Editing Christopher Tolkien

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{{author infobox
| image=[[File:Christopher Tolkien.jpg|250px]]
| name=Christopher Tolkien
| born=[[21 November]], [[1924]]
| died=
| education=[[Wikipedia:Trinity College, Oxford|Trinity College]], [[Oxford]]
| occupation=Author, Professor
| location=England<br/>France
| website=[http://www.tolkienestate.com TolkienEstate.com]
}}
'''Christopher John Reuel Tolkien''' (born [[21 November]], [[1924]]) is the third child and youngest son of [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] and [[Edith Tolkien]]. He is the literary executor of the [[Tolkien Estate]] and has edited much of his father's work for posthumous publication.<ref>{{webcite|author=|articleurl=http://www.tolkien.co.uk/Non-Fiction/Pages/History-of-Middle-earth.aspx?page=2&sdt=1&sort=pno&objsct=History%20of%20Middle-earth|articlename=History of Middle-earth|dated=|website=[http://www.tolkien.co.uk Tolkien.co.uk]|accessed=18-11-2012}}</ref>

==Early life==
Christopher Tolkien was named after his father's friend, [[Christopher Wiseman]] (he also sometimes uses his confirmation name, "John" as seen on his initials of maps of [[The Lord of the Rings]], "CJRT").

Born in [[Leeds]] and raised in [[Oxford]], Christopher went to the Dragon School in Oxford and Oratory School in Caversham, Berkshire. Due to a heart ailment, he was forced to stay at home and work with a private tutor. He enjoyed watching stars with a telescope as well as a passion for railways. As early as age four and five, Christopher was concerned with the consistency of ''[[The Hobbit]]''.
{{Blockquote|Last time, you said Bilbo's front door was blue, and you said Thorin had a golden tassel on his hood, but you've just said that Bilbo's front door was green and that Thorin's hood was silver|Christopher Tolkien, foreword to The Hobbit}}

Christopher proved invaluable in correcting ''The Hobbit'' after its publication and was paid twopence a correction.

==Young adulthood==
In July of [[1943]] he entered the Royal Air Force and in November of that year he went to South Africa to train as a pilot. His absence did not however slow his contributions to his father's works as his father continually sent him parts of ''The Lord of the Rings'' to go over. In [[1945]] he returned to England and was stationed in Shropshire and later that year he returned to Oxford.

On October 9th, [[1945]] his father informed him that the [[Inklings]] wished to consider him a permanent member. The task of reading ''The Lord of the Rings'' to the Inklings was passed on to Christopher and it was generally agreed that he was a better reader than his father.

In 1954-55 Christopher was delegated the re-drawing of his father's ''Lord of the Rings'' maps for publication.

==Adulthood==
In [[1946]] Christopher returned to Trinity College to resume his studies and reading English. For a while his tutor was [[C.S. Lewis]]. His thesis was a translation of ''[[The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise]]'' and he received his B.A. in [[1949]]. Christopher also became a lecturer in Old and Middle English as well as Old Icelandic at Oxford. He worked as an editor on Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales,'' the ''Pardoner's Tale'', and the ''Nun's Priest's Tale''. From [[1963]] to [[1975]] he was a Fellow of New College, Oxford but resigned when he began to devote his time to his father's literary affairs, and soon afterward moved with his family to southern France.

==After his father's death==
[[File:Christopher Tolkien (black and white).jpg|thumb]]
After his father's death, Christopher embarked on organizing the masses of his father's notes, some of them written on odd scraps of paper a half-century earlier. Much of the material was handwritten, frequently a fair draft was written over a half-erased first draft, and names of characters routinely changed between the beginning and end of the same draft. Deciphering this was an arduous task, and perhaps only someone with personal experience of J.R.R. and the evolution of his stories could have made any sense of it; even so, Christopher has admitted to having to occasionally guess at what his father intended.

With the help of [[Guy Gavriel Kay]] he managed to compile ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' in only four years. During this time he also edited his father's translations of ''[[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]]'', and ''[[Sir Orfeo]]''. He also worked on the ''[[Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings|Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings]]'' which was first published in [[1975]] as ''[[Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings]]'' in ''[[A Tolkien Compass]]''.

