Tolkien's new work!

[Miranda]

Hey guys. Don't know if any of you Brits out there get the Times- or have read it in any other papers but did you see the article about Tolkien's last great work. Someone found this old manuscript of his in an Oxford library. Its a translation and appraisal of Beowulf and is the basis (they say) for his elven language! Don't know if this has been posted about before but its so amazing. They say they're going to publish it. Just wondered if anyone else had heard about it and if so, who's going to buy it? I'm down for a copy as soon as it touches the shelves! Mx

[claudia silver]

Sorry they have removed the page :mad:

Not from the times but info from 'The Australian' can be viewed at

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,5764569%255E13780,00.html

sounds exciting

[Elfhelm]

The Prof's translation of Beowulf is going to be published!?!?! That is wonderful!!! His commentary has been around for a while, if it is the same one.

One correction for that article. Old English is the source for Rovanian (sp?), not for Sindarin or Quenya.

[Shadowfax]

Originally posted by Elfhelm
One correction for that article. Old English is the source for Rovanian (sp?), not for Sindarin or Quenya. I thought Old English was the source of the language of Rohan, which is Rohirric (sp?).

[markedel]

Well Old English is a translation of Rohirric...

[azalea]

I'm going to move this to the ME forum.

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

This is exciting! yay! I'm definitely buying it soon as it's publsihed (budget allowing.) When I first read Beowulf I didn't like it very much but I've been meaning to come back to it for about a year now and I think this is a perfect way to do so, neh? :D

[Elfhelm]

Ah, right. Rhovanion was a region. Thx.

Language of Rohan = Old English, Peoples, p. 70&71.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

New Tolkien book discovered
December 30, 2002

A YELLOWING manuscript by J.R.R.Tolkien discovered in an Oxford library could become one of the publishing sensations of 2003.

The 2000 handwritten pages include Tolkien's translation and appraisal of Beowulf, the epic 8th century Anglo-Saxon poem of bravery, friendship and monster-slaying that is thought to have inspired The Lord of the Rings.

He borrowed from early English verse to concoct the imaginary language spoken by Arwen, played by Liv Tyler, and other elves in the second film made from the Rings books, The Two Towers.

A US academic, Michael Drout, found the Tolkien material by accident in a box of papers at the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

An assistant professor of English at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, Dr Drout was researching Anglo- Saxon scholarship at the Bodleian, and asked to see a copy of a lecture on Beowulf given by Tolkien in 1936.

It was brought to him in a reading room in a large box. Professor Drout, who reads Anglo-Saxon prose to his two-year-old daughter at bedtime, said: "I was sitting there going through the transcripts when I saw these four bound volumes at the bottom of the box.

"I started looking through, and realised I had found an entire book of material that had never seen the light of day. As I turned the page, there was Tolkien's fingerprint in a smudge of ink."

After obtaining permission from the Tolkien estate, Professor Drout published Beowulf and the Critics, a version of Tolkien's 1936 lecture, in the US earlier this month.

Even more exciting will be Tolkien's translation of the poem and his line-by-line interpretation of its meaning, which will be published next summer.

Tolkien's name on the cover is likely to make the translation a bestseller.

Professor Drout says Tolkien found inspiration for many of his storylines and characters in Beowulf. The Anglo-Saxon hero's friendship with Wiglaf is mirrored in the relationship between Frodo and Sam in The Lord of the Rings.

Elves, orcs and ents, the latter a type of giant that becomes a walking and talking tree in Tolkien's work, are all mentioned in Beowulf.

Merlin Unwin, son of Tolkien's original publisher, said: "Beowulf is a wonderful story, and if you put Tolkien's name to it, it would probably be a great commercial success."

[Elf.Freak]

it's getting published? i'm getting one!:D

[Earniel]

Yeah, I read it. This even made the belgium news. :)
I hope they print it here too.

[Falagar]

It was a half-a-page article about it in one Norwegian newspaper. I'm buying it! (The translation, not the newspaper ;))

[sun-star]

Did this ever come to pass, anyone?

[Forkbeard]

Did this ever come to pass, anyone?
No. Regrettably some stupid net people blackened the good name of the editor and to avoid further furor, the estate pulled its permission for the project to proceed.

[Earniel]

Curse them root and branch! :mad: No wonder I never came across it, not even when I was keeping my eyes peeled for it. *sigh* I was so much looking forward to it.... :(

[sun-star]

That's a pity :( Thanks for the info, Forkbeard.

[Forkbeard]

Curse them root and branch! :mad: No wonder I never came across it, not even when I was keeping my eyes peeled for it. *sigh* I was so much looking forward to it.... :(

Me too, it would be a great service not only to Tolkien fans but to Beowulf scholars and teachers. I've been thinking of writing the editor and asking if he thinks a letter/email writing campaign might move the mountain into the sea--so to speak.

[Attalus]

Me too, it would be a great service not only to Tolkien fans but to Beowulf scholars and teachers. I've been thinking of writing the editor and asking if he thinks a letter/email writing campaign might move the mountain into the sea--so to speak.
Put me down for that! I'll e-mail them all day long. Christopher is sure getting cranky in his old age.

[Haradrim]

My dad has one. He got it from his grandfather who went to Oxford and talked with tolkien. Its huge and awesome. Im not allowed to touch it. Its worth more than me. Its really cool to look at though. Its in terrible condition but I get it when my dad dies and my son gets it when he dies and so on and so forth.

[Nurvingiel]

No. Regrettably some stupid net people blackened the good name of the editor and to avoid further furor, the estate pulled its permission for the project to proceed.
You mean Christopher Tolkien!? Who is blackening his name!! :mad: Don't listen to these silly gits Christopher, you RULE! You brought us the Silmarillion and HoME (IIRC)! You are a genius!!

And if it's not Christopher, well I still hope that person ignore the net people. I didn't even think people in Real Life listened to the rantings of net people. :D

[Forkbeard]

You mean Christopher Tolkien!? Who is blackening his name!! :mad: Don't listen to these silly gits Christopher, you RULE! You brought us the Silmarillion and HoME (IIRC)! You are a genius!!

And if it's not Christopher, well I still hope that person ignore the net people. I didn't even think people in Real Life listened to the rantings of net people. :D

No it wasn't CT. I've written to the person in question, but haven't written back yet. The details have appeared in print now, so if I have time this week, I'll post things here.

In any case, it was CT and the Estate who did pay attention to silly ramblings of sillier imbeciles and were concerned with negative publicity and so pulled permission. Sad but true.

[Forkbeard]

I've heard from the editor and he thanks those who wished to write letters and emails but says that that would probably not help. He is endeavoring to rebuild his relationship with the Estate and feels that in time the project will go ahead.

I've not mentioned his name, though it wouldn't be hard to figure out, because of the bad press on the Internet a couple of years ago, and figured the last thing this project needed or the person in question was us discussing it, and for something else to be misunderstood or go awry. If you are really dieing of curiosity PM me and I'll be glad to tell you a truncated version of the tale in private.