View source for Tolkien research

{{Short description|Research related to J. R. R. Tolkien}}
{{redirect|Tolkien studies|the journal|Tolkien Studies}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}

The works of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] have generated a body of research covering many aspects of his [[High fantasy|fantasy]] writings. These encompass ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' and ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', along with [[Tolkien's legendarium|his legendarium]] that remained unpublished until after his death, and [[languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien|his constructed languages]], especially the [[Elvish languages of Middle-earth|Elvish languages]] [[Quenya]] and [[Sindarin]]. Scholars from different disciplines have examined the linguistic and literary origins of [[Middle-earth]], and have explored [[Themes of The Lord of the Rings|many aspects of his writings]] from [[Christianity in Middle-earth|Christianity]] to [[Women in The Lord of the Rings|feminism]] and [[Tolkien and race|race]].

== Biographical ==

Biographies of Tolkien have been written by [[Humphrey Carpenter]], with his 1977 ''[[J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography]]''<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/booksabouttolkien/biography/description.htm |title=Tolkien Bibliography: 1977 - Humphrey Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: a biography |publisher=The Tolkien Library |access-date=1 November 2016}}</ref> and of Tolkien's wartime years by [[John Garth (author)|John Garth]] with his 2003 ''[[Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth]]''.<ref name="Garth 2003">{{cite book | last=Garth | first=John | author-link=John Garth (author) | title=[[Tolkien and the Great War|Tolkien and the Great War: the threshold of Middle-earth]] | publisher=[[HarperCollins]] | publication-place=London | year=2003 | isbn=978-0-00-711953-0 | oclc=54047800}}</ref> Carpenter edited the 1981 ''[[The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien]]'', assisted by [[Christopher Tolkien]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Carpenter |editor-first=Humphrey |editor-link=Humphrey Carpenter |title=[[The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien]] |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin]] |date=2000 |chapter=Letter 294 |isbn=978-0-618-05699-6}}</ref> The brief period after the war when Tolkien worked for the [[Oxford English Dictionary|''OED'']] is detailed in the 2006 book ''[[The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary]]'' by [[Peter Gilliver]], Jeremy Marshall and [[Edmund Weiner]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Gilliver |first=Peter |title=The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary |date=2006 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-861069-4}}</ref>

== On Tolkien's writings ==

{{further|Literary reception of The Lord of the Rings}}

=== Institutions ===

A variety of institutions have developed to support Tolkien research. These include [[The Tolkien Society]] and [[The Mythopoeic Society]]. Tolkien archives are held in the [[Bodleian Library]] in [[Oxford]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Barella |first=Cecilia |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |title=Tolkien Scholarship: Institutions |encyclopedia=[[J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia|J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment]] |year=2013 |orig-year=2007 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-86511-1 |pages=656–659}}</ref> and [[Marquette University]] in [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]].<ref name="MUL 2020">{{cite web |title=J R R Tolkien Collection - Marquette University Libraries |publisher=[[Marquette University]] Libraries |access-date=25 January 2021 |date=30 November 2020 |url=https://www.facebook.com/TolkienMarquette/posts/386367492807417 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/103018641142305/386367492807417 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
Publishers of scholarly books on Tolkien include [[Houghton Mifflin]], [[McFarland Press]], Mythopoeic Press, [[Walking Tree Publishers]], [[Palgrave MacMillan]], and [[Kent State University Press]].<ref name="Croft 2016"/>

=== Journals ===

Early publications on Tolkien's writing were essentially fanzines; some, such as ''[[Mythlore]]'', founded in 1969, developed into scholarly [[peer-review]]ed (refereed) technical publications; among the "reputable"<ref name="Croft 2016"/> journals is ''[[Mallorn (journal)|Mallorn]]''<ref name="Croft 2016"/> by the [[The Tolkien Society|Tolkien Society]]. Other specialised journals include ''[[Tolkien Studies]]'' (2004–) and ''Journal of Tolkien Research<!--redirects here-->'' (2014–). There are several journals that focus on the literary society [[The Inklings]], of which Tolkien was a member, especially ''[[Journal of Inklings Studies]]'' (2011–).<ref name="Croft 2016">{{cite journal |last=Croft |first=Janet Brennan |author-link=Janet Brennan Croft |year=2016 |title=Bibliographic Resources for Literature Searches on J.R.R Tolkien |journal=Journal of Tolkien Research |volume=3 |issue=1 |at=Article 2 |url=https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol3/iss1/2}}</ref>

