In Praise of Christopher Tolkien - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

davem · 02-23-2011, 10:22 AM

I have to say I've been a bit disappointed by the amount of criticism JRRT's son & literary executor has received on this forum of late. I think its about time to put the other side.

Firstly. let's remember that without CT we may well not have gotten LotR at all. He contributed massively to its coming into being, he drew the maps, & quite possibly was the reason JRRT kept writing the book, to send out, chapter by chapter, to CT who was serving in the RAF during the war.

Since his father's death CT has worked tirelessly to make his father's unpublished writings available to the public. Without his dedication to his father's memory we wouldn't have had The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, the whole of HoM-e or CoH - not to mention Gawain & the Green Knight, Pearl, Sir Orfeo, or the recent Sigurd & Gudrun. He even helped the adaptors of the BBC Lord of the Rings series - probably the definitive adaptation of the book so far.

Of course, CT has made mistakes - he's human after all. Yet if he has gone too far on occasion it has all been motivated by his deep love & respect for his father. There could not have been a more sympathetic, knowledgeable, or dedicated literary executor.

So, a thread dedicated to discussion of CT. Let's talk about his achievements, & acknowledge all we owe him.

02-23-2011, 10:22 AM	#1
davem Illustrious Ulair Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties Posts: 4,240	In Praise of Christopher Tolkien I have to say I've been a bit disappointed by the amount of criticism JRRT's son & literary executor has received on this forum of late. I think its about time to put the other side. Firstly. let's remember that without CT we may well not have gotten LotR at all. He contributed massively to its coming into being, he drew the maps, & quite possibly was the reason JRRT kept writing the book, to send out, chapter by chapter, to CT who was serving in the RAF during the war. Since his father's death CT has worked tirelessly to make his father's unpublished writings available to the public. Without his dedication to his father's memory we wouldn't have had The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, the whole of HoM-e or CoH - not to mention Gawain & the Green Knight, Pearl, Sir Orfeo, or the recent Sigurd & Gudrun. He even helped the adaptors of the BBC Lord of the Rings series - probably the definitive adaptation of the book so far. Of course, CT has made mistakes - he's human after all. Yet if he has gone too far on occasion it has all been motivated by his deep love & respect for his father. There could not have been a more sympathetic, knowledgeable, or dedicated literary executor. So, a thread dedicated to discussion of CT. Let's talk about his achievements, & acknowledge all we owe him. __________________ “Everything was an object. If you killed a dwarf you could use it as a weapon – it was no different to other large heavy objects."