MBLERG its me @burdenedwithgloriousfandoms - Tumblr Blog

End? No, the journey doesn’t end here… The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it. White shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.

Rest in peace, Christopher Tolkien (1924-2020).

#thank you from the bottom of my heart #christopher tolkien #silmarillion #lord of the rings #the hobbit #tolkien #lotr #lotredit #tolkienedit #lotrdaily #sourcetolkien #dailytolkien

l-o-t-r

“Roads go ever ever on Under cloud and under star, Yet feet that wandering have gone Turn at last to home afar”

RIP Christopher Tolkien

#*lotrblog*#*the hobbit*#Lord of the Rings #The Hobbit #lotredit #hobbitedit #Christopher Tolkien #RIP Christopher Tolkien #my edit

gemennair

What can you see on the horizon? Why do the white gulls call? Across the sea, a pale moon rises The ships have come to carry you home And all will turn to silver glass A light on the water, grey ships pass Into the West. A tribute to Christopher Tolkien. Without him, we wouldn’t have been able to grasp the true depth of Middle Earth’s history, and there would be many more stories left untold. The Silmarillion has always been a favorite, and has been a constant source of inspiration and a source of comfort, along with the other books in the legendarium. There are no words to describe how much these books mean to me, and no words to express how I’ll forever be grateful for them for their accompaniment throughout the years. It always felt like coming home, reading them, to a place you’ll forever hold dear to your heart. His and his father’s legacy will continue to live on, and I’ll forever be thankful that it has been released into the world, for the world is immensely better because of it. From the depths of my heart, thank you for everything you’ve done, Christopher Tolkien. May the Star of Eärendil guide you back Into the West, and may you find eternal peace in the Halls of Mandos.

#lotr #the silmarillion #christopher tolkien #tolkien #rest in peace #yes i was tearing up the whole time while doing this #listening to into the west didnt help #there are no words to express how devastated i am #thank you for everything #we will forever cherish your works

tolkien-fandom-history

Christopher Tolkien

The sad news has come today that Christopher Tolkien has passed away. He was 95 and passed away at a hospital near his home in France. He has been such a remarkable conservator of his father’s work and vision, providing us with such a wealth of material from Tolkien’s notes and manuscripts. It is truly astounding how much he has given to the Tolkien community–both the scholarly and fandom parts of it–in his tireless pursuit of continuing his father’s legacy and sharing the stories with us all. Condolences to his family and the entire worldwide Tolkien community. This is a devastating loss of a dedicated and talented individual.

The publication of the Silmarillion alone would have been a gift but his continued research and organization of his father’s work to provide us with The History of Middle Earth, The Children of Hurin, Beren and Luthien, and most recently The Fall of Gondolin has truly resulted in a wealth of material and a vast legendarium that is unparalleled.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/breaking-christopher-tolkien-dead-son-21295706

quentaarda

Christopher Tolkien, third son of J.R.R. Tolkien and editor of much of his posthumous work, including The Silmarillion, has died at age 95. Thank you for bringing your father’s vision to life through your work. Rest in peace.

mirkwoodest

One of the ballsiest things Tolkien ever did was write 473k words about some hobbits called frodo, sam, merry, and pippin and then write in the appendices that their names are actually maura, ban, kali, and razal.

mirkwoodest

This just in: Eowyn and Eomer’s names actually start with the letter “L.” [source for other nerds]

mirkwoodest

#wait so they have hobbitish names and common names?

No, they have Westron names and English names.

What you’ve got to understand is that everything Tolkien wrote was him pretending to merely translate ancient documents. He was writing as if the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were actually been written by Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam (or Bilba, Maura, and Ban) and he was just some random contemporary academic translating it all into English for us.

There are many languages in his books, but generally speaking, everything written in English in the books is a translation of the language “Westron.” Therefore any names that come from Westron, he translated. Names coming from other languages, like Sindarin, he left as they were. Why? IDK. Maybe because the stories are from a hobbit perspective and hobbits speak Westron, so he wanted the Westron parts to sound familiar and the other languages/names to remain foreign?

