When people think of Tolkien, they think of The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. They don’t think of a lover, linguist, professor, father, or soldier, but he was just as much those as a writer.

When Tolkien was a boy he loved languages. He had a running knowledge or spoke over 20 languages, modern and ancient, not counting elvish and the other bits of language he created.

Tolkien had four children. When Michael was a young boy, he lost his favorite toy, a dog, and Tolkien weaved a story about a real dog, Rover that was turned into a toy to console his son. He was a loving father.

Tolkien fought in WWII with many of his friends from a club called “Tea Club, Barrovian Society (T.C.B.S.)”. In the war, all but one of these friends died.

He taught at Oxford for many years, teaching Anglo-Saxon. While teaching, he wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

John and Edith Tolkien were lovers in life and death. On Tolkien’s grave, where they were buried together, it is inscribed:

Edith Mary Tolkien, Lúthien, 1889-1971
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, Beren, 1892-1973

Such true love, for anyone who read has read the Tales of Beren and Lúthien, is so rare… Beren and Lúthien were based on the Tolkiens. True love conquers all.

So, is Tolkien just another author? Maybe… but I don’t think so… He is a man with so much passion in his life. Such deep sadness… such deep love… He was a one of a kind man, with a one of a kind story and a one of a kind life.

This article is dedicated to John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, Beren, and his true love, Edith “Lúthien” Tolkien.

by Fëathoron

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