Editing The Tolkien Society

Warning: You are not logged in.

Your IP address will be recorded in this page's edit history.

The edit can be undone. Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.

{{company infobox
| name=
| image=[[File:The Tolkien Society - logo.png|250px]]
| founded=6 November 1969 (informal)<ref name="Mallorn50">[[Charles E. Noad]], "The Tolkien Society - the early days" in [[Henry Gee]] (ed.) ''[[Mallorn 50]]'', p. 17</ref> 15 January 1972 (formal) 7 July 1977 (charitable status)<ref name="CC">{{webcite|author=|articleurl=http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/CharityFramework.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=273809&SubsidiaryNumber=0|articlename=Charity framework - The Tolkien Society|dated=|website=[http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/ The Charity Commission]|accessed=30 June 2012}}</ref>
| founder=[[Vera Chapman]]
| location=England
| type=Educational charity, fan club, academic society
| keypeople=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]] (President) [[Priscilla Tolkien]] (Vice-President) [[Shaun Gunner]] (Chair)
| members=2,118<ref>{{webcite|website=TS|articleurl=https://www.tolkiensociety.org/2020/05/tolkien-society-has-over-2000-members-for-first-time-ever/|articlename=Tolkien Society has over 2,000 members for first time ever|dated=31 May 2020|accessed=7 May 2020}}</ref>
| subsidiaries=Tolkien Society Trading Ltd
| products=''[[Mallorn (journal)|Mallorn]]'' ''[[Amon Hen (journal)|Amon Hen]]'' ''[[Quettar]]''
| parent=
| owner=
| precededby=
| succeededby=
| website=[http://www.tolkiensociety.org www.tolkiensociety.org]
}}
'''The Tolkien Society''' is an international fan club and educational charity based in the United Kingdom, with the purpose of educating the public in the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Founded in [[1969]] with the blessing of J.R.R. Tolkien, it has expanded its membership across the United Kingdom, Europe and the world. Its President is Tolkien, the Vice-president is [[Priscilla Tolkien]]; since [[2013]], [[Shaun Gunner]] has been the Society's Chair.

==History==
The Tolkien Society was formed in 1969 by [[Vera Chapman]], an [[University of Oxford|Oxford]]-educated retired teacher/civil servant, who, horrified at the annexation of Tolkien's works by 'the drugs-orientated writings of hippiedom',<ref>[[Charles Noad|Charles E. Noad]], 'The Early Days of the Tolkien Society', [[A Long-expected Party: Progress Report 1|''A Long-expected Party: Progress Report'' 1]], p. 10</ref> decided to form a group dedicated to the true appreciation of Tolkien's works.

On [[6 November]] [[1969]], Chapman announced the formation of the Tolkien Society in the United Kingdom in the ''New Statesman''.<ref name="CGII">{{CG|II}}, p. 287</ref> Initially London-based, the Society would meet in Chapman's North London flat; they kept in communication via a photocopied newsletter called ''[[Belladonna's Broadsheet]]'' (Chapman had adopted the name "[[Belladonna Took]]" as her Middle-earth alias), which was first published in December 1969.<ref name="CGII"/> The Society's inaugural meeting was held in January [[1970]],<ref name="CGII"/> and its constitution was ratified on [[15 January]] [[1972]].

The Tolkien Society grew steadily, and Chapman willingly passed over responsibility for the bulletin to other hands whilst a more scholarly publication, "[[Mallorn (journal)|Mallorn]]" also appeared. ''Belladonna's Broadsheet'' went through a number of identity changes, being "Henneth Annun" for one issue before its then editor, John Martin, adopted its current name: "[[Amon Hen (journal)|Amon Hen]]".

The Society also undertook a pilgrimage to [[Oxford]], exploring the colleges and sites relevant to J.R.R. Tolkien's life. Visit was made to [[Wolvercote Cemetery]] where wreaths in tribute were laid. At that first visit, it was found that a wild bramble had rooted in the topsoil of the grave. This was rapidly uprooted, and the Society offered to buy a rose plant, the offer of which [[Priscilla Tolkien]] - Tolkien's only daughter - accepted. The weekend event culminated with a visit to the home of Priscilla Tolkien.

