Tolkien Studies

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 These encompass ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Silmarillion'', along with his legendarium that remained unpublished until after his death, and his constructed languages, especially the Elvish languages Quenya and Sindarin. Scholars from different disciplines have examined the linguistic and literary origins of Middle-earth, and have explored many aspects of his writings from Christianity to feminism and race.

Biographical

Biographies of Tolkien have been written by Humphrey Carpenter, with his 1977 '' J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography'' and of Tolkien's wartime years by John Garth with his 2003 '' Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth''. Carpenter edited the 1981 '' The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien'', assisted by Christopher Tolkien. The brief period after the war when Tolkien worked for the ''OED'' is detailed in the 2006 book '' The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary'' by Peter Gilliver, Jeremy Marshall and Edmund Weiner.

On Tolkien's writings

Institutions

A variety of institutions have developed to support Tolkien research. These include The Tolkien Society and The Mythopoeic Society. Tolkien archives are held in the Bodleian Library in Oxford and Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Publishers of scholarly books on Tolkien include Houghton Mifflin, McFarland Press, Mythopoeic Press, Walking Tree Publishers, Palgrave MacMillan, and Kent State University Press.

Journals

Early publications on Tolkien's writing were essentially fanzines; some, such as ''Mythlore'', founded in 1969, developed into scholarly peer-reviewed (refereed) technical publications; among the "reputable" journals is '' Mallorn'' by the Tolkien Society. Other specialised journals include ''Tolkien Studies'' (2004–) and ''Journal of Tolkien Research'' (2014–). There are several journals that focus on the literary society The Inklings, of which Tolkien was a member, especially '' Journal of Inklings Studies'' (2011–).

Conferences

In 1992, the Tolkien Society and the Mythopoeic Society held a joint conference for the centenary of Tolkien's birth, combining papers that were published in the conference proceedings, with a mixed programme of events over a period of eight days, 17–24 August 1992, in Oxford. The Mythopoeic Society has been holding conferences in the U.S. (and once in Canada) nearly annually since 1970. In recent years some conferences have been virtual.

''Omentielva'' is a European bi-yearly conference on research into Tolkien's invented languages.

Fields

A large literature examines Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy fiction from numerous points of view. Some scholars have investigated its philological roots in languages such as Old Norse and Old English. Others have explored its influences from literature of periods from classical and medieval to antiquarian and modern. Many have examined its themes including its poetry, its Christian symbolism, issues of feminism, race, and sexuality, and questions such as Tolkien's theory of sound and language. Others again have studied the literary devices that Tolkien used, such as his use of frame stories, interlacing of narrative, and his intentional creation of an Impression of depth. These are overviewed in Blackwell's 2014 '' A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien'', which effectively marked his acceptance into the English literary canon.

Constructed languages

Tolkien's constructed languages, Quenya and Sindarin, the main languages of Elves, have inspired linguistic research. ''Parma Eldalamberon'' and '' Vinyar Tengwar'' are published by the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship of the Mythopoeic Society a non-profit organization. The ''Vinyar Tengwar'' and ''Parma Eldalamberon'' material published at an increasing rate during the early 2000s is from the stock of linguistic material in the possession of the appointed team of editors (some 3000 pages according to them), consisting of photocopies sent them by Christopher Tolkien and notes taken in the Bodleian Library around 1992. An Internet mailing list dedicated to Tolkien's languages, called tolklang, has existed since November 1, 1990.

Bibliography

Major introductory books

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* (Revised and expanded 1992, 2005)
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Journals

; Current
* ''Tolkien Studies'' (, West Virginia University Press)
* ''Mythlore'' (, Mythopoeic Society)
* ''Journal of Tolkien Research'' (, Valparaiso University)
* '' Mallorn'' (, The Tolkien Society)
* '' Vinyar Tengwar'' (, Elvish Linguistic Fellowship)

; Transitory
* ''Fastitocalon: Studies in Fantasticism Ancient to Modern: Immortals and the Undead'' briefly existed in the 2010s.

References

External links

The home page of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship
which publishes the journals ''Parma Eldalamberon'', ''Vinyar Tengwar'', and ''Tengwestie'', and sponsors the discussion list, Lambengolmor (discussion list launched 29 May 2002, archives a
lambengolmor-l



by Ryszard Derdzinski

TolkienBooks.net Chronological Book Index
- a comprehensive index of Tolkien Publications


by Lisa Star (concentrates on linguistic materials)


of the Tolkien Society (UK)

Tolkien Studies
at Signum University

The Tolkien Professor
website, offering free materials from Corey Olsen's courses at Signum University

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Reception of J. R. R. Tolkien