# Written on Tolkien's Tombstone..



## Wood Elf (Feb 20, 2002)

I was watching a video on Tolkien and his life. I thought this was pretty neat; on Tolkien's stone is written "Beren", and on his wife's is written "Luthien". Now isn't that sweet?


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## Mayberry (Feb 20, 2002)

*Tolkien Tombstones*

It is sweet! I had read somewhere that Tolkien viewed his love, courtship and eventual marriage with his wife as similar to Luthien and Beren's relationship at least as far as the waiting and differences between their backgrounds were concerned.

Tolkien met his wife when they both were very young. Tolkien was a Catholic; his wife a Protestant. Back in the days before WWI, that was an obstacle. Interfaith marriage was uncommon and looked down on. Tolkien was separated from his love and then had to make a promise that he would wait for many years until he and his fiance were given permission to marry. According to what I read, the Tolkien marriage was successful, though they did engage in more than a few disagreements about theology! 

I didn't know that about the tombstones. How romantic.


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## Wood Elf (Feb 20, 2002)

Yes, that is something, isn't it?


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## Beleg Strongbow (Feb 22, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Wood Elf _
> *Yes, that is something, isn't it? *



yes it is!!


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## Anduril (Feb 22, 2002)

I think that someone who had such real love story is a great man...

Don't you believe it?

Regards.

Hey...this is real good stuff...


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## Úlairi (Feb 24, 2002)

*I am doing a project on Tolkien's life!*

Yes, that is engraved on Tolkien's tombstone. I am doing a project on Tolkien at the moment. His love for his wife Edith was much like of that of Beren and Luthien and it is probably what formed the story of Beren Luthien. Tolkien fell in love with his wife Edith when he was 16 and she 19 but he was forbidden to even talk to her for three years by his parish priest Father Francis!!! He returned from Oxford three years later, served in the war and then married her!

Here are some interesting facts about Tolkien himself.
1. Tolkien's name wasn't really John Ronald Reuel Tolkien but in fact is was only Ronald Reuel Tolkien! He put the John on later.
2. Some of writings on spiders such as Ungoliant, Shelob and the spiders in Mirkwood in the Hobbit derived from an experience that Tolkien had when he was four with an extremely large hairy spider!!!
3. Despite that Tolkien was English he was born in South Africa!!!


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## Ossiriand Blade (Feb 24, 2002)

Tolkien and Edith used to have to meet in secret in the woods near the military hospital where Tolkien was recuparating on sick leave from the front,Edith would dance for him in the woods and he wrote the story of Beren seeing Luthien dancing based on this.


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## Wood Elf (Feb 24, 2002)

That is sweet, so that's why Beren first beheld Luthien dancing in the woods...


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## Anduril (Feb 25, 2002)

And after all..this story of love (true life based) cautivates to every one that reads it...


Nice.
We've found how deep can love be described into the pages of LOTR...


Regards...


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## Galan`Black (Feb 26, 2002)

Wow that is pretty interesting how the story of Beren and Luthien came about. From a love story he experienced himself. He made descriptive also.


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## Anduril (Feb 26, 2002)

Yes indeed.

I've an idea to share...or an "arriere pensee"...same...

I've heard some words in Gaelic, and those particles are very very close to some words used by JRRT in his books...did JRRT use the gaelic, or anglo saxon to design names in LOTR, HOME, SIL and the others?


Regards...


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## Retrovertigo (Feb 27, 2002)

Thats funny.. my grandparents story is kind of similar. Including my grandmothers name (Edith) She was an English nurse and he was a German in the infantry. Which would have been much worse than just Catholic and Anglican, what? They met when he was captured and she looked after him. He went home and a few years later they met up after the war and got married. Isn't that nice?


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## BluestEye (Feb 28, 2002)

Yes, Anduril, Tolkien loved those ancient languages and he thought their words sounded beautifuly, so he used many "combined-words" to create new words that would fit to his Elvish language.

BluestEye


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## Anduril (Feb 28, 2002)

Yes...
thank you BluestEye...

I discovered the sae when I found the root of the name "Radagast" (rudugast) in ancient english = brown spirit...


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## Úlairi (Mar 4, 2002)

Tolkien was a real romantic wasn't he???


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