Christopher spent the years after continuing to study his father's works and taking the responsibilities of the [[Tolkien Estate]]. He recorded portions of ''The Silmarillion'' in [[1977]] and [[1978]] which was issued by Caedmon Records, New York. In [[1979]] he wrote about his father's illustrations and drawings for their publication in Tolkien calendars and ''[[Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien]]''. Through [[1980]] and [[1983]] Christopher edited ''[[Unfinished Tales]]'', ''[[The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien]]'', ''[[The Monsters and the Critics|The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays]]'', and ''[[The Book of Lost Tales Part One]]'' which was the first volume in his twelve volume series of ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'', the last of which was published in [[1996]]. In 1998 he edited a new edition of ''[[Tree and Leaf]]'' including the poem [[Mythopoeia]]. In [[2007]], he edited ''[[The Children of Húrin]]''. His latest publications have been the editing of ''[[The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún]]'' ([[2009]]), ''[[The Fall of Arthur]]'' ([[2013]]), and ''[[Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary ]]'' ([[2014]]).

In 2016, Christopher Tolkien was awarded the [[Wikipedia:Bodley Medal|Bodley Medal]], the [[Wikipedia:Bodleian Libraries|Bodleian Libraries]]' highest honour, for his "''editorial work on his father's manuscripts''" and his "''academic career at the [[University of Oxford]]''".<ref>{{webcite|author=|articleurl=http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/news/2016/nov-03|articlename=Editor and Scholar Christopher Tolkien awarded Bodley Medal|dated=3 November 2016|website=[http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ bodleian.ox.ac.uk]|accessed=6 November 2016}}</ref>

In August [[2017]], Christopher Tolkien resigned from his appointment as director of the Tolkien Estate.<ref>{{webcite|author=|articleurl=http://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07842430/officers|articlename=The Tolkien Estate Limited, Officers|dated=|website=[http://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/ Companies House] |accessed=14 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{webcite|author=|articleurl=http://tolkienbrasil.com/noticias/sobre-livros/christopher-tolkien-resignou-a-direcao-da-tolkien-estate/|articlename= Christopher Tolkien deixa Tolkien Estate|dated=|website=[http://tolkienbrasil.com/ Tolkien Brasil] |accessed=15 November 2017}}</ref>

==Response to adaptations==
{{Expansion}}
{{Blockquote|...I recognize that this is a debatable and complex question of art, and the suggestions that have been made that I 'disapprove' of the films, whatever their cinematic quality, even to the extent of thinking ill of those with whom I may differ, are wholly without foundation.|Christopher Tolkien}}

==Family==
Christopher's first wife, [[Faith Tolkien|Faith]] (1928) took an English degree at Oxford and they had one son, [[Simon Tolkien]]. A [[:File:J.R.R. Tolkien's bust at Exeter.jpg|bust]] of Tolkien by Faith was exhibited at the Royal Academy: Tolkien paid for its casting in bronze. It is now in the English Library in Oxford.

Christopher's second wife, [[Baillie Tolkien|Baillie]] (1941) is Canadian, and is the daughter of Winnipeg surgeon [[Alan Klass]], and Helen Klass (née Jacob). She has a BA in English from the University of Manitoba and an MA from Oxford. She worked as J.R.R. Tolkien's secretary and was responsible for the section on poetry in the 1965 index to ''The Lord of the Rings''. She later edited ''[[The Father Christmas Letters]]''. She and Christopher have two children, [[Adam Tolkien]] and [[Rachel Tolkien]].

