The great linguist and writer J.R.R. Tolkien, philologist, university professor, and lover of words, left us a legendary universe full of beauty, despite the suffering and hardships of his life. Indeed, he was immersed in them. He began his mythology in the Great War, under artillery fire.

Tolkien created a spectacular mythology in the heart of the 20th century, dedicated to his country, England, filled with captivating stories and tales. As he himself called it,  he “sub-created” a tapestry of moving epic stories, using the power of words  and the truth they contain, capable of unfolding their meaning, creating possible, desirable, believable worlds that gladden the heart. In his words: “secondary worlds.”

J.R.R. Tolkien’s legacy is wonderful, and reading his books  fills the soul with wonder and hope . His work is a display of beauty that stems from words and their meaning, with the stories they contain, which treasure and update the arcane knowledge of those who came before. And that hope is present in every corner of his creation.

In “The Lord of the Rings,” Tolkien puts these words in Gandalf’s mouth: “That is what those who live in these times desire. But it is not for us to choose what time we live in,  only what we do with the time that is given to us… ” We can take advantage of and make the most of what we have, our talents and opportunities. Each person has a gift, qualities, a mission, and we must decide  how to use these gifts : to be capable of memorable actions, worthy of being remembered.

Even the smallest being can change the course of the future, Gandalf tells Frodo at Bag End, upon his decision to become the Ring-bearer. He encourages him, however “small” he may be, or feel… He has been chosen for this mission, and Gandalf will encourage him and help him carry the burden.

Entering the legendary universe of J.R.R. Tolkien is a spectacular experience. His works offer a haven of beauty. Although Peter Jackson’s films have brought these stories to the big screen, a leisurely reading of the books reveals even deeper and more untold wonders to be discovered and savored slowly…

For this great Oxford Professor, fantasy is essential to  recovering the original beauty of the created world . His essay “On Fairy Tales” and the poem “Mythopoeia” reflect his special art of creating literature, from words, which he knows so well; he even invents new languages ​​to express such beautiful realities within a fitting framework.

Tolkien’s work is beautiful and multifaceted,  with many nuances that continue “in living forms that pass from mind to mind ,” and reverberate in the thoughts and imaginations of every reader.

“The Lord of the Rings” is the fruit of 12 years of meticulous, painstaking, and constant work, itself based on stories from The Silmarillion. A “sub-creation” of legends and moving tales, for, as he says in his poem Mythopoeia, “we still  create according to the law in which we were created .”

With the support of  his friends, especially C.S. Lewis , and his own son Christopher, he managed to revise and refine his work before publishing it. Moreover, it continued to grow as he wrote it, and new versions kept emerging in his mind. An immeasurable task. His meticulousness and love of words gave rise to a legendary universe with a spectacular internal coherence.

The One Ring of Power, an element that sets this work in motion, connects the ancient stories of The Silmarillion, with the forging of the Rings, to more recent tales. It is found by Bilbo Baggins, protagonist of The Hobbit, the first book published, and later passes to Frodo in The Lord of the Rings. They will become the Ring-bearers.

Stories, myths, and tales that hold and reflect part of the original truth of Creation. For, as he writes,  we come from God, and the myths we weave, even if they contain errors, also reflect “a chipped fragment of the true light, the eternal truth of God .”

This truth, refracted through her stories,  offers glimpses of light and color to our world . To experience the beauty of her words, poems, and stories—that blend of wisdom and art—and to find in them a luminous path filled with joy and hope amidst life’s ups and downs.

Because, as Sam says upon seeing a twinkling star in a moment of darkness and anguish, “ above all the shadows rides the Sun, and eternally dwell the Stars .” The beauty of that Star moves him, and gives him renewed strength and hope to carry out his mission in that moment of turmoil. He senses that he, too, has his own role in this story.

Tolkien links the stars with beauty and hope, present on every page of his work. And he “sub-creates” worlds that illuminate us with their light, like the beacons of Gondor in The Lord of the Rings.

He unfolds his work against the backdrop of his existence, the existence of a human being, to see it with greater depth and relief… And to glimpse  the transcendence of that gift  beyond himself… That Art, and that gift for his beloved England, and for all of us who  find shelter in its trees and landscapes , like the Parishs in Niggle’s story. A metaphorical tale about the essence of art and fantasy, and an artist who meticulously paints a leaf, and realizes that beyond it there is a branch… and another, and another, until a landscape with more trees, with distant mountains. And he is preoccupied with finishing his “painting,” but his neighbors need him…

He writes, with a beautiful metaphor, that  stories “grow like seeds in the dark, feeding on the humus of the mind ,” of the “sub-creator.”

Speaking with a friend after finishing The Lord of the Rings, he opens his heart and tells him that the work has been “colossal,” that  he wrote it “with the blood of his life “… Not only because of the time it took him to think, create, and live, but also because there is a great deal of coherence and connection between who he is and what he writes… He almost walks in step with his work… in which he captures aspects of his life in the form of stories, transformed into tales, romances, poems, and narratives. Especially  the love story of Beren and Lúthien in The Silmarillion, or that of Arwen and Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings.

To be continued…