I thought Elvish was based on Finnish.
Posted on 01/02/2003 7:26:56 PM PST by John Farson
A yellowing manuscript by J.R.R.Tolkien discovered in an Oxford library could become one of the publishing sensations of 2003.
The 2000 handwritten pages include Tolkien's translation and appraisal of Beowulf, the epic 8th century Anglo-Saxon poem of bravery, friendship and monster-slaying that is thought to have inspired The Lord of the Rings.
He borrowed from early English verse to concoct the imaginary language spoken by Arwen, played by Liv Tyler, and other elves in the second film made from the Rings books, The Two Towers.
A US academic, Michael Drout, found the Tolkien material by accident in a box of papers at the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
An assistant professor of English at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, Dr Drout was researching Anglo- Saxon scholarship at the Bodleian, and asked to see a copy of a lecture on Beowulf given by Tolkien in 1936.
It was brought to him in a reading room in a large box. Professor Drout, who reads Anglo-Saxon prose to his two-year-old daughter at bedtime, said: "I was sitting there going through the transcripts when I saw these four bound volumes at the bottom of the box.
"I started looking through, and realised I had found an entire book of material that had never seen the light of day. As I turned the page, there was Tolkien's fingerprint in a smudge of ink."
After obtaining permission from the Tolkien estate, Professor Drout published Beowulf and the Critics, a version of Tolkien's 1936 lecture, in the US earlier this month.
Even more exciting will be Tolkien's translation of the poem and his line-by-line interpretation of its meaning, which will be published next summer.
Tolkien's name on the cover is likely to make the translation a bestseller.
Professor Drout says Tolkien found inspiration for many of his storylines and characters in Beowulf. The Anglo-Saxon hero's friendship with Wiglaf is mirrored in the relationship between Frodo and Sam in The Lord of the Rings.
Elves, orcs and ents, the latter a type of giant that becomes a walking and talking tree in Tolkien's work, are all mentioned in Beowulf.
Merlin Unwin, son of Tolkien's original publisher, said: "Beowulf is a wonderful story, and if you put Tolkien's name to it, it would probably be a great commercial success."
They did seem to cut it short didn't they...
Yeah, they did. Now we have to wait for the "extended" edition to get the really good stuff...then the extended extended edition when the third one comes out...then the boxed set of extended extended extended Director's Cut editions for the low, low price of $199.95 - and that's for those of us who will already have bought the individual versions...
I thought Elvish was based on Finnish.
From an earlier thread link, he was likely a genious, and slightly autistic.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aspergers.html?pg=1&topic=&topic_set
Middle-earth Name Generator
Recent innovations in translations may have changed the
result you previous received for your name.
According to the Red Book of Westmarch,
In Middle-earth, ATOMIC PUNK was a
Handsome Bird-tamer
Elven Name Possibilities for ATOMIC PUNK
The root name suitable for feminine and masculine is:
Astaldogrist
Another masculine version is:
Astaldogristion
More feminine versions are:
Astaldogristiel
Astaldogristien
Astaldogristwen
Hobbit lad name for ATOMIC PUNK
Erling Tussle from Pincup
Hobbit lass name for ATOMIC PUNK
Peony Tussle from Pincup
Dwarven Name for ATOMIC PUNK
Norin Deathcryer
This name is for both genders.
Orkish Name for ATOMIC PUNK
Krumrárz the Blacktooth
This name is for both genders.
A US academic, Michael Drout, found the Tolkien material by accident in a box of papers at the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
- Right next to the Colonel’s Rotisserie Chicken recipe.
I just can't imagine how many times you'll be reading this book, not to mention seeing it when it hits the big screen. ;-)
. . 
It is! My books are buried. Otherwise I'd pull out a reference... Maybe JameRatief or The Iguana can confirm (or deny...)
Plus, I have to get every edition, hardbound and paperback, with every different cover.
They should have burned it.
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