==Bibliography==
===Books===
*195?: ''Tolkien Hervarar Saga ok Heidreks Konungs''. C.J.R. Tolkien (Oxford University, Trinity College). B. Litt. thesis. 1953/4. [Year uncertain]
*[[1956]]: ''Hervarar Saga ok Heidreks''. Ed. [E.O.] G. Turville-Petre. London: University College London, for the Viking Society for Northern Research, 1956; introduction by Christopher Tolkien.
*[[1958]]: ''The Pardoner's Tale''. Geoffrey Chaucer, ed. Nevill Coghill and Christopher Tolkien. London: George G. Harrap, 1958. [29 Oct 58]
*[[1959]]: T''he Nun's Priest's Tale''. Geoffrey Chaucer, ed. Nevill Coghill and Christopher Tolkien. London: George G. Harrap, 1959. [28 Feb 60]
*[[1960]]: ''The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise''. Ed. and trans. Christopher Tolkien. London: Thomas Nelson & Sons (Icelandic Texts), 1960. [30 Jun 60]
*[[1969]]: ''The Man of Law's Tale''. Geoffrey Chaucer, ed. Nevill Coghill and Christopher Tolkien. London: George G. Harrap, 1969. [Jun 69]
*[[1975]]: ''[[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl and Sir Orfeo]]'' (editor)
*[[1977]]: ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' (editor)
*[[1979]]: ''[[Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien]]'' (editor)
*[[1980]]: ''[[Unfinished Tales|Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth]]'' (editor)
*[[1981]]: ''[[The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien]]'' (editor with [[Humphrey Carpenter]])
*[[1983]]: ''[[The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays]]'' (editor)
*[[1983]]: ''[[The Book of Lost Tales Part One]]'' (editor)
*[[1984]]: ''[[The Book of Lost Tales Part Two]]'' (editor)
*[[1985]]: ''[[The Lays of Beleriand]]'' (editor)
*[[1986]]: ''[[The Shaping of Middle-earth]]'' (editor)
*[[1987]]: ''[[The Lost Road and Other Writings]]'' (editor)
*[[1988]]: ''[[Tree and Leaf]]'' (editor)
*[[1988]]: ''[[The Return of the Shadow]]'' (editor)
*[[1989]]: ''[[The Treason of Isengard]]'' (editor)
*[[1990]]: ''[[The War of the Ring]]'' (editor)
*[[1992]]: ''[[Sauron Defeated]]'' (editor)
*[[1993]]: ''[[Morgoth's Ring]]'' (editor)
*[[1994]]: ''[[The War of the Jewels]]'' (editor)
*[[1996]]: ''[[The Peoples of Middle-earth]]'' (editor)
*[[2007]]: ''[[The Children of Húrin]]'' (editor)
*[[2009]]: ''[[The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún]]'' (editor)
*[[2013]]: ''[[The Fall of Arthur]]'' (editor)
*[[2014]]: ''[[Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary]]'' (editor)
*[[2017]]: ''[[Beren and Lúthien]]'' (editor)
*[[2018]]: ''[[The Fall of Gondolin]]'' (editor)

===Articles===
*[[1955]]-[[1956|6]]: ''Saga-Book'' (University College, London, for the Viking Society for Northern Research) 14, part 3 (1955-6), pp. [141]-63.
**"The Battle of the Goths and the Huns"
*[[1975]]: ''[[A Tolkien Compass]]''
**"[[Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings|Guide to the Names in ''The Lord of the Rings'']]". J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Christopher Tolkien
*[[1975]]: ''[[Les aventures de Tom Bombadil]]''
**[Handwritten note by Christopher Tolkien, dated March 1974, introducing two pages of script by J.R.R. Tolkien]
*[[1980]]: [[Mallorn 14|''Mallorn'' 14]]
** "''The Silmarillion'', by J.R.R. Tolkien: A brief account of the book and its making"
*[[1982]]: [[Quettar 13]], Feb. 1982, pp. 8-9
**"The Tengwar Numerals". Christopher Tolkien ('CRT after JRRT'); rptd. ''Beyond Bree'' Dec. 1984, p. 1. Further, untitled, explanation of Tengwar numerals by Christopher Tolkien ('CRT after JRRT 10 March 1982'), in [[Quettar 14]], May 1982, pp. 6-7.
*[[1983]]: [[Amon Hen 63|''Amon Hen'' 63]], August 1983, p. 4
**"...Future Publishing". Reproduced as 'Statement by Christopher Tolkien' in ''Beyond Bree'', November 1983, p. 2.
*[[1984]]:  [[Amon Hen 70|''Amon Hen'' 70]], November 1984, p.3.
**"'Moria Gate' ... Another Look"
*[[1986]]: ''[[Beyond Bree July 1986]]'', pp. 1-3
**"Notes on the Differences in editions of ''The Hobbit'' cited by Mr. David Cofield"
*[[1987]]: ''[[The Hobbit (50th Anniversary edition)|The Hobbit]]''. J.R.R. Tolkien. London: Unwin Hyman, 1987; fiftieth anniversary edition.
**Foreword
*[[1988]]: ''Beyond Bree'', August 1988, pp. 1-2
**"The BBC Pronunciation Guide to ''The Lord of the Rings''". Nancy Martsch. [About the transcription of Christopher Tolkien's recording of words and names in ''The Lord of the Rings'' for the BBC production by Brian Sibley.]
*[[1994]]: ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', (1994 edition by HarperCollins Publishers, p.1140 of the one-volume edition)
**"A Note on the Maps"
*[[2012]]: ''Le Monde'', 5 July
**"Tolkien, l'anneau de la discorde" by Raphaëlle Rérolle (interview; [http://www.worldcrunch.com/culture-society/my-father-039-s-quot-eviscerated-quot-work-son-of-hobbit-scribe-j.r.r.-tolkien-finally-speaks-out/hobbit-silmarillion-lord-of-rings/c3s10299/ English translation])
*[[2016]]: ''[[The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun]]''
**"Note on the text"

