Man behind the Mythology - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Estelyn Telcontar · 05-19-2004, 12:25 PM

That's right, Child - and a-one, a-two... - take it away!

Child of the 7th Age · 05-19-2004, 12:31 PM

That was fast! Let's see....

What was the only clear memory of his father that JRRT retained?

Bêthberry · 05-21-2004, 06:23 PM

If I am correct, Child, it is a poignant memory of departure, loss, of the way words substitute for real experience.

Tolkien's mother undertook a journey, when her eldest son was about three or four, to England, for the sake of his health. Tolkien remembered seeing his father paint his name on the lid of a trunk as preparation for that journey.

Child of the 7th Age · 05-21-2004, 06:50 PM

Mistress Bethberry,

Just so! The floor is yours.

~Child

Bêthberry · 05-22-2004, 04:10 PM

Thank you, Mother Cami.

Well, here's a topic less literary and more pecuniary, although perhaps a bit obscure. Still, I think, it tells us something about the man.

Tolkien refused his University pension. Why, or, what did he do instead?
*dances off on that floor... in the best imitation of Tom*

Estelyn Telcontar · 05-23-2004, 10:46 AM

Obscure indeed - I've been searching in both the biography and the letters, unsuccessfully so far. Did it have something to do with the Merton fellowship? Some vague memory lurks at the back of my mind... Or was it because of his book earnings, which already put his taxes at a high level?

Bêthberry · 05-23-2004, 11:12 AM

Oh dear! I had hoped not to be that obscure. Where is Squatter and his great familliarity with the Letters?

The answer can be found in a letter in which Tolkien urges someone to accept a gift he sent in the form of a cheque. The letter would, of course, have been written after he retired from Oxford.

In this letter, Tolkien also talks about the progress of a certain book of poems, which was being illustrated by someone whose work he greatly admired.

05-19-2004, 12:25 PM	#1
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	That's right, Child - and a-one, a-two... - take it away! __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

05-19-2004, 12:31 PM	#2
Child of the 7th Age Spirit of the Lonely Star Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 5,133	That was fast! Let's see.... What was the only clear memory of his father that JRRT retained? __________________ Multitasking women are never too busy to vote. Last edited by Child of the 7th Age; 05-20-2004 at 07:12 PM.

05-21-2004, 06:23 PM	#3
Bêthberry Cryptic Aura Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 6,003	Arthur Tolkien If I am correct, Child, it is a poignant memory of departure, loss, of the way words substitute for real experience. Tolkien's mother undertook a journey, when her eldest son was about three or four, to England, for the sake of his health. Tolkien remembered seeing his father paint his name on the lid of a trunk as preparation for that journey. __________________ I’ll sing his roots off. I’ll sing a wind up and blow leaf and branch away.

05-21-2004, 06:50 PM	#4
Child of the 7th Age Spirit of the Lonely Star Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 5,133	Mistress Bethberry, Just so! The floor is yours. ~Child __________________ Multitasking women are never too busy to vote. Last edited by Child of the 7th Age; 05-22-2004 at 09:36 AM.

05-22-2004, 04:10 PM	#5
Bêthberry Cryptic Aura Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 6,003	Thank you, Mother Cami. Well, here's a topic less literary and more pecuniary, although perhaps a bit obscure. Still, I think, it tells us something about the man. Tolkien refused his University pension. Why, or, what did he do instead? dances off on that floor... in the best imitation of Tom __________________ I’ll sing his roots off. I’ll sing a wind up and blow leaf and branch away.

05-23-2004, 10:46 AM	#6
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	Obscure indeed - I've been searching in both the biography and the letters, unsuccessfully so far. Did it have something to do with the Merton fellowship? Some vague memory lurks at the back of my mind... Or was it because of his book earnings, which already put his taxes at a high level? __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

05-23-2004, 11:12 AM	#7
Bêthberry Cryptic Aura Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 6,003	Tolkien's generosity Oh dear! I had hoped not to be that obscure. Where is Squatter and his great familliarity with the Letters? The answer can be found in a letter in which Tolkien urges someone to accept a gift he sent in the form of a cheque. The letter would, of course, have been written after he retired from Oxford. In this letter, Tolkien also talks about the progress of a certain book of poems, which was being illustrated by someone whose work he greatly admired. __________________ I’ll sing his roots off. I’ll sing a wind up and blow leaf and branch away.

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