JRR Tolkien (1892-1973) is most widely known today as the author of the best-selling fantasy work The Lord of the Rings. But Tolkien, who taught at the University of Oxford for most of his life, was also a talented artist, designer and calligrapher, as well as a renowned scholar of Old and Middle English.

Tolkien's invented languages led to the creation of legends, people and places, and ultimately to an entire world filled with thousands of years of history, studded with tales of love, loss, treachery and heroism.

He combined all his talents to create the imaginary world of Middle-earth, devising languages and alphabets, constructing maps, painting landscapes and drawing designs for artefacts and heraldic devices. He laboured on this creative endeavour throughout his life, snatching time from his busy schedule as a Professor of Anglo-Saxon and as a father of four children, to create a fantasy world unsurpassed in its richness and attention to detail.

Tolkien’s first love was languages and as a professional philologist, he became adept at creating his own. His invented languages led to the creation of legends, people and places, and ultimately to an entire world filled with thousands of years of history, studded with tales of love, loss, treachery and heroism. He began to create his mythology while a student at Exeter College Oxford, or possibly even earlier when he was still at school, and continued until his death in 1973.

One of the earliest written texts relating to his ‘legendarium’ is a poem, The Shores of Faery, which is accompanied by a watercolour illustration.