Just how much do you know about Tolkien, the man behind epic tales of Hobbits, Wizards, Orcs and Dragons? With the Rings of Power hitting Amazon Prime and getting some pretty good reviews, now is a great time to dive into some little known facts about the author that inspired the series.
What’s the J.R.R. stand for? Tolkien’s full, real name is John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Kind of a mouthful. No wonder his books just had his initials.
Bag End was an actual place. Many places inspired Tolkien’s work, such as the battle fields of War World I that translated into the darkness found in Mordor. Correspondingly it was his Aunt Jane-who lived in the Worcestershire countryside-whom Tolkien lived with for a time that inspired Hobbiton. Even more specifically, he would take the name of his aunt’s farm-Bag End-and apply that directly to Bilbo and Frodo’s home.
Tolkien was a prankster. Much like the Hobbits themselves, Tolkien loved a laugh and a drink. He also relished in over-the-top pranks. This continued into his old age when he used to amuse himself by hiding his false teeth amongst the change he passed to shopkeepers.
The Lord of the Rings wasn’t a trilogy. Nope. It was written to be one ginormous book. Subsequently the publishers decided to split the books into three to limit their financial risk. Tolkien didn’t like the decision, but all’s well that ends well in that it remains one of the best selling books ever.
It’s got to be red. The publication of LOTR was delayed because Tolkien had planned that whenever the writing on the One Ring showed up in the book, it’d be written in red ink. He almost left his publisher, Allen & Unwin over it. But when the other publisher couldn’t deliver either, he stuck it out with his original publisher.
The Inklings. He was part of a group of writers who called themselves “The Inklings.” Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams and Owen Barfield met every Tuesday for lunch at an Oxford pub called the “Eagle and Child,” and read each other pages from their books.
Let’s talk languages. Tolkien could read and write by age four. Before she passed, his mother taught him Latin, French and German. While in school he learned Greek, Middle English, Old English (or Anglo Saxon), Old Norse (or Old Icelandic), Gothic, Modern and medieval Welsh, Finnish, Spanish, and Italian. He would go on to invent 14 different languages and alphabets for Middle Earth.
Not a fan of autographs. Signed copies of his books are rare, simply because he hardly ever signed them. He just didn’t like to.
Tolkien Day. As with each proper fandom, Tolkien has his own day. March 25th was deemed Tolkien Reading Day by The Tolkien Society in 2003.
These fun facts came from a couple of websites: the first is www.facinate.com, the second being www.historyhustle.com. Visit those sites for even more Tolkien facts.