Oxonmoot is a conference and

fan convention A fan convention (also known as a con or fan meeting) is an event in which Fan (person), fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some also inc ...

organized by

The Tolkien Society The Tolkien Society is an educational charity and literary society devoted to the study and promotion of the life and works of the author and academic J. R. R. Tolkien. It began informally in 1969, and held its inaugural meeting in 1970. It ho ...

devoted to celebrate and study the life and works of

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

. It takes place every year in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, England, around 22 September, the date of Bilbo and

Frodo Baggins Frodo Baggins ( Westron: ''Maura Labingi'') is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings and one of the protagonists in ''The Lord of the Rings''. Frodo is a hobbit of the Shire who inherits the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Bag ...

's birthdays, also known as Hobbit Day.

History

The idea of a Tolkien-related gathering in Oxford came from the multiple connections of the writer with the city, and was initially suggested by John Abbot in the fanzine ''Nazgul.'' The first Oxonmoot took place over 13 to 15 September 1974, and was based in the former Welsh Pony pub in George Street. Among other activities such as visiting the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

and lunching in

The Eagle and Child The Eagle and Child, nicknamed "the Bird and Baby", is a pub in St Giles', Oxford, England, owned by the Ellison Institute of Technology and previously operated by Mitchells & Butlers as a Nicholson's pub. The pub had been part of an endowm ...

pub, attendants of this first meeting laid a wreath on Tolkien's grave, and recited '' A Elbereth Gilthoniel''. During this first Oxonmoot an American student and member of the

Mythopoeic Society The Mythopoeic Society (MythSoc) is a non-profit organization devoted to the study of mythopoeic literature, particularly the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and C. S. Lewis. These men were all members of The Inklings, an informa ...

joined the original group. The 1992 Oxonmoot, at the centenary of Tolkien's birth, was held together with the 23rd Mythopoeic Conference. From 1991 Oxonmoot has been hosted in different colleges of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, for example,

Lady Margaret Hall Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formally known under ...

from 2009 to 2014, and

St Antony's College St Antony's College is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in intern ...

from 2015 to 2019. Oxonmoot has become the largest of the Tolkien Society's calendar of events, typically bringing about 200 fans from the UK and abroad. The 2018 Oxonmoot was the largest with more than 300 attendees, coinciding with the popular Bodleian exhibition Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth.

Activities

Oxonmoot takes place over a weekend and includes talks, art shows, reading circles, theatre performances, workshops, and social events such as quizzes, a banquet and a

masquerade Masquerade or Masquerades may refer to: Books * ''Masquerade'' (book), a 1979 children's book by Kit Williams that sparked a worldwide treasure hunt * ''Masquerades'' (novel), a 1995 Forgotten Realms novel by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb * ''Masq ...

. The event closes with a remembrance ceremony called ''Enyalië'' at Tolkien's grave in

Wolvercote cemetery Wolvercote Cemetery is a cemetery in the parish of Wolvercote and district of Cutteslowe in Oxford, England. Its main entrance is on Banbury Road and it has a side entrance in Five Mile Drive. It has a funeral chapel, public toilets and a small a ...

. The ''Enyalië'' continues the tradition established during the first Oxonmoot of laying a wreath on the grave of Tolkien and his wife

Edith Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word , meaning ''wealth'' or ''prosperity'', in combination with the Old English , meaning ''wiktionary:strife, strife'', and is in common usage in this form in English language, Englis ...

, and includes words by the Chairman of the Tolkien Society, a selected reading from Tolkien, and a recital of the poem ''

Namárië "Namárië" () is a poem by J. R. R. Tolkien written in one of his constructed languages, Quenya, and published in ''The Lord of the Rings''., Book 2, ch. 8 "Farewell to Lórien" It is subtitled "Galadriel's Lament in Lórien", which in Queny ...

''. Oxonmoot is a forum for presenting

Tolkien research The works of J. R. R. Tolkien have generated a body of research covering many aspects of his fantasy writings. These encompass ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Silmarillion'', along with his legendarium that remained unpublished until after ...

in the form of seminar papers and books, from academics such as John Garth,

Tom Shippey Thomas Alan Shippey (born 9 September 1943) is a British medievalist, a retired scholar of Middle and Old English literature as well as of modern fantasy and science fiction. He is considered one of the world's leading academic experts on the ...

Verlyn Flieger Verlyn Flieger (born 1933) is an author, editor, and Professor Emerita in the Department of English at the University of Maryland at College Park, where she taught courses in comparative mythology, medieval literature, and the works of J. R. R. To ...

, Michael D. C. Drout, and

Elizabeth Solopova Elizabeth Solopova (born 20 January 1965) is a Russian-British philologist and medievalist undertaking research at New College, Oxford. She is known outside academic circles for her work on J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. Life Elizab ...

. Due to the COVID pandemic, the 2020 Oxonmoot was held online, and it included keynote talks by

Dimitra Fimi Dimitra Fimi (born 2 June 1978) is a Greek academic and writer. She became the Professor of Fantasy and Children's Literature at the University of Glasgow in 2023. Her field of research includes the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien and children's fa ...

about the ''

Unfinished Tales ''Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth'' is a collection of stories and essays by J. R. R. Tolkien that were never completed during his lifetime, but were edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and published in 1980. Many of the tales ...

,'' and

Wayne G. Hammond Wayne Gordon Hammond (born February 11, 1953) is an American scholar known for his research and writings on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. Together with his wife Christina Scull, a fellow Tolkien scholar, they have jointly won Mythopoeic Scholars ...

and

Christina Scull Christina Scull (born 6 March 1942 in Bristol, England) is a British researcher and writer best known for her books about the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, in collaboration with her husband Wayne G. Hammond who is also a Tolkien scholar. They have j ...

about Tolkien as an illustrator.

References

{{Lord of the Rings Fantasy fandom Fantasy conventions Events in Oxford Tolkien fandom

History

Activities

See also

References