, even if the item doesn’t sell; find out what the website/auction house’s policy is.

If you’re selling by mail order or online, remember to include the appropriate postage costs so your expenses are adequately covered. research the cost of appropriate insurance and quote the cost of postage and insurance if necessary. Take a look at some eBay pages and see how different sellers handle postage and insurance costs; there are several ways.

When mailing a book, or if you decide to leave it with someone for any purpose, use common sense; it’s wise to have proof that the book is yours, such as photographs, and get a receipt for the book from the person you’re leaving it with. avoid mailing to a buyer or dealer until cleared payment has been received and make sure you have adequate shipping insurance.

the bulletin of the tolkien amon hen society will publish small announcements for non-members for a small fee. this can be useful if you want to get rid of a collection; however, keep in mind that members may already have the books they want, and only a portion of them are collectors. The Tolkien Society itself does not handle sales or purchases for members, and any transactions resulting from advertisements run the risk of people buying and/or selling.

if you have a book you’d be happy to give away consider http://bookmooch.com/ or http://www.bookcrossing.com/ in the uk most charity shops now only accept small quantities of books, and they are likely to shred the surplus, but oxfam has dedicated book outlets – you can take books to any branch of the store.

If you have a “spare” of an unusual article or publication, consider bringing it to the attention of the Tolkien Society Archive, which houses a collection of Tolkien-related books and other materials.

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