Christopher Tolkien dies at 95

[Captain Seafort]

Beeb

'First Middle-earth scholar' Christopher Tolkien dies

Christopher Tolkien, who edited and published the posthumous works of his father, Lord of the Rings writer JRR Tolkien, has died aged 95.

The news was confirmed by the Tolkien Society, which described him as "Middle-earth's first scholar".

After his father's death in 1973, Mr Tolkien published the acclaimed work The Silmarillion.

Scholar Dr Dimitra Fimi said the study of JRR Tolkien "would never be what it is today" without his input.

Christopher Tolkien was born in Leeds, and grew up in Oxford.

After serving in the RAF during World War Two he became a lecturer in Old and Middle English and Old Icelandic at Oxford University.

He drew the original maps of Middle-earth seen in The Lord of the Rings books released in the 1950s.

He later became the literary executor of the Tolkien Estate, completing several books set in the world of Middle-earth using his father's material from 70 boxes of unpublished work.

Tolkien Society chairman Shaun Gunner said: "Christopher's commitment to his father's works has seen dozens of publications released... we have lost a titan and he will be sorely missed."

Dr Fimi said: "From editing The Silmarillion to the mammoth task of giving us The History Of Middle-earth series, he revealed his father's grand vision of a rich and complex mythology.

"He gave us a window into Tolkien's creative process, and he provided scholarly commentary that enriched our understanding of Middle-earth."

Charlie Redmayne, HarperCollins UK CEO, described him as a "devoted curator of his father's work" who spent decades "bringing Middle-earth to generations of readers".

[Iroscato]

Disney be like



More seriously, I just lost my grandmother and she was a massive LOTR fan and worshipped Tolkien. She was also a huge fan of the films and often remarked about how strongly she disagreed with Christopher Tolkien's dim view of them. Despite this she would have been devastated at this as she still had great respect for the man. He did amazing work in expanding and enriching his father's legacy and will be missed.

I was also curious how he would've reacted to the upcoming Amazon LOTR show, and didn't realize he was ninety-fucking-five but I suppose that makes sense given his father fought in WW1.