The Lord of the Rings was a classic when I was a kid. It was a tradition, a world I had a glimpse into and was very proud of it. It was a very pleasant world... Even today, I am shocked to meet someone who has neither seen nor read the LOTR trilogy. I always wonder if they are aware of everything they are missing. But even if you know The Lord of the Rings, if you've read The Hobbit cover to cover, if you feel like you're practically living in Middle Earth, there may still be a story that you don't know, that of Tolkien himself. ImageWe usually call him Tolkien. I guess it's because repeating John Ronald Reuel Tolkien five times in a conversation gets a little boring. I suppose you could call him Ronald, that's what his friends called him, but Tolkien should be enough, for most people worth their salt. While researching this piece, I had the wonderful surprise to discover that Tolkien's name is said to be of German origin (the great man himself believed it), a variation of the word Toll-k?hn: stupidly brave or stupidly intelligent . Isn't that great, considering the circumstances? This seems to fit into the whole Tolkien universe... Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essay A tumultuous personal life Tolkien was born in January 1892, in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Although he only lived in South Africa for four years, he remembered it quite well and claimed that it inspired, to some extent, his later writings. But in 1896, Tolkien's father, Arthur, died of complications from rheumatic fever, forcing the family (now consisting of Ronald, his mother, Mabel, and his younger brother, Hilary) to return to England, more precisely in the hamlet. from Sarehole, near Birmingham. Soon after, Mabel and her sister converted to Catholicism, and of course, so did the boys. Tolkien remained a devout Catholic throughout his life. Although poor, the family was quite happy. But not for long. In 1904, when Tolkien was just twelve years old, his mother, Mabel, died of diabetes (fatal just days before insulin) and he and his brother, Hilary, were left in the care of the parish priest, Fr. Francis Morgan. Although the priest was nominally responsible, the boys were housed for a short time with an unsympathetic aunt, then with a Mrs. Faulkner, who owned a boarding house. It was in this boarding house, at the age of 16, that he met a young woman, Edith Bratt, who was three years older than him. ImageThey were immediately attracted to each other and became good friends. The story goes that Edith was his muse throughout his life, inspiring many of his stories, notably the tale of Beren and Luthien, a recurring story in his Leg-endarium. However, Father Francis, who was still responsible for the two boys, intervened and forbade Tolkien from seeing or speaking to this girl. The poor boy therefore had to wait until he was 21 (a time when Father Francis was no longer responsible) to continue his relationship with Edith. In the meantime, his academic life was going well... then not so well. As a child he studied at King Edward's School, where he became part of a group of reading friends. They remained close friends, constantly sending each other's works, until 1916, when all of them – except Tolkien – died in the war. He already showed a remarkable interest in linguistics, mastering Latin and Greek and inventing his own languages, for fun. He then went to Oxford to study classics, but he did not do very well and changed schools.?