It is with great sadness that Middle-earth News joins the Tolkien fandom in mourning the passing of Christopher Tolkien, son of J. R. R. Tolkien and devoted steward of his father’s work. We extend our most sincere condolences to the Tolkien family.
The Tolkien fandom was rocked yesterday by the news of the death of Christopher Tolkien. The news of his death on January 15, 2020, broke around Noon EST in the USS with initial reporting from news outlets in France, where Tolkien had made his home for some years. The story was quickly confirmed by the Tolkien Society and numerous independent news organizations.
Christopher Tolkien’s legacy is enormous. Through his lifelong involvement with and decades-long dedication to his father’s work, he illuminated a depth, scope, and richness of J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium that would have otherwise remained hidden. Without Christopher Tolkien’s work, we may never have seen The Silmarillion, the 12 volumes of The History of Middle-earth, or the in-depth explorations of the 3 great tales from the First Age of Middle-earth, The Children of Húrin, Beren and Lúthien, and The Fall of Gondolin. The Tolkien Society quoted respected Tolkien Scholar Dimitra Fimi’s reflection on the pivotal role that Christopher Tolkien played:
Tolkien studies would never be what it is today without Christopher Tolkien’s contribution. From editing The Silmarillion to the mammoth task of giving us the History of Middle-earth series, he revealed his father’s grand vision of a rich and complex mythology. He gave us a window into Tolkien’s creative process, and he provided scholarly commentary that enriched our understanding of Middle-earth. He was Middle-earth’s cartographer and first scholar.
Such an important figure undoubtedly deserves much more of a eulogy than I have given here, but for now I’ll close with the words of Legolas after the fall of Gandalf the Grey in Moria, that the loss of Christopher Tolkien is today “a matter for tears and not yet for song.”
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