=== Conferences===

In 1992, the Tolkien Society and the Mythopoeic Society held a joint conference for the centenary of Tolkien's birth, combining papers that were published in the conference proceedings,<ref>Proceedings of [[The J. R. R. Tolkien Centenary Conference]] 1992 [https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol21/iss2/ – separate articles] (out of print); [https://journals.tolkiensociety.org/mallorn/issue/view/34/35 – single PDF with index]</ref> with a mixed programme of events over a period of eight days, 17–24 August 1992, in Oxford. The Mythopoeic Society has been holding conferences in the U.S. (and once in Canada) nearly annually since 1970. In recent years some conferences have been virtual.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=GoodKnight |first1=Glen H. |author1-link=Glen GoodKnight |last2=Reynolds |first2=Patricia |title=Editorial |journal=[[Mythlore]] |date=15 October 1996 |volume=21 |issue=2 |page=article 1 |url=https://dc.swosu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2118&context=mythlore}}</ref>

''Omentielva'' is a European bi-yearly conference on research into Tolkien's invented languages.<ref>[http://www.omentielva.com/index.htm Omentielva]</ref>

=== Fields ===

{{further|Influences on J. R. R. Tolkien|Themes of The Lord of the Rings}}

A large literature examines Tolkien's [[Middle-earth]] fantasy fiction from numerous points of view. Some scholars have investigated its [[philological]] roots in languages such as [[Old Norse]] and [[Old English]].{{sfn|Solopova|2009}} Others have explored [[Tolkien's influences|its influences from literature]] of periods from [[Tolkien and the classical world|classical]] and [[Tolkien and the medieval|medieval]] to [[Tolkien and antiquarianism|antiquarian]] and [[Tolkien's modern sources|modern]]. Many have examined [[Themes of The Lord of the Rings|its themes]] including [[Poetry in The Lord of the Rings|its poetry]], its [[Christianity in Middle-earth|Christian symbolism]], issues of [[Women in The Lord of the Rings|feminism]], [[Tolkien and race|race]], and [[Sexuality in The Lord of the Rings|sexuality]], and questions such as Tolkien's theory of [[Sound and language in Middle-earth|sound and language]]. Others again have studied the [[Literary devices in The Lord of the Rings|literary devices]] that Tolkien used, such as his use of [[Tolkien's frame stories|frame stories]], [[Interlacing in The Lord of the Rings|interlacing of narrative]], and his intentional creation of an [[impression of depth in The Lord of the Rings|Impression of depth]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |title=The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment |year=2006 |location=New York City | publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=0-415-96942-5 |title-link=The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia |pages=xxix-xxx}}</ref>{{sfn|Hammond|Scull|2006b}}{{sfn|Lee|2020}} These are overviewed in Blackwell's 2014 ''[[A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien]]'',{{sfn|Lee|2020}} which effectively marked his acceptance into the English literary canon.<ref name="Higgins 2015">{{cite journal |last=Higgins |first=Andrew |year=2015 |title=A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien, ed. Stuart D. Lee, reviewed by Andrew Higgins |journal=Journal of Tolkien Research |volume=2 |issue=1 |at=Article 2 |url=http://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol2/iss1/2}}</ref>

=== Constructed languages ===
{{Further|Languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien}}

Tolkien's constructed languages, [[Quenya]] and [[Sindarin]], the main languages of [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elves]], have inspired [[linguistics|linguistic]] research. ''[[Parma Eldalamberon]]'' and ''[[Vinyar Tengwar]]'' are published by the [[Elvish Linguistic Fellowship]] of the [[Mythopoeic Society]] a non-profit organization. The ''Vinyar Tengwar'' and ''Parma Eldalamberon'' material published at an increasing rate during the early 2000s is from the stock of linguistic material in the possession of the appointed [[Elvish Linguistic Fellowship|team of editors]] (some 3000 pages according to them), consisting of photocopies sent them by [[Christopher Tolkien]] and notes taken in the [[Bodleian Library]] around 1992.  An Internet [[mailing list]] dedicated to Tolkien's languages, called tolklang, has existed since November 1, 1990.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bradfield |first=Julian |title=The Tolkien Language List |url=http://tolklang.quettar.org/ |website=Quettar.org |access-date=25 January 2021}}</ref>

