Sundering of the Elves: Difference between revisions

[[J. R. R. Tolkien]] (1892–1973) is best known as the author of the [[high fantasy]] works ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. He was a professional [[philology|philologist]], an expert in the changes in words between languages.<ref name="Carpenter 1977">{{cite book | last=Carpenter | first=Humphrey |author-link=Humphrey Carpenter | title=[[J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography]] | publisher=[[George Allen & Unwin]] | publication-place=London | date=1977 | isbn=978-0-04-928037-63 | oclc=3046822 |pages=111, 200, 266 and throughout}}</ref> He created a family of [[Constructed language|invented languages]] for [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elves]], carefully designing the differences between them to reflect their distance from their imaginary common origin. He stated that his languages led him to create the [[A mythology for England|invented mythology]] of ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', to provide a world in which his languages could have existed. In that world, the splintering of the Elvish peoples mirrored the fragmentation of their languages.<ref name="Shippey 2001"/><ref name="Flieger 1983 Darkness"/>

[[File:The Sundering of the Elves diagram.svg|thumb|center|upright=3.5|Diagram of the Sundering of the Elves, showing Tolkien's overlapping classifications. The names Calaquendi and Moriquendi, Light-Elves and Dark-Elves, correspond to names used in [[Old Norse]], [[Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar|''Ljósálfar'' and ''Dökkálfar'']].<ref name="Shippey 2001"/> ]]