==Relations with J.R.R. Tolkien==
In 1972 [[wikipedia:New Year Honours|New Year Honours]], Tolkien was made a [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) just two days before his birthday. [[Allen and Unwin|Allen & Unwin]] had encouraged the Tolkien Society to write to Tolkien on the occasion, and they sent the following telegram:

{{blockquote|CONGRATULATIONS ON 80TH BIRTHDAY AND HONOUR. ANOTHER 50 YEARS TO BEAT THE OLD TOOK. THE TOLKIEN SOCIETY (IN BRITAIN)|The Tolkien Society's telegram to J.R.R. Tolkien<ref name="Mallorn50-21">[[Charles E. Noad]], "The Tolkien Society - the early days" in [[Henry Gee]] (ed.) ''[[Mallorn 50]]'', p. 21</ref>}}

The Society also published a congratulatory message in ''The Times'' on the [[3 January]] in the 'BIRTHDAYS' section: "''TOLKIEN. Professor J. R. R. Tolkien, C.B.E. Congratulations on your 80th birthday. 'Elen sila lumenn' omentielmo.' The Tolkien Society.''" As a birthday present, the Society also sent him a green china tobacco jar - designed with a huntsman and a white deer - which included best Latakia Mixture tobacco; attached was the following note:

{{blockquote|FROM all Hobbits, Elves, Elf-friends, Dwarves, Ents, Numenoreans, Rohirrim, etc. etc. etc. of the TOLKIEN SOCIETY (in Britain) with love and honour and hearty congratulations, to the creator of so much wonder. Although not to be compared with the true LONGBOTTOM LEAF, we hope that this will at least raise a few smoke-rings of happy recollection. THE TOLKIEN SOCIETY|The Tolkien Society's message to J.R.R. Tolkien on his birthday<ref name="Mallorn50-21"/>}}

[[Joy Hill]], Tolkien's secretary, phoned Vera Chapman on the 3 January and said, "''Of all the tributes he received, this was the one that gave the greatest pleasure.''"<ref name="Mallorn50-21"/> A month later, [[Letter to Vera Chapman and the Tolkien Society|he wrote to her]]:

{{blockquote|Dear Mrs. Chapman, May I thank you and the Tolkien Society for your good wishes and kind gift on my 80th birthday. I appreciated your generosity very much indeed. Best wishes, Yours sincerely, J.R.R. Tolkien [signed]|[[Letter to Vera Chapman and the Tolkien Society|Letter from J.R.R. Tolkien to Vera Chapman]], dated [[6 February]] [[1972]]<ref name="Mallorn50-21"/>}}

===President===
On the [[27 June]] [[1972]], Vera Chapman was invited to a sherry party by [[Rayner Unwin]], where she met Tolkien himself. After exchanging a few words with him about the [[Belladonna Took|belladonna]] plant, she asked if he would would be willing to be the Society's honorary president; he said "''Certainly''" before concluding, "''If I can help your society in any way, I will''."<ref name="Mallorn50-22">[[Charles E. Noad]], "The Tolkien Society - the early days" in [[Henry Gee]] (ed.) ''[[Mallorn 50]]'', p. 22</ref>

Following the death of J.R.R. Tolkien on [[2 September]] [[1973]], the Tolkien Society offered the post of Honorary President to [[Christopher Tolkien]], Tolkien's son, but Christopher declined saying he thought the his father should remain president forever. At the [[wiktionary:AGM|AGM]] on [[16 February]] [[1974]] the motion was passed that J.R.R. Tolkien should remain the Honorary President ''in perpetuo''; he remains the Society's president to this day.<ref name="Mallorn50-23">[[Charles E. Noad]], "The Tolkien Society - the early days" in [[Henry Gee]] (ed.) ''[[Mallorn 50]]'', p. 23</ref>

==List of Chairs==
The following is a list of chairs of The Tolkien Society; in April 2017 the Society replaced the title "Chairman" with "Chair". ''Italic text'' indicates an acting chairman who was appointed, rather than elected.

