J.R.R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) was an English philologist who specialized in an academic pursuit of Old English, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, and Scandinavian criss-crossings in language — and who conquered the world of popular culture by his creation of the high-fantasy epics of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. He would be the first to agree that often the language created in his mind needed a people and their history to make the creation live, and he had the genius to become deeply interested in what happened to his language-speakers.
Tolkien was a veteran of trench warfare in WWI (reflected in his picture of Mordor). In less than six months he participated in many assaults and lost most of his close friends to the war. He was invalided out with trench fever, a wasting and potentially crippling consequence of the plague of lice in the works. He began a life in academia, eventually carving a distinguished career both for his teaching and his scholarship. His entire adult life, however, had an ever-present onging project with Middle-Earth and its peoples. He published The Hobbit in 1937 and finally finished tinkering with The Lord of the Rings after the war, publishing the three volumes in the early 1950s. The many volumes of his drafts and notes published posthumously by his son Christopher attest to his devotion to languages creating the world and fashioning its history.
It is easy to get lost with Tolkien, trying to track what he wrote when and how revising it affected his fantastic universe in a hundred different ways. It may be helpful when first reading him or even when going back to savor him once again to remember he wanted to find that pre-War England, to take journeys with friends, even if the journeys may be hazardous in a great and noble cause, and to return safely back to a comfortable shire.
A' Hobat, no A-null 's Air Ais A-rithist: The Hobbit in Scottish Gaelic
A' Hobat, no A-null 's Air Ais A-rithist: The Hobbit in Scottish Gaelic
Seo an sgeul fantasach air leth a tha ionmhainn aig luchd-leughaidh eadar mhòr is beag, mu dheidhinn hobait agus Biolbo Bagainn as ainm dha, a thèid a sguabadh air falbh air turas gun dùil leis an draoidh Gandalf agus còmhlan de thrì troichean deug. 'S e fìor dhàna-sgeulachd a tha sa Hobat, mu sgrìob a bheir buidheann de throichean air tòir òir a tha fo fhreiceadan le dràgon. 'S ann gu mì-dheònach a ghabhas Biolbo Bagainn pàirt sa cheann-turais seo, agus e na hobat dèidheil air cofhurt is gun uaill-mhiann air idir. Cuiridh e iongnadh fiù 's air fhèin leis cho innleachdach is cho sgileil 's a tha e mar ghadaiche. Am measg gach driodfhortan eile, tachraidh Biolbo ri trobhaichean, bòcain, troichean, eilf agus damhain-allaidh aibheiseach, mus bi còmhraidhean aige leis an dràgon, Smòg, agus mus bi e an làthair a dh'aindeoin a thoil fhèin aig Blàr nan Còig Arm. Tha Biolbo Bagainn ga chunntadh am measg nan gaisgeach neo-bhàsmhor ann an uirsgeul cloinne. Nuair a sgrìobh an t-Àrd-ollamh Tolkien A' Hobat do chloinn fhèin, choisinn e sàr-chliù cho luath 's a chaidh fhoillseachadh. A-nis, tha an leabhar ri fhaighinn sa Ghàidhlig airson a' chiad uair, ann an eadar-theangachadh iongantach leis an Àrd-ollamh Moray Watson. Tha na dealbhan-tarraing is mapaichean uile aig an ùghdar an lùib an leabhair. ---
The beloved fantasy classic for readers of all ages, about a hobbit called Bilbo Baggins who is whisked off on an unexpected journey by Gandalf the wizard and a company of thirteen dwarves. The Hobbit is a tale of high adventure, undertaken by a company of dwarves in search of dragon-guarded gold. A reluctant partner in this perilous quest is Bilbo Baggins, a comfort-loving unambitious hobbit, who surprises even himself by his resourcefulness and skill as a burglar. Encounters with trolls, goblins, dwarves, elves and giant spiders, conversations with the dragon, Smaug, and a rather unwilling presence at the Battle of Five Armies are just some of the adventures that befall Bilbo. Bilbo Baggins has taken his place among the ranks of the immortals of children's fiction. Written by Professor Tolkien for his own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when published. Now the book is available for the first time in Gaelic, in a superb translation by Professor Moray Watson. The book includes all the drawings and maps by the author. ]