Into his books he wove a profound (but not heavy-handed) Christian message - one that inspired millions.
8 things to know about his remarkable life... 🧵
1. He wasn't a writer
Tolkien was 45 when he published his first book. It was his astonishing life experience beforehand that led him to become a great artist.
This was his résumé before becoming an author...
• Linguist (spoke ~15 languages)
• Code-breaker (recruited for WW2, though not called into action)
• Conlanger (invented his first language age 12)
• Soldier (fought at the Somme in WW1)
• Professor (taught Anglo-Saxon studies at Oxford)
2. He set out to write a mythology for England
He knew that cultures need foundational stories and myths to guide them through life. Besides the legends of King Arthur, he thought England lacked the rich mythology of other traditions - Greek, Celtic, Germanic, Scandinavian.
3. He hated Disney
Tolkien disliked their sugar-coated approach to storytelling, and kept the rough edges in his own stories. The Hobbit was written for kids, but it contains anger, hardship, horror, evil and death.
That's why his books are so enduringly real.
4. He was a Christian, not an ideologue
In his own words: “The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work.”
There are many Christian symbols woven throughout: Frodo, Gandalf and Aragorn are clearly Christ figures, for example.
But the beauty of LOTR is the lack of moralizing messages. Tolkien disliked allegory, which he knew led to two-dimensional stories.
Tolkien's messages instead lie mostly in the background: characters of great virtue and small acts of courage - which resonate with ALL readers.
5. He fought on the front lines in WW1
His stories are relatable because they're real. He saw the Dead Marshes in real life: no man's land at the Battle of the Somme.
Through sheer courage and imaginative strength, he turned the horrors of his life into art.
6. He opposed industrialization
He saw the peaceful England of his childhood fall prey to industrialism, which he resisted via storytelling - like the Ents’ siege on Isengard.
He wanted us to turn away from the grind of modernity and live simpler lives, surrounded by beauty.
7. He was a Hobbit
“I am in fact a Hobbit (in all but size),” he wrote. “I like gardens, trees and unmechanized farmlands; I smoke a pipe, and like good plain food.”
At the end, the hobbits destroy the ring - rendering the great wars meaningless. A small act of mercy made that possible: Bilbo sparred Gollum's life, who led to the ring's eventual destruction.
It's in the “little people” that Tolkien puts his faith, not great armies or heroes.
8. He could draw (and paint)
Many of the original illustrations in The Hobbit were produced by Tolkien himself. Here are some of his watercolors:
What are the best-preserved wonders of Ancient Egypt besides the pyramids?
First, there's this 2,000-year-old temple — celestial carvings cover every inch of its ceiling.
And that's still the original paint... (thread) 🧵
The Temple of Hathor near Luxor is one of the most immaculate temples we have, built by Cleopatra's father (Ptolemy XII) around 54 BC.
Very little daylight reaches the paintwork inside, so its blue glow never faded...
Just up the Nile is the Temple of Khnum in Esna.
Full-color reliefs of the zodiac and constellations adorn every surface, preserved for millennia beneath layers of soot. It was scraped away a few years ago, revealing this...
The 6th century Christ Pantocrator is the most recognized image of Jesus — but what about before then?
Well, that's where things get weird... (thread) 🧵
There are no physical descriptions of Christ in the Gospels. The first Christians were wary of idolatry and wanted to focus on his words and teachings.
But what do the earliest artistic depictions show us?
This is the Christ Pantocrator, a Byzantine icon kept in a small Mount Sinai monastery since the 6th century.
Its style (right hand raised, Bible in the left) became repeated around the world, and established his conventional appearance: bearded and long-haired.
Why do American cities feel less "alive" than their European counterparts?
It's because of something called the "missing middle".
A century ago, American cities looked completely different... (thread) 🧵
Millions make pilgrimages to Europe's centers every year. Architectural beauty is one thing, but they simply feel more vibrant and "alive" than American cities.
But why is that?
In the early 20th century, American cities were much like European ones. They had smaller footprints relative to population, and people lived centrally enough to walk or take elegant streetcars to work.
What happened? The "missing middle" was decimated...
You might recognize this as a movie set — it's actually a real place near Paris.
In the 1970s, one man had enough of modern architecture and did something radical.
He went back to Ancient Greece for inspiration... (thread) 🧵
It's called Les Espaces d'Abraxas, and it's unlike anything you've seen before.
It's a housing project built in the 1980s as a backlash against the dreary modernist blocks of the day...
After WW2, cheap, rectangular housing blocks addressed the need to build rapidly across Europe.
Modernism was the dominant style and most new Parisian suburbs were like this: tower blocks built with seemingly little regard for what it's like to live in them.