Just yesterday fans of Middle-earth and all its denizens were saddened to learn of the death of Christopher Tokien, the son of author J.R.R. Tolkien who wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Christopher was instrumental in keeping his father’s work in the public eye after his father’s death, working to make the entire world of Middle-earth cohesive by contributing finalized versions of maps and texts, serving as an editor to his father’s posthumous published work. Following his passing, many associated with the series around the globe have expressed their sadness and now one of the stars of The Lord of the Rings feature film series has opened up about Tolkien’s passing.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Elijah Wood, who appeared as Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, took to Twitter to express his sympathies and to offer an appropriate eulogy for the late author/editor.
“Sad to hear about the passing of Christopher Tolkien,” he wrote. “The world would not know of the vast tales of Middle-Earth had it not been for his extraordinary work. Namárië.”
Sad to hear about the passing of Christopher Tolkien. The world would not know of the vast tales of Middle-Earth had it not been for his extraordinary work. Namárië
— Elijah Wood (@elijahwood) January 17, 2020
The final word in Wood’s message is Elvish, one of the languages developed by Tolkien for his series, and translates as “Farewell.”
Christopher was the third son of The Lord of the Rings author, born in November of 1924 and dying at the age of 95. Thanks to Christopher’s interest and expansion of his father’s work, the world was given The Silmarillion in full despite J.R.R. having died while writing it. The famed author named his son his literary executive given Christopher’s status as his “chief critic and contributor.”
By 1977, Christopher had organized all of his father’s paper and organized any addition information to publish his father’s historical record of Middle-earth, and he continued to work on other projects which J.R.R. left behind. This includes the twelve volume, The History of Middle-earth, published from 1983 to 1996.
As for the future of the Tolkien Estate, it has been overseen by Baillie Tolkien who married Christopher in 1967. Michael George Tolkien, the grandson of J.R.R. and Christopher’s nephew, has also worked to preserve the estate’s integrity. With the Middle-earth still as popular as ever, a new TV series is in development at Amazon Prime, those who Christopher left behind will ensure his legacy and his father’s remain intact for generations to come.
