RPGNow

Friday, January 17, 2020

Death Notice - Christopher Tolkien (JRR Tolkien's Son)



The news of Christopher Tolkien's Death (JRR Tolkien's Son) made the rounds of social media yesterday. He was 95 years at the time of his passing.

From Wikipedia:
Christopher John Reuel Tolkien (21 November 1924 – 15 January 2020) was an English editor and academic. He was the son of author J. R. R. Tolkien and the editor of much of his father's posthumously published work. Tolkien drew the original maps for his father's The Lord of the Rings.
I knew he edited much of his father's posthumous work but had no idea he drew the original maps for the Lord of the Rings.

It was easy to overlook the influence he had on Middle Earth. The number of his father's work he edited is stunning:

Tolkien, J. R. R. (1977). ——— (ed.). The Silmarillion. , with Guy Gavriel Kay
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1979). ——— (ed.). Pictures by J. R. R. Tolkien.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1980). ——— (ed.). Unfinished Tales.
Carpenter, Humphrey; ———, eds. (1981). The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien. , as an assisting editor
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1983). ——— (ed.). The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1983–2002). ——— (ed.). The History of Middle-earth. , 12 volumes
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1983). ——— (ed.). The Book of Lost Tales, part 1. 1.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1984). ——— (ed.). The Book of Lost Tales, part 2. 2.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1985). ——— (ed.). The Lays of Beleriand. 3.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1986). ——— (ed.). The Shaping of Middle-earth. 4.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1987). ——— (ed.). The Lost Road and Other Writings. 5.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1988). ——— (ed.). The Return of the Shadow. 6.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1989). ——— (ed.). The Treason of Isengard. 7.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1990). ——— (ed.). The War of the Ring. 8.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1992). ——— (ed.). Sauron Defeated. 9.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1993). ——— (ed.). Morgoth's Ring. 10.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1994). ——— (ed.). The War of the Jewels. 11.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1996). ——— (ed.). The Peoples of Middle-earth. 12.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (2002). ——— (ed.). The History of Middle-earth Index.
Also The History of The Lord of the Rings comprising volumes 6, 7, 8, and 9 (volume 9 re-titled The End of the Third Age, some paperback editions truncated to only relevant chapters)
Tolkien, J. R. R. (2007). ——— (ed.). The Children of Húrin.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (2009). ——— (ed.). The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (2013). ——— (ed.). The Fall of Arthur.
———, ed. (2014). Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary. Translated by Tolkien, J. R. R.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (2017). ——— (ed.). Beren and Lúthien.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (2018). ——— (ed.). The Fall of Gondolin.

2 comments:

  1. Very sad. I remember how excited I was to see "The Silmarilion" come out in the late 70s.

    Coincidentally, I was listening to the Audible of it for the last week. I was up to about the who Ungoliant going to the area near Doriath part on that day.

    I also had no memory of knowing he did the maps, and I used to be the type of fan who read books like Tolkien Biography, Letters, Master of Middle Earth essays, etc, etc.

    I feel bad for Stephen Colbert as well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm in the middle of Beowulf, it is such an astounding poetic rendition.

    ReplyDelete

Tenkar's Tavern is supported by various affiliate programs, including Amazon, RPGNow,
and Humble Bundle as well as Patreon. Your patronage is appreciated and helps keep the
lights on and the taps flowing. Your Humble Bartender, Tenkar

Blogs of Inspiration & Erudition