<table class="TGtable sortable" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0 auto;"><tr><th style="background: #F2E6CE;"> </th><th style="background: #F2E6CE;">Name</th><th style="background: #F2E6CE;">Start of term</th><th style="background: #F2E6CE;">End of term</th><th style="background: #F2E6CE;">Duration</th></tr>
<tr><td> </td><td data-sort-value="0">''[[Vera Chapman]]''</td><td align="center">''29 January 1970''</td><td align="center">''20 November 1970''</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="296">''296 days''</td></tr>
<tr><td>1</td><td data-sort-value="1">'''[[Keith Bridges]]'''</td><td align="center">20 November 1970<ref group="note">Acting Chairman from 20 November 1970 to 15 January 1972.</ref></td><td align="center">17 February 1973</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="820">2 years, 89 days</td></tr>
<tr><td>2</td><td data-sort-value="2">'''[[Hartley Patterson]]'''</td><td align="center">18 February 1973</td><td align="center">16 February 1974</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="363">363 days</td></tr>
<tr><td>3</td><td data-sort-value="3">'''[[Jonathan Simons]]'''</td><td align="center">17 February 1974</td><td align="center">13 April 1985</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="4074">11 years, 56 days</td></tr>
<tr><td>4</td><td data-sort-value="4">'''[[Brin Dunsire]]'''</td><td align="center">14 April 1985</td><td align="center">16 April 1988</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="1098">3 years, 2 days</td></tr>
<tr><td>5</td><td data-sort-value="5">'''[[Alex Lewis]]'''</td><td align="center">17 April 1988</td><td align="center">11 April 1992</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="1456">3 years, 360 days</td></tr>
<tr><td>6</td><td data-sort-value="6">'''[[Amanda Campbell|Amanda Fingleson]]'''</td><td align="center">12 April 1992</td><td align="center">20 April 1996</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="1470">4 years, 9 days</td></tr>
<tr><td>7</td><td data-sort-value="7">'''[[Chris Crawshaw]]'''</td><td align="center">21 April 1996</td><td align="center">19 April 2008</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="4381">11 years, 364 days</td></tr>
<tr><td>8</td><td data-sort-value="8">'''[[Matthew Vernon]]'''</td><td align="center">20 April 2008</td><td align="center">8 January 2009</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="264">264 days</td></tr>
<tr><td>9</td><td data-sort-value="9">'''[[Sally Kennett]]'''</td><td align="center">8 January 2009<ref group="note">Acting Chairman from 8 January 2009 to 25 April 2009.</ref></td><td align="center">20 April 2013</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="1563">4 years, 102 days</td></tr>
<tr style="background:#99FF99"><td data-sort-value="10">'''10'''</td><td>'''[[Shaun Gunner]]'''</td><td align="center">'''21 April 2013'''</td><td align="center">'''present'''</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="{{#expr: 2191 + {{#expr: {{#time: z}} +255}}}}">''' 7 years, {{#expr: {{#time: z}} +255}} days</td></tr>
</table>

;Notes
<references group="note"/>

==Publications==
*''[[Belladonna's Broadsheet]] the first bulletin of The Tolkien Society.
*''[[Amon Hen (journal)|Amon Hen]]'' is the bulletin of the Society and is published six times a year.<ref name="Amon">{{webcite|articleurl=http://www.tolkiensociety.org/ts_info/amonhen.html|articlename=Amon Hen - The bulleting of the Tolkien Society|website=[http://www.tolkiensociety.org/ The Tolkien Society]|accessed=07-August-2012}}</ref>
*''[[Mallorn (journal)|Mallorn]]'' is the journal of the Society and is currently published once a year, in the Spring.<ref name="Mallorn">{{webcite|articleurl=http://www.tolkiensociety.org/ts_info/mallorn.html|articlename=Mallorn - The Journal of the Tolkien Society|website=[http://www.tolkiensociety.org/ The Tolkien Society]|accessed=07-August-2012}}</ref>
*''[[Quettar]]'' was the journal of the Linguistic Fellowship of The Tolkien Society.

