Tolkien, John Ronald Reuel

Japanese: トールキン（英語表記）Tolkien， John Ronald Reuel

Born January 3, 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa
[Died] September 2, 1973, Bournemouth, Hampshire. British linguist, scholar of ancient and medieval literature, and author. Moved to England in 1896. Studied English and English literature at Oxford University, obtaining his master's degree in 1919. After working as an assistant editor on the Oxford English Dictionary, he taught at Leeds University from 1920 to 1925, and was a professor at Oxford from 1925 to 1959. He specialized in Old and Middle English, and his works include Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics (36). In 1937, while continuing his research, he published The Hobbit, based on stories he had told his four children, which was very well received. This treasure hunting adventure story featuring the dwarf hobbits was later expanded into an epic fantasy trilogy, The Lord of the Rings (54), The Two Towers (55), and The Return of the King (56), which depicts the battle between good and evil over the ring that the hobbits brought back. These works were published in countries all over the world and became explosively popular. These works established a new genre of epic fantasy based on traditional literature such as myths and legends, and had a major impact on British children's literature after World War II. His other works include Farmer Giles of Ham (1949), The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (62), Smith of Wootton Major (67), the essay On Fairy-Stories (64), The Silmarillion (77), which was meant to be a prequel to The Lord of the Rings but was left unfinished at his death, and posthumous works include The Father Christmas Letters (76), Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth (80), and Roverandom (98).

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

[生]1892.1.3. 南アフリカ，ブルームフォンテーン
[没]1973.9.2ハンプシャー，ボーンマス
南アフリカ生れのイギリスの言語学者，古代中世文学者，作家。 1896年イギリスに移住。オックスフォード大学で英語英文学を学ぶ。 1919年修士号取得。『オックスフォード英語辞典』の編集助手を経て，20～25年リーズ大学で教鞭をとる。 25～59年オックスフォード大学教授。専門は古期・中期英語で，著作に『ベーオウルフ研究』 Beowulf:The Monsters and the Critics (36) がある。 37年研究のかたわら，4人のわが子に語り聞かせた話をもとに書いた『ホビット』 The Hobbitを出版，大好評を博す。小人族のホビットが活躍するこの宝探しの冒険物語はその後，ホビットが持ち帰った指輪をめぐる善と悪との対決を描く壮大なファンタジー3部作『指輪物語』 The Lord of the Rings－『旅の仲間』 The Fellowship of the Ring (54) ，『二つの塔』 The Two Towers (55) ，『王の帰還』 The Return of the King (56) に発展，世界各国で出版され爆発的な人気を呼ぶ。これらの作品は神話や伝説など伝承文学をもとにした叙事詩ファンタジーという新ジャンルを確立し，第2次世界大戦後のイギリス児童文学に大きな影響を与えた。ほかに『農夫ジャイルズの冒険』 Farmer Giles of Ham (1949) ，『トム・ボンバディルの冒険』 The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (62) ，『星をのんだかじや』 Smith of Wootton Major (67) ，小論『妖精物語について』 On Fairy-Stories (64) ，指輪物語の前編となるはずだったが，自身の死で未完に終わった『シルマリルの物語』 The Silmarillion (77) ，また没後出版された作品に『サンタ・クロースからの手紙』 The Father Christmas Letters (76) ，Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth (80) ，Roverandom (98) などがある。

出典　ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典について　情報

<<: Torque - Toruku (English spelling)

>>: Turkistan (English spelling)