Oxonmoot is a conference and fan convention organized by

The Tolkien Society The Tolkien Society is an educational charity and literary society devoted to the study and promotion of the life and works of the author and academic J. R. R. Tolkien. It began informally in 1969, and held its inaugural meeting in 1970. It ho ...

devoted to celebrate and study the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien. It takes place every year in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England, around 22 September, the date of Bilbo and

Frodo Baggins Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, and one of the protagonists in '' The Lord of the Rings''. Frodo is a hobbit of the Shire who inherits the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins, described familiarly ...

's birthdays, also known as

Hobbit Day Hobbit Day is a name used for September 22 in reference to its being the birthday of the hobbits Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, two fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's popular set of books ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. According ...

History

The idea of a Tolkien-related gathering in Oxford came from the multiple connections of the writer with the city, and was initially suggested by John Abbot in the fanzine ''Nazgul.'' The first Oxonmoot took place over 13 to 15 September 1974, and was based in the former Welsh Pony pub in George Street. Among other activities such as visiting the Bodleian Library and lunching in The Eagle and Child pub, attendants of this first meeting laid a wreath on Tolkien's grave, and recited ''

A Elbereth Gilthoniel ''A Elbereth Gilthoniel'' is an Elvish hymn to Varda ( Sindarin: ''Elbereth'') in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. It is the longest piece of Sindarin in ''The Lord of the Rings''. It is not translated in the main text where it i ...

''. During this first Oxonmoot an American student and member of the

Mythopoeic Society The Mythopoeic Society (MythSoc) is a non-profit organization devoted to the study of mythopoeic literature, particularly the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and C. S. Lewis, all members of The Inklings, an informal group of write ...

joined the original group. The 1992 Oxonmoot, at the centenary of Tolkien's birth, was held together with the 23rd Mythopoeic Conference. From 1991 Oxonmoot has been hosted in different colleges of the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, for example, Lady Margaret Hall from 2009 to 2014, and

St Antony's College St Antony's College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises ...

from 2015 to 2019. Oxonmoot has become the largest of the Tolkien Society's calendar of events, typically bringing about 200 fans from the UK and abroad. The 2018 Oxonmoot was the largest with more than 300 attendees, coinciding with the popular Bodleian exhibition Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth.

Activities

Oxonmoot takes place over a weekend and includes talks, art shows, reading circles, theatre performances, workshops, and social events such as quizzes, a banquet and a masquerade. The event closes with a remembrance ceremony called ''Enyalië'' at Tolkien's grave in

Wolvercote cemetery Wolvercote Cemetery is a cemetery in the parish of Wolvercote and district of Cutteslowe in Oxford, England. Its main entrance is on Banbury Road and it has a side entrance in Five Mile Drive. It has a funeral chapel, public toilets and a small a ...

. The ''Enyalië'' continues the tradition established during the first Oxonmoot of laying a wreath on the grave of Tolkien and his wife

Edith Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and var ...

, and includes words by the Chairman of the Tolkien Society, a selected reading from Tolkien, and a recital of the poem ''

Namárië "Namárië" () is a poem by J. R. R. Tolkien written in Quenya, a constructed language, and published in ''The Lord of the Rings''. It is subtitled "Galadriel's Lament in Lórien", which in Quenya is ''Altariello nainië Lóriendessë''. The ...

''. Oxonmoot is a forum for presenting

Tolkien research The works of J. R. R. Tolkien have generated a body of research covering many aspects of his fantasy writings. These encompass ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Silmarillion'', along with his legendarium that remained unpublished until after ...

in the form of seminar papers and books, from academics such as John Garth,

Tom Shippey Thomas Alan Shippey (born 9 September 1943) is a British medievalist, a retired scholar of Middle and Old English literature as well as of modern fantasy and science fiction. He is considered one of the world's leading academic experts on the ...

Verlyn Flieger Verlyn Flieger (born 1933) is an author, editor, and Professor Emerita in the Department of English at the University of Maryland at College Park, where she taught courses in comparative mythology, medieval literature, and the works of J. R. R. Tol ...

, Michael D. C. Drout, and

Elizabeth Solopova Elizabeth Solopova is a Russian-British philologist and medievalist undertaking research at New College, Oxford. She is known outside academic circles for her work on J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. Life Elizabeth Solopova was born i ...

. Due to the COVID pandemic, the 2020 Oxonmoot was held online, and it included keynote talks by

Dimitra Fimi Dimitra Fimi (born 2 June 1978) is a Scottish academic and writer and since 2020 the Senior Lecturer in Fantasy and Children's Literature at the University of Glasgow. Her research includes that of the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien and children's ...

, about the ''

Unfinished Tales ''Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth'' is a collection of stories and essays by J. R. R. Tolkien that were never completed during his lifetime, but were edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and published in 1980. Many of the tale ...

,''

Wayne G. Hammond Wayne Gordon Hammond (born February 11, 1953 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American scholar known for his research and writings on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. Biography Wayne Hammond was born in Cleveland, Ohio and then raised in Brooklyn, Ohi ...

and

Christina Scull Christina Scull (born 6 March 1942 in Bristol, England) is a British researcher and writer best known for her books about the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. Biography Christina Scull was born in Bristol and was educated at the Redmaids' High Sc ...

, about Tolkien as an illustrator, among others.

References

{{Lord of the Rings Tolkien fandom Fantasy fandom Fantasy conventions Events in Oxford

History

Activities

See also

References