🪦 Christopher Tolkien Dead at 95

[Erestor Arcamen]

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
- Gandalf, The Gray

I don't know if there are words to accurately describe how much Mr. Tolkien contributed to our community and the world. Let's take a moment to thank him for everything. 🥺

Christopher Tolkien, son of Lord of the Rings author, dies aged 95

An award-winning author in his own right, Christopher Tolkien will perhaps be best remembered for drawing the original maps found in Lord of the Rings and for being a guardian of of Middle Earth after his father's death

www.mirror.co.uk

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Terribly sad news. We owe him so much.

 

[Olorgando]

Terribly sad news. We owe him so much.

Oh yes, very much so. Because over more than 40 years (starting with The Silmarillion, 1977) he did - read (very appropriate term) published - so much.
Tom Shippey, in his 1992 second edition of "The Road to Middle-earth", the first edition having been published in 1982, after "Unfinished Tales" but before the first volume of "The History of Middle-earth", noted in his preface to the second edition looking back to the first: "... while on p. 241, writing 'There is, in a way, no more of "Middle-earth" to consider' was just tempting Providence". Even by the second edition, "only" nine of the ultimately twelve volumes of HoMe had been published (thus a third edition 2003). Never mind "The Children of Húrin" (2007), "Beren and Lúthien" (2017!), "The Fall of Gondolin" (2018!!), "The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún" (2009), "The Fall of Arthur" (2013), and "Beowulf" (2014). And having assisted Humphrey Carpenter is all three of his books dealing with JRRT, Biography" (1977), "Inklings" (1978), and "Letters" (1981). And, and, and ...

 

[Elthir]

I can't find the adequate words to express my gratitude to Christopher Tolkien for his work, nor the words for my respect for him.

I guess a simple, but very heartfelt, thank you, will have to do.

 

[CirdanLinweilin]

My author and fantasy writer heart just died today, and the world lost a light.

"The world isn't smaller, mate, there's just less in it." -Captain Jack Sparrow.

Requiescat in Pace. I hope C is with his Fathers in Heaven under a Black Oak tree.

Gratias, Christopher Tolkien, Gratias.

CL

 

[Starbrow]

This is sad news. He did so much to further his father's legacy.

 

[Deleted member 12094]

Thank you, for all the joy you brought to me...

 

[StarGift]

This was a huge shocker to me just seeing this post. First time I actually cried about something I saw online.

 

[1stvermont]

Without him I think my obsession with Tolkien would not be a reality. I always said one of the first people I want to talk with in heaven is J.R.R Tolkien and C.S lewis. I think Christopher might not be to far down the list. Was this the last living Inkling?

 

[Elhath]

January 15th.

A major date in the Story as well.

 

[Halasían]

“And when [Bëor] lay dead, of no wound or grief, but stricken by age, the Eldar saw for the first time the swift waning of the life of Men, and the death of weariness which they knew not in themselves; and they grieved greatly for the loss of their friends. But Bëor at the last had relinquished his life willingly and passed in peace; and the Eldar wondered much at the strange fate of Men, for in all their lore there was no account of it, and its end was hidden from them."
-J.R.R. Tolkien

Rest In Peace sir!

 

[StarGift]

It had always been a comfort, somehow, that Christopher Tolkien was alive, the son of the best author ever. When he died, I realized it was a selfish comfort, for I only thought of him as that, and as the man who brought his father's lost works too is. Now I realize he was an accomplished bad in his own right, who had much potential even without being the son of his father, more than I can now put into words.
Rest in peace, Mr. Tolkien

 

[Deleted member 12094]

Did JRRT write words of foresight, perhaps?

I wonder, Frodo my dear fellow, if you would very much mind tidying things up a bit before you go? Collect all my notes and papers, and my diary too, and take them with you, if you will. You see, I haven’t much time for the selection and the arrangement and all that. Get Sam to help, and when you’ve knocked things into shape, come back, and I’ll run over it. I won’t be too critical.’​

‘Of course I’ll do it!’ said Frodo. ​

 

[Olorgando]

I was wondering if that might have been part of the 1965 revision for the second edition. At that time JRRT was 73, and had most likely given up on managing to get The Sil published in his lifetime. But my Hammond & Scull "The Lord of the Rings - A Reader's Companion" from 2005 only notes that originally a part ran "Collect all my notes and papers and take them with you", so the only change from first to second edition seems to have been the insertion of "... , and my diary too, ..." after papers.

Bu-hut.

LoTR was still something of a continuous effort, if with restarts and breaks, and continuously growing (an estimate of JRRT's at an early phase would have meant LoTR would have been ended in about the number of pages now "occupied" by FoTR alone!). The "Sil tradition" was much messier, having been spread over about half a century by the time LoTR was published. Just from memory, he had done two versions of "Lost Tales", an Eriol and an Aelfwine one; broke that off, and started on the two long poems, both unfinished; did a sketch of the mythology; started compiling Annals, ending up with several contradictory versions of those; did several "Quentas" with different suffixes; did several versions of his "Atlantis"; started, but never completed detailed stories on Túrin and Tuor; suddenly had characters from LoTR to fit in (Galadriel!) who had not been part of the original concept, so back writing to do; started a "Copernican revolution" about the Two Trees and the originally flat earth …. now some of this (to be found in "Morgoth's Ring" and "The War of the Jewels") post-dates LoTR. Which only made things worse for "Frodo". But JRRT might very well have had a feeling, even if he, as I would guess, had lost the complete overview of what he had written - never mind finding all of the papers after the odd move of house - that sorting out this jumble would be more of a chore than he was going to be up to. So a bit of a veiled autobiographical touch here with Bilbo - possible.

 

[Olorgando]

January 15th.

A major date in the Story as well.

Yes, Gandalf's fall from the broken Bridge of Khazâd-dûm in the confrontation with the Balrog.

 

[Miguel]

Noooooo!!!. My hero, i love you in my heart always señor.