A world without Legolas is a world I wouldn't want to live in.:)
Posted on 09/16/2009 9:46:22 PM PDT by nickcarraway
LORD of the Rings author JRR Tolkien trained as a spy in the years leading up to World War II, it has emerged.
The Oxford University professor - who also wrote The Hobbit - was one of 50 intellectuals chosen by the British Government singled out to crack Nazi codes as it appeared increasingly likely Germany was preparing to declare war.
Tolkien was reknown as one of his generation's most respected linguists, and according to The Sun, was believed to have passed the training course “with flying colours”. Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
He was offered the job at the famous Bletchley Park code-breaking centre, but for reasons unknown, turned it and its £50,000 ($94,000) salary down. The staff at Bletchley Park would later achieve fame worldwide by cracking the Enigma code and saving Britain by helping its navy intercept and destroy Hitler's U-boats.
The Daily Telegraph reports Tolkien - a professor of Anglo Saxon at Oxford University from 1925 to 1945 - visited the base for three consecutive days in March 1939.
A record of his training carries the word ''keen'' beside his name, but he refused the job and went on to complete his Lord of the Rings trilogy.
"We simply don't know why he didn't join,” a spokesman for the UK Government's spy base said.
Ping
Saruman is based on Rommel?
“Perhaps it was because we declared war on Germany and not Mordor.”
"Uglúk u bagronk sha pushdug Saruman-glob búb-hosh skai"
Listening to Hitler's speeches, eh?
Cheers!
I find it hard to believe that in that era, he would have been offered so much money. A Spitfire in 1940 had a production cost of about $25,000. A P-51 mustang had a production cost of about $50,000.
John_Rhys Davies compared the baddies to Islam. He had been a lib until he went to see Thatcher give a speech. He was there to heckle her. He left being a conservative.
He also did a Beowulf analysis that was fantastic, and I think it was he who also did the best Sir Gawain and the Green Knight I have ever read.
parsy, who has a tape of him/son reading the Beren and Luthien Tenuvial poem, which is like a half hour of so of pure ecstasy
That should be: Tolkien was renowned...
Oh well, even writers about linguists can misspell occasionally.
Tolkien is also listed as one of the “principal collaborators in translation and literary revision” of the Jerusalem Bible. I own a copy of this Bible and find it very readable (if not always lyrical), and really enjoy its informative and insightful footnotes.
Tolkien is also listed as one of the “principal collaborators in translation and literary revision” of the Jerusalem Bible. I own a copy of this Bible and find it very readable (if not always lyrical), and really enjoy its informative and insightful footnotes.
A world without Legolas is a world I wouldn't want to live in.:)
“...but he refused the job and went on to complete his Lord of the Rings trilogy.”
That might be the reason right there. You’ve got to have your priorities set and not let a little old World War get in the way. Probably for the better, too.
“with flying colours”
Pretty wild eh?
Philology Ping!!
bookmark
One minor Irony....In “Hobbit” Tolkien misspelled “Dwarfs” as “Dwarves”.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.