===Ephemera===
*[[1976]]: [[The Lord of the Rings 1977 Calendar]]. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1976. Notes on the Pictures by Christopher Tolkien.
*[[1976]]: Catalogue of an Exhibition of Drawings by J.R.R. Tolkien at the Ashmolean Museum Oxford ... Oxford: The Ashmolean Museum, 1976. Introduction by Baillie Tolkien. [?14 Dec 76]
*[[1977]]: ''[[The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien: A Brief Account of the Book and its Making]]'' (pamphlet)
*[[1977]]: [[The Silmarillion Calendar 1978]]. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1977. Notes on the Pictures by Christopher Tolkien.
*[[1978]]: [[J.R.R. Tolkien Calendar 1979]]. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1978. Notes on the Pictures by Christopher Tolkien.
*[[1978]]: Map of Beleriand and the Lands to the North [poster]. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1978. As drawn by Christopher Tolkien for The Silmarillion, with colouring by H.E. Riddett.
*[[1980]]: Letter from Christopher Tolkien to Jared Lobdell, 21 June 1974, reproduced in: Eorclanstanar [Precious Stones] or The Hobbitiana: an offering of rarities by J.R.R. Tolkien [catalogue]. Melissa and Mark Hime [booksellers]. Idyllwild, California: 1980.

===Audio===
*[[1977]]: ''J.R.R. Tolkien: The Silmarillion: Of Beren and Luthien, read by Christopher Tolkien''. New York: Caedmon Records TC1564, 1977. Sleeve notes by Christopher Tolkien. (Sleeve also has photo of CT.)
*[[1978]]: ''J.R.R. Tolkien: Of the Darkening of Valinor, and Of the Flight of the Noldor, from The Silmarillion, read by Christopher Tolkien''. New York: Caedmon Records TC 1579, 1978. Sleeve notes by Christopher Tolkien. (Sleeve also has photo of CT.)
*[[1992]]:''The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son'', Read by J.R.R.Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien, HarperCollins Audiobooks.
*[[2007]]: ''The Children of Húrin Audiobook'', Preface and introduction Read by Christopher Tolkien. HarperCollins Audiobooks.

==Family Tree==
{{familytree/start}}
{{familytree| | | | | | | | | | | EDB |y| JRR | | | | | | | | | | | |JRR=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]]|EDB=[[Edith Tolkien|Edith Bratt]]}}
{{familytree| |,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| |}}
{{familytree| JOT | | MIT | | FAI |y|CHT |y| BAT | | PRT |JOT=[[John Tolkien]]|MIT=[[Michael Tolkien (b. 1920)|Michael Tolkien]]|CHT=[[Christopher Tolkien]]|FAI=[[Faith Tolkien|Faith Faulconbridge]]|BAT=[[Baillie Tolkien]]|PRT=[[Priscilla Tolkien]]}}
{{familytree| | | | | | | | |,|-|-|'| |,|-|^|-|.| |}}
{{familytree| | | | | | | | SIT | | | ADT | | RAT |SIT=[[Simon Tolkien]]|ADT=[[Adam Tolkien]]|RAT=[[Rachel Tolkien]]}}
{{familytree/end}}

==See also==
* [[:Category:Books by Christopher Tolkien|Books by Christopher Tolkien]]
* [[:Category:Images of Christopher Tolkien|Images of Christopher Tolkien]]

==External links==
*[http://www.thehalloffire.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=2250&sid=8cd1494eb408ae53eef603baf6be5ec6 History of the Silmarillion vs. History of Middle-earth] at thehalloffire.net (Quote a letter of [[Christopher Tolkien]])

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolkien, Christopher}}
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:British people]]
[[Category:Cartographers]]
[[Category:Inklings]]
[[Category:Letter receivers]]
[[Category:People by name]]
[[Category:Tolkien Family]]
[[de:Christopher Tolkien]]
[[fi:Christopher Tolkien]]

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Editing Christopher Tolkien

@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 ==After his father's death==
+[[File:Christopher Tolkien (black and white).jpg|thumb]]
 After his father's death, Christopher embarked on organizing the masses of his father's notes, some of them written on odd scraps of paper a half-century earlier. Much of the material was handwritten, frequently a fair draft was written over a half-erased first draft, and names of characters routinely changed between the beginning and end of the same draft. Deciphering this was an arduous task, and perhaps only someone with personal experience of J.R.R. and the evolution of his stories could have made any sense of it; even so, Christopher has admitted to having to occasionally guess at what his father intended.