# Tolkien's Grave affected by a new trend



## Eledhwen

I live in Wiltshire, England, and have recently noticed a trend for people to add small, valueless objects to prehistoric monuments. The conjoined trees at Avebury are now bedecked with ribbons, cheap jewellery and odd nick-nacks. The Kennet Long Barrow likewise; with the addition of candles and coins. This is (IMO) pointless, but harmless.

However, today I visited the grave of JRR and Edith Tolkien at Wolvercote Cemetery in Oxford, and found the same was happening there. I took a photograph which I have annotated and posted below:




Bedecking ancient monuments is one thing, but this is a modern grave and the Tolkiens have living relatives. If this was a relative of mine, I would not be happy that strangers were treating it in this way. Worse, if Tolkien thought that pagan rituals would be applied to his grave I am sure he would have been appalled.

I really don't know what can be done about this, if anything; but perhaps just putting my views online, some well-meaning fan who is maybe thinking of adding something to the grave, will think again.


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## Astrance

Oh no 

Is it me or are people stupid ? This is a grave, meant to be respected, whoever lies underneath anyway ! While it would be okay to bring a nice flower, why on earth a key-ring, bangles and all this worthless rubbish ? Just appalling.


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## Mike

While the child's ink drawing is kinda nice, having someone's grave polluted by such rubbish as keyrings, bangles, and a plaque *advertising a website* seems a tad bit disrespectful.


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## YayGollum

Why is it more appalling to do such to a grave than to some famous monument without any dead bodies underneath? Graves have been trash depositories longer than the monuments have. Of course, I suppose that most wouldn't agree with me that useless corpses and flowers are just trash, but oh well.  Why are flowers not considered trash but bangles and keys are? They are equally useless and could have been left by people who merely wished to leave something for whatever reason people wish to leave flowers (if they believe in spirits, do they also believe that, when you become one, you suddenly really appreciate the living being unproductive by wasting time at their grave and leaving flowers that most of them probably never enjoyed in life?). You don't see the harm in leaving non-traditional stuff at monuments, but you do at graves because it seems disrespectful. Got it. Seems as if whoever takes care of the cemetery should have policies regarding such. If not, the relatives should, of course, get to choose which useless items count as trash.


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## Astrance

Well; I forgot to say I find just as ridiculous and trashy when it's done on monuments or natural sites.


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## Firawyn

Hummm, I can't say I'm pleased about this, but really...I'm not upset either. Everyone has their own way of showing respect and admiration for people who have passed on, especially those who made a big impact on the world. 

For Tolkien case, I think that those of us here should be the first to realize that Tolkien made a HUGE impact on the world at large. We have members from...how many different countries? USA, England, France, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Australia, Canada, UAE, Italy...am I missing anyone... those were just off the top of my head! We all come from different backgrounds, we all have our own way of showing respect for the dead...

And since Tolkien himself showed that different ways of honoring the dead should be respected in his own various descriptions of death-time-traditions throughout his works --->

No - I have no problem with this. And no, I don't think Tolkien is turning in his grave. Even the advertisement for the website is a testament of how strong of a legacy Tolkien left behind.


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## Eledhwen

I agree with Mike about the website advert - If a stranger spammed the grave of someone I loved I'd be a bit miffed; but they do seem to be Tolkien fans. I've tried to find the website, but it's in Greek script and blurred at the end (things left out in the open deteriorate fast here).

I don't agree that people should permit themselves to bring their own cultural baggage to the grave, no matter how much they revere the previous owner of what's interred. Tolkien was Roman Catholic, and visitors should respect the conventions of that religion where his grave is concerned. If Tolkien would believe their actions to be idolatry (and I think he would), then they should not do it.

On the other hand, I think he would not object at all to the child's drawing.

PS: Yay, you're still Mr TTF.


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