donaldboozer
Case 5:Tolkien, center
A Tolkien Timeline
January 3, 1892
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (pronounced “toll-keen”), known to family and friends as “Ronald,” is born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Although spending less than four years in Africa, young Ronald’s terrifying encounter with a huge, hairy spider would one day figure prominently in his writing.
February 15, 1896
Tolkien’s father, Arthur Reuel Tolkien, dies. His mother, brother, and he soon move back to his parents’ native England.
November 14, 1904
Tolkien’s mother, Mabel Tolkien, dies. By this time, Ronald had mastered Latin and Greek, was competent in Gothic and Finnish, and was already coming up with his own languages.
1911
Ronald enters Exeter College, Oxford, and immerses himself in his studies of Classics, Old English, Germanic languages, Welsh, and Finnish. After receiving decent but disappointing grades in his Classics major, he switches to English Language and Literature. He receives his degree in 1915.
March 22, 1916
After a long courtship, Tolkien marries Edith Bratt.
1916
Tolkien sees service in World War I on the front lines in the Battle of the Somme and contracts “trench fever.” After recovering in hospital for a month from this serious condition, he resumes service on the home front and eventually achieves the rank of Lieutenant. Tolkien composed early versions of his stories and languages of Middle-earth during this time including ones about the wars against Morgoth, the siege and fall of Gondolin, and of the romance between the mortal hunter Beren and the Elf-maiden Lúthien.
1917
The first of Ronald and Edith’s children is born. They would eventually have four: John (1917 – 2003), Michael (1920 – 1984), Christopher (born 1924) and Priscilla (born 1929). Christopher would become the literary executor of his father’s papers and will be instrumental in bringing much of J.R.R. Tolkien’s unpublished material to light including The Silmarillion, The History of Middle-earth series, and The Children of Húrin, among others.
1918
Tolkien gets a job as an Assistant Lexicographer on the staff of the Oxford English Dictionary.
1920
Tolkien becomes an “Assistant Professor” at the University of Leeds.
1925
Tolkien becomes a Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University.
1930
Absentmindedly writes “In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit” on the blank page of a student’s exam book he was grading.
1936
“The Monster and the Critics,” Tolkien’s groundbreaking lecture on Beowulf, revolutionizes the way that poem is regarded.
September 21, 1937
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again is published. It becomes a huge, unexpected success.
1954
The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, the first and second parts of The Lord of the Rings, are released.
1955
The Return of the King, the final part of The Lord of the Rings is released.
1959
Tolkien retires from his professorship at Oxford.
November 29, 1971
Edith Tolkien dies after a short but severe illness.
1972
Tolkien is made a "Commander of the Order of the British Empire," one step below Knighthood.
September 2, 1973
J.R.R. Tolkien dies at the age of 81 and is buried next to his beloved wife in Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford. In addition to their names and dates, Tolkien and Edith's single gravestone bears the names of Beren and Lúthien.
(Bottom center) David Salo
Elvish Scriptwriter
Wisconsin
When Peter Jackson decided to include dialogue in Tolkien’s languages in his movie version of The Lord of the Rings, David Salo was the one chosen to create it. At the time, Salo was a graduate student in the Department of Linguistics, University of Wisconsin–Madison. The fact that Salo had done similar work for Iron Crown Enterprises, designer of the Middle-earth Role Playing system, no doubt helped his cause. Salo would go on to create song lyrics, dialogue, inscriptions, and other snippets of text in Quenya, Sindarin, Khuzdul, the Black Speech of Mordor, and others. After his work on the film, Salo would go on to write A Gateway To Sindarin: A Grammar of an Elvish Language from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, the best introduction to that language currently in print. Although academic in tone, A Gateway to Sindarin provides Salo’s invaluable perspective on Tolkien’s language. Salo is currently working on his Ph.D. in linguistics with a thesis on Vedic Sanskrit.
(Bottom left and right are a basic grammar of Quenya and Sindarin and a collection of phrases and the "A Elbereth Gilthoniel." The Bottom right corner is the One Ring inscription with an explanation)
The "Red Book" has the following caption: Tolkien's explanation for the origin of The Lord of the Rings was that it was his translation of The Red Book of Westmarch, a book started by Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, expanded on by Sam Gamgee, and kept by Sam's descendants up to the current Age. For those brave enough to tackle reading the Appendices at the end of The Lord of the Rings, they will be rewarded with a detailed description of how Tolkien "translated" the various languages and names in The Red Book. For example, one finds out that the name Sam Gamgee (Frodo's trusted companion on his perilous journey to Mordor) in the hobbit-language was Banazîr Galpsi; Meriadoc Brandybuck was really named Kalimac Brandagamba. The hobbits’ own word for themselves was kuduk, and Sméagol (Gollum's real name) was actually called Trahald. Tolkien explains in fine detail how he decided to translate all these and many more, allowing the reader to gain an appreciation of both the depth of Tolkien's linguistic expertise and his love of language.