==Events==
The Tolkien Society organises the following events each year:
*'''[[Birthday Toast|The Birthday Toast]]''' is held on [[3 January]] (Tolkien's birthday) every year. The Society encourages Tolkien fans from across the world to toast the Professor at 9pm wherever they are.
*'''[[Tolkien Reading Day]]''', held annually on [[25 March]], is an international event which promotes the reading of Tolkien's works.
*'''The Annual General Meeting and Springmoot''' involves a meeting where formal business (with regard to the running of the Tolkien Society) is discussed, followed by a semi-formal dinner with a guest speaker. It is held over a weekend each April.<ref name="AGM">{{webcite|articleurl=http://www.tolkiensociety.org/agm/|articlename=About The Annual General Meeting|website=[http://www.tolkiensociety.org/ The Tolkien Society]|accessed=07-August-2012}}</ref>
*'''The Seminar''' is an event which consists of a programme of talks on a Tolkien-related theme. It is held most summers (around June or July).<ref name="Seminar">{{webcite|articleurl=http://www.tolkiensociety.org/seminar/|articlename=Seminar home page|website=[http://www.tolkiensociety.org/ The Tolkien Society]|accessed=07-August-2012}}</ref>
*'''[[Oxonmoot]]''' is a convention held at an Oxford college on the weekend closest to [[22 September]], [[Bilbo Baggins|Bilbo]] and [[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]]'s birthday.<ref name="Oxonmoot">{{webcite|articleurl=http://www.tolkiensociety.org/oxon/|articlename=Oxonmoot index page|website=[http://www.tolkiensociety.org/ The Tolkien Society]|accessed=07-August-2012}}</ref>

The Tolkien Society also organises large conferences in order to celebrate an anniversary around J.R.R. Tolkien and/or his works. Past events:
*'''[[J.R.R. Tolkien Centenary Conference|The J.R.R. Tolkien Centenary Conference]]''' was held at Keble College (in [[Oxford]], England) in [[1992]]. It celebrated the centenary of [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]'s birth. It was organised in conjunction with the [[Mythopoeic Society]] and was a combination of Oxonmoot 1992 and Mythcon 23.<ref name="Centenary">{{webcite|articleurl=http://www.tolkiensociety.org/1992/index.html|articlename=Tolkien Centenary Conference 1992|website=[http://www.tolkiensociety.org/ The Tolkien Society]|accessed=07-August-2012}}</ref>
*'''[[Tolkien 2005|Tolkien 2005: The Ring Goes Ever On]]''' was held at Aston University (in Birmingham, England) in [[2005]]. It celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the complete publication of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.<ref name="Tolkien2005">{{webcite|articleurl=http://www.tolkiensociety.org/2005/about.html|articlename=About Tolkien 2005|website=[http://www.tolkiensociety.org/ The Tolkien Society]|accessed=07-August-2012}}</ref>
*'''[[The Return of the Ring|The Return of the Ring: Celebrating Tolkien in 2012]]''' was held at Loughborough University (in Leicestershire, England) in [[2012]]. It celebrated the seventy-fifth anniversary of the publication of ''[[The Hobbit]]''.<ref name="Return">{{webcite|articleurl=http://www.returnofthering.org/index.php|articlename=The Return of the Ring - Celebrating Tolkien in 2012|website=[http://www.returnofthering.org/ The Return of the Ring]|accessed=07-August-2012}}</ref>

==See also==

*[[Plaques and Memorials]]
==External links==
* '''[http://www.tolkiensociety.org Official website]'''
* [http://twitter.com/TolkienSociety Twitter feed]
* [http://www.facebook.com/TheTolkienSociety Facebook page]
* [http://www.facebook.com/groups/TheTolkienSociety.EducationalCharity/ Facebook group]
{{References}}
{{tolkiensociety}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolkien Society}}
[[Category:British organizations]]
[[Category:Tolkien Societies]]
[[Category:The Tolkien Society| ]]
[[fi:The Tolkien Society]]

Please note that all contributions to Tolkien Gateway are considered to be released under the GNU Free Documentation License (see Tolkien Gateway:Copyrights for details). If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly and redistributed at will, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource. Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!

