J.R.R. Tolkien was a leading scholar of the English language's Anglo-Saxon roots, and he invented entire languages for his legendary Middle Earth narratives. According to a new restricted exhibit at Britain's intelligence-agency Government Communications Headquarters, the acclaimed author and philologist also trained to crack a few languages at the top-secret Government Code and Cypher School before World War II.
But while Tolkien spent three days in March 1939 at GCCS' code-breaking compound in Bletchley Park, six months before the war broke, he decided against joining the cadre of brainiacs, including Alan Turing, that eventually deciphered the Enigma machines.
"We simply don't know why he didn't join," a GCHQ historian who refused identification explained to Britain's Telegraph. "Perhaps it was because we declared war on Germany and not Mordor."
After Tolkien served in World War I (at right in 1916), most notably at the gruesome Battle of the Somme, he evidently decided his time would be better spent spinning mega-yarns about furry half-pints and fairy elves. By the time he arrived at GCCS, The Hobbit was already a hit and its sequel war epic The Lord of the Rings was already germinating in his vast brain.
The revelation is inspiring for Tolkien loyalists looking for further subtexts in his nearly bottomless myths. Can you spot all the spies in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings?
Bilbo, Frodo and Sam are obvious choices, but there are others deeper in the narrative. Gollum was a spy for the evil spider Shelob, and Grima Wormtongue was a sinister agent of Saruman.
As for decryption, without having Gandalf decipher runes at the Mines of Moria, Lord of the Rings' fellowship may never have met success.
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Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
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