Case 5:Tolkien, center
A Tolkien Timeline
January 3, 1892
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (pronounced “toll-keen”), known to family and friends as “Ronald,” is born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Although spending less than four years in Africa, young Ronald’s terrifying encounter with a huge, hairy spider would one day figure prominently in his writing.
February 15, 1896
Tolkien’s father, Arthur Reuel Tolkien, dies. His mother, brother, and he soon move back to his parents’ native England.
November 14, 1904
Tolkien’s mother, Mabel Tolkien, dies. By this time, Ronald had mastered Latin and Greek, was competent in Gothic and Finnish, and was already coming up with his own languages.
1911
Ronald enters Exeter College, Oxford, and immerses himself in his studies of Classics, Old English, Germanic languages, Welsh, and Finnish. After receiving decent but disappointing grades in his Classics major, he switches to English Language and Literature. He receives his degree in 1915.
March 22, 1916
After a long courtship, Tolkien marries Edith Bratt.
1916
Tolkien sees service in World War I on the front lines in the Battle of the Somme and contracts “trench fever.” After recovering in hospital for a month from this serious condition, he resumes service on the home front and eventually achieves the rank of Lieutenant. Tolkien composed early versions of his stories and languages of Middle-earth during this time including ones about the wars against Morgoth, the siege and fall of Gondolin, and of the romance between the mortal hunter Beren and the Elf-maiden Lúthien.
1917
The first of Ronald and Edith’s children is born. They would eventually have four: John (1917 – 2003), Michael (1920 – 1984), Christopher (born 1924) and Priscilla (born 1929). Christopher would become the literary executor of his father’s papers and will be instrumental in bringing much of J.R.R. Tolkien’s unpublished material to light including The Silmarillion, The History of Middle-earth series, and The Children of Húrin, among others.
1918
Tolkien gets a job as an Assistant Lexicographer on the staff of the Oxford English Dictionary.
1920
Tolkien becomes an “Assistant Professor” at the University of Leeds.
1925
Tolkien becomes a Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University.
1930
Absentmindedly writes “In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit” on the blank page of a student’s exam book he was grading.
1936
“The Monster and the Critics,” Tolkien’s groundbreaking lecture on Beowulf, revolutionizes the way that poem is regarded.
September 21, 1937
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again is published. It becomes a huge, unexpected success.
1954
The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, the first and second parts of The Lord of the Rings, are released.
1955
The Return of the King, the final part of The Lord of the Rings is released.
1959
Tolkien retires from his professorship at Oxford.
November 29, 1971
Edith Tolkien dies after a short but severe illness.
1972
Tolkien is made a "Commander of the Order of the British Empire," one step below Knighthood.
September 2, 1973
J.R.R. Tolkien dies at the age of 81 and is buried next to his beloved wife in Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford. In addition to their names and dates, Tolkien and Edith's single gravestone bears the names of Beren and Lúthien.
(Bottom center) David Salo
Elvish Scriptwriter
Wisconsin
When Peter Jackson decided to include dialogue in Tolkien’s languages in his movie version of The Lord of the Rings, David Salo was the one chosen to create it. At the time, Salo was a graduate student in the Department of Linguistics, University of Wisconsin–Madison. The fact that Salo had done similar work for Iron Crown Enterprises, designer of the Middle-earth Role Playing system, no doubt helped his cause. Salo would go on to create song lyrics, dialogue, inscriptions, and other snippets of text in Quenya, Sindarin, Khuzdul, the Black Speech of Mordor, and others. After his work on the film, Salo would go on to write A Gateway To Sindarin: A Grammar of an Elvish Language from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, the best introduction to that language currently in print. Although academic in tone, A Gateway to Sindarin provides Salo’s invaluable perspective on Tolkien’s language. Salo is currently working on his Ph.D. in linguistics with a thesis on Vedic Sanskrit.
(Bottom left and right are a basic grammar of Quenya and Sindarin and a collection of phrases and the "A Elbereth Gilthoniel." The Bottom right corner is the One Ring inscription with an explanation)
The "Red Book" has the following caption: Tolkien's explanation for the origin of The Lord of the Rings was that it was his translation of The Red Book of Westmarch, a book started by Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, expanded on by Sam Gamgee, and kept by Sam's descendants up to the current Age. For those brave enough to tackle reading the Appendices at the end of The Lord of the Rings, they will be rewarded with a detailed description of how Tolkien "translated" the various languages and names in The Red Book. For example, one finds out that the name Sam Gamgee (Frodo's trusted companion on his perilous journey to Mordor) in the hobbit-language was Banazîr Galpsi; Meriadoc Brandybuck was really named Kalimac Brandagamba. The hobbits’ own word for themselves was kuduk, and Sméagol (Gollum's real name) was actually called Trahald. Tolkien explains in fine detail how he decided to translate all these and many more, allowing the reader to gain an appreciation of both the depth of Tolkien's linguistic expertise and his love of language.