“But Mirkwoodest!” you cry, “The word ‘hobbit’ isn’t an English word! And the names Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck” all sounds super weird and not like English at all!”

Psych! They are in English! (Or Old English, German, or Norse.) Once again you underestimate what a nerd Tolkien was. Let me break it down:

In Westron, hobbits are actually called “kuduk,” which means “hole-dweller,” so for an English translation, Tolkien called them “hobbits” which is a modernization of the Old English word “holbytla” which comes from “Hol” (hole) and “Bytla”(builder).

“Maura” is a Westron name which means “Wise.” Weirdly enough, “Frodo” is an actual Proto-Germanic name that actual people used to have and it means the same thing.

“Banazîr” is Westron for “half-wise, or simple.” In Proto Germanic, the prefix “Sam” means half, and wise is obviously a word we still use.

“Razanur” means “Traveler” or “Stranger” which is also the meaning of the word “Peregrin(e)” This one is a twofer because “Razar” means “a small red apple” and in English so does “Pippin.”

“Kalimac” apparently is a meaningless name in Westron, but the shortened form “Kali” means “happy,” so Jirt decided his nickname would be “Merry” and chose the really obscure ancient Celtic name “Meriodoc” to match.

Jirt chose to leave “Bilba” almost exactly the same in English, but he changed the ending to an “O” because in Westron names ending in “a” are masculine.

I’m not going to go on and talk about the last names but those all have special meanings too (except Tûk, which is too iconic to change more than the spelling of, apparently).

The Rohirrim were also Westron speakers first and foremost, so their names are also “translations” into Old English and Proto-Germanic words, i.e. “Eowyn” is a combination of “Eoh” (horse) and “Wynn” (joy/bliss).

“Rohirrim/Rohan” are Sindarin words, but in the books, they call themselves the “Éothéod” which is an Old English/Norse combo that means “horse people.” Tolkien tells us in the “Peoples of Middle Earth” that the actual Westron for “Éothéod” is Lohtûr, which means that Eowyn and Eomer’s names, which come from the same root word, must also start with the letter L.

The names of all the elves, dwarves, Dunedain, and men from Gondor are not English translations, since they come from root words other than Westron.

The takeaway from this is that when a guy whose first real job was researching the history and etymology of words of Germanic origin beginning with the letter “W” writes a book, you can expect this kind of tomfoolery.

Notes: Sorry I said “Razal” instead of “Razar” in my original post I’m a fraud.

Further Reading:

Rohirric , Westron

gemennair

Maedhros being brought before Morgoth after his capture.

A scene requested by @rosengreen! Hope you like it!

maculategiraffe

me, reaching into my dresser drawer for black pants: I hope this isn’t the pair with big holes worn in the inner thighs

Marie Kondo, gently over my shoulder: why is a pair of pants you find unwearable still in your dresser drawer

me: oh shit that’s right!! The dresser is for clothes that under some circumstance I might conceivably wear!!

Marie Kondo, beaming proudly: Yes, that’s correct!! These pants must have been your favorites. How wonderful that they were so comfortable and practical that you wore them out. But now since they no longer function as pants, you should move them from the drawer where you keep your functioning pants!

me: Yes thanks I got it they’re in the fabric basket now

Marie Kondo, fading back into the darkness: I love what you’ve done with the kitchen!!

cwicseolfor

The notion of KonMari as some creepy semi-embodied but entirely benevolent spirit, like a well-intentioned Bloody Mary, is so perfect and wonderful.

essoreese

Marie Kondo has the same powers but the exact opposite energy of the Duolingo Owl.

strangelyregular

YES.

Marie Kondo: Your room isn’t very clean, but that’s okay, I love mess! Does this spark joy?

Duolingo Owl: I wrote the ransom note in Spanish, and if you have to use Google Translate to read it, your kid gets it. You broke your streak. I’ll break your neck.