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Christopher Tolkien, son of Lord of the Rings author, dies aged 95
PARIS, Jan 17, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Christopher Tolkien, the son of J.R.R.
Tolkien who was responsible for publishing many of his father’s works, has
died aged 95, the Tolkien Society said.
Christopher, a former lecturer in Old and Middle English as well as Old
Icelandic at the University of Oxford, is credited with drawing the 1954 map
of Middle-earth for his father’s novel The Lord of the Rings.
He also spent years compiling and editing the works of his father — who
died in 1973 — before publishing many of them, including “The Silmarillion”
in 1977 and “The Fall of Gondolin” in 2018.
“We have lost a titan and he will be sorely missed,” Tolkien Society
chairman Shaun Gunner said in a statement Thursday.
“Christopher’s commitment to his father’s works has seen dozens of
publications released, and his own work as an academic in Oxford demonstrates
his ability and skill as a scholar,” Gunner added.
“Millions of people around the world will be forever grateful to
Christopher for bringing us ‘The Silmarillion’, ‘The Children of Hurin’, ‘The
History of Middle-earth’ series and many others.”
His death was confirmed by Daniel Klass, Christopher’s brother-in-law,
according to the New York Times.
He died in Draguignan, southeastern France, local newspaper Var-Matin
said.
Christopher was critical of the “commercialisation” of his father’s work
in a 2012 interview with French newspaper Le Monde.
“Tolkien has become a monster, devoured by his own popularity and absorbed
by the absurdity of our time,” Christopher Tolkien was reported as saying.
“The chasm between the beauty and seriousness of the work and what it has
become has overwhelmed me. The commercialisation has reduced the aesthetic
and philosophical impact of the creation to nothing.
“There is only one solution for me: to turn my head away.” Christopher
was born in Leeds, Britain, on 21 November 1924. He joined the Royal Air
Force during World War II and was stationed in South Africa.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 0834 hrs