J.R.R. Tolkien

“There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar and he made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offspring of his thought, and they were with him before aught else was made.”

This is the beginning of the amazing and magnificent world created by J.R.R. Tolkien. From his mind an imaginary world grew up, inhabitated by the most diverse people and other beings which took part in any type of events, some were good, smart ones and other were ominous and apocalyptic.

And it is here we all starts to explore the magnificent world that this fabolous writer created. A world filled with love, hate, good people, bad people, all the creatures that you before only could find in fairytales and such. In Tolkiens books these are brought to life, and you can almost feel the heat when a dragon attack cities with his bursting mouth.

Who was this man?

He was born in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State (South Africa) capital, on January 3rd in 1892. Three years later, his mother moved with him to Birmingham, city where his family lived. Tolkien was a great linguist, skill which showed up at an immature age (since when he was eight years old) time when he entertained himself creating new languages. He graduated in Oxford in 1915, he collaborated in the New English Dictionary right away, “the most important lexicon-graphical task ever made”. Professor at University, he got his professorship at Leeds, philologist and lecturer.

Tolkien’s professional life was a continous succesion of titles, honors and important posts: Doctor Honoris Causa at some universities (Ireland National University, Oxford University), vice president at the Philological Society, member of the Royal Society of Literature… But popularly, all this seems to become of less importance due to his brilliant creations: The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, The Lord of the Rings, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Leaf by Niggle, Farmer Giles of Ham, Smith of Wootton Major, The Father Chrismas Letters, The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth.

Tolkien died on September 2nd in 1973, when the Silmarillion hadn’t been published yet, the first book he wrote, fact which didn’t turn out not to make him universally renown. On his grave it stands:

Edit Mary Tolkien (Luthien) + John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (Beren)