Summary:

Cancel | Editing help (opens in new window)

Insert: Á á É é Í í Ó ó Ú ú Ý ý À à È è Ì ì Ò ò Ù ù Ỳ ỳ Â â Ê ê Î î Ô ô Û û Ŷ ŷ Ä ä Ë ë Ï ï Ö ö Ü ü Ÿ ÿ Ā ā Ē ē Ī ī Ō ō Ū ū Ȳ ȳ Ă ă Ĕ ĕ Ĭ ĭ Ŏ ŏ Ŭ ŭ Ȃ ȃ Ȇ ȇ Ȋ ȋ Ȏ ȏ Ȗ ȗ Ã ã Ẽ ẽ Ĩ ĩ Ñ ñ Õ õ Ũ ũ Ṽ ṽ Ỹ ỹ Ŋ ŋ Æ æ Ǽ ǽ Ǣ ǣ Œ œ Å å Ø ø ſ ʃ Ð ð Þ þ Ƿ ƿ Ʒ ʒ Ȝ ȝ Ɔ ɔ Ę ę ɛ̃ Ṽ ø̃ Š š £ € $ ¥ √ · • † – — ‘ ’ “ ” ‹ › « » --~~~~

Templates used on this page:

Template:Blockquote (edit)
Template:CG (edit)
Template:Company infobox (edit)
Template:References (view source) (protected)
Template:T (edit)
Template:Tolkiensociety (edit)
Template:Webcite (edit)

Retrieved from "http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/The_Tolkien_Society"

Search

Navigation

Toolbox

Personal tools

Editing The Tolkien Society

@@ Line 52: / Line 52: @@
 <tr><td>1</td><td data-sort-value="1">'''[[Keith Bridges]]'''</td><td align="center">20 November 1970<ref group="note">Acting Chairman from 20 November 1970 to 15 January 1972.</ref></td><td align="center">17 February 1973</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="820">2 years, 89 days</td></tr>
 <tr><td>2</td><td data-sort-value="2">'''[[Hartley Patterson]]'''</td><td align="center">18 February 1973</td><td align="center">16 February 1974</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="363">363 days</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3</td><td data-sort-value="3">'''[[Jonathan Simons]]'''</td><td align="center">17 February 1974</td><td align="center">28 April 1984</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="3734">10 years, 71 days</td></tr>
+<tr><td>3</td><td data-sort-value="3">'''[[Jonathan Simons]]'''</td><td align="center">17 February 1974</td><td align="center">13 April 1985</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="4074">11 years, 56 days</td></tr>
-<tr><td>4</td><td data-sort-value="4">'''[[Brin Dunsire]]'''</td><td align="center">29 April 1984</td><td align="center">16 April 1988</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="1449">3 years, 354 days</td></tr>
+<tr><td>4</td><td data-sort-value="4">'''[[Brin Dunsire]]'''</td><td align="center">14 April 1985</td><td align="center">16 April 1988</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="1098">3 years, 2 days</td></tr>
 <tr><td>5</td><td data-sort-value="5">'''[[Alex Lewis]]'''</td><td align="center">17 April 1988</td><td align="center">11 April 1992</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="1456">3 years, 360 days</td></tr>
 <tr><td>6</td><td data-sort-value="6">'''[[Amanda Campbell|Amanda Fingleson]]'''</td><td align="center">12 April 1992</td><td align="center">20 April 1996</td><td align="right" data-sort-value="1470">4 years, 9 days</td></tr>