==Bibliography==

===Major introductory books===

* {{cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |title=Tolkien Scholarship: Institutions |encyclopedia=[[J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia|J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment]] |year=2013 |orig-year=2007 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-86511-1 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Flieger |editor-first=Verlyn |editor-link=Verlyn Flieger |title=Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-earth |year=2000 |editor2-first=Carl F. |editor2-last=Hostetter |editor2-link=Carl F. Hostetter | publisher=[[Greenwood Press]] |isbn=978-0-313-30530-6 |title-link=Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-earth |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Flieger |first=Verlyn |author-link=Verlyn Flieger |year=1983 |title=Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World |title-link=Splintered Light |publisher=[[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company|Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing]] |isbn=978-0-8028-1955-0 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Hammond |first=Wayne G. |author-link=Wayne G. Hammond |author2=Christina Scull |author2-link=Christina Scull |title=The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion |year=2005 |title-link=The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |isbn=978-0-00-720308-6 |ref=none}}
* {{ME-ref|RG}} <!--Hammond Scull 2006b-->
* {{cite book |editor-last=Lee |editor-first=Stuart D. |editor-link=Stuart D. Lee |title=[[A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien]] |date=2020 |orig-year=2014 |publisher=[[Wiley Blackwell]] |isbn=978-1119656029}}
* {{cite book |last=Olsen |first=Corey |author-link=Corey Olsen |title=Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]] |place=Boston |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-547-73946-5 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Pesch |first=Helmut W. |author-link=Helmut W. Pesch |title=Elbisch – Grammatik, Schrift und Wörterbuch der Elben-Sprache J.R.R. Tolkiens |publisher=Bastei-Lübbe |location=Bergisch Gladbach |year=2003| isbn=3-404-20476-X |language=de |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Shippey |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Shippey |title=The Road to Middle-earth |year=1982 |publisher=[[George Allen and Unwin]] |isbn=978-0-04-809018-8 |title-link=The Road to Middle-earth |ref=none}} (Revised and expanded 1992, 2005)
* {{ME-ref|Solopova}}
* {{cite book |last=Whittingham |first=Elizabeth A. |author-link=Elizabeth Whittingham |title=The Evolution of Tolkien's Mythology: A Study of the 'History of Middle-earth' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=22EqDwAAQBAJ |year=2008 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company|McFarland]] |isbn=978-1-4766-1174-7 |ref=none}}

===Journals===

; Current
* ''[[Tolkien Studies]]'' ({{ISSN|1547-3155}}, [[West Virginia University Press]])<ref>[https://wvupressonline.com/journals/tolkien_studies Tolkien Studies] at [[West Virginia University Press]]</ref>
* ''[[Mythlore]]'' ({{ISSN|0146-9339}}, [[Mythopoeic Society]])<ref>[https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/ ''Mythlore'']</ref>
* ''Journal of Tolkien Research'' ({{ISSN|2471-934X}}, [[Valparaiso University]])<ref>[https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/ ''Journal of Tolkien Research'']</ref>
* ''[[Mallorn (journal)|Mallorn]]'' ({{ISSN|0308-6674}}, [[The Tolkien Society]])<ref name="Croft 2016"/><ref>[https://journals.tolkiensociety.org/mallorn/issue/archive ''Mallorn'']</ref><ref>At its issue #15 <!--in 1975-->, [https://dc.swosu.edu/tolkien_journal/ ''Tolkien Journal''] merged with ''Mythlore''.</ref>
* ''[[Vinyar Tengwar]]'' ({{ISSN|1054-7606}}, [[Elvish Linguistic Fellowship]])<ref>[https://www.elvish.org/VT/ ''Vinyar Tengwar'']</ref>

; Transitory
* ''Fastitocalon: Studies in Fantasticism Ancient to Modern: Immortals and the Undead'' briefly existed in the 2010s.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Petersen |first=Vibeke Rützou |date=2012 |title=Review of Fastitocalon. Studies in Fantasticism Ancient to Modern: Immortals and the Undead 1.2 (2010): 91–200 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24352949|journal=[[Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts]] |volume=23 |issue=2 (85) |pages=334–337 |jstor=24352949 |issn=0897-0521}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Croft |first=Janet Brennan |author-link=Janet Brennan Croft |date=2010 |title=Review of Fastitocalon: Studies in Fantasticism Ancient to Modern: Immortals and the Undead |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26815554 |journal=[[Mythlore]] |volume=29 |issue=1/2 (111/112) |pages=188–192 |jstor=26815554 |issn=0146-9339}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==

* [http://www.elvish.org/ The home page of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship], which publishes the journals ''Parma Eldalamberon'', ''Vinyar Tengwar'', and ''Tengwestie'', and sponsors the discussion list, Lambengolmor (discussion list launched 29 May 2002, archives at [http://lists.wikia.com/mailman/listinfo/lambengolmor-l lambengolmor-l])
* [http://www.elvish.org/gwaith/bibliography.htm Tolkien's Linguistic Writings and Drafts] by Ryszard Derdzinski
* [https://tolkienbooks.net/php/chronindex.php TolkienBooks.net Chronological Book Index] - a comprehensive index of Tolkien Publications
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091027110101/http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/9902/unpub.html  A List of Tolkien's Unpublished and Slightly Published Manuscripts] by Lisa Star (concentrates on linguistic materials)
* [http://www.tolkiensociety.org/ts_info/publications.html Publications] of the Tolkien Society (UK)
* [https://signumuniversity.org/departments/language-literature/tolkien-studies/ Tolkien Studies] at Signum University
* [https://tolkienprofessor.com The Tolkien Professor] website, offering free materials from [[Corey Olsen]]'s courses at Signum University

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{{Lord of the Rings}}
{{J. R. R. Tolkien}}{{Historiography}}

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[[Category:Tolkien studies| ]]
[[Category:Reception of J. R. R. Tolkien]]