The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien himself. In letters 29 and 30, it appears that a German translation of "The Hobbit" was being negotiated in 1938. The German firm enquired whether Tolkien was of "Arisch" (Aryan) origin. Tolkien was infuriated by this, and wrote two drafts of possible replies for his publisher to choose. The first one is not present – in it Tolkien is assumed to have refused to give any declaration whatsoever of his racial origins. The second, surviving, draft included: A former signals officer at the Battle of the Somme, Tolkien frequently expressed his great dislike for war, whatever the cause. This is
J. R. R. Tolkien plaque was placed in 2002). He also published a philological essay in 1932 on the name "Nodens", following Sir Mortimer Wheeler's unearthing of a Roman Asclepeion at Lydney Park, Gloucestershire, in 1928. In the 1920s, Tolkien undertook a translation of "Beowulf", which he finished in 1926, but did not publish. It was finally edited by his son and published in 2014, more than 40 years after Tolkien's death and almost 90 years since its completion. Ten years after finishing his translation, Tolkien gave a highly acclaimed lecture on the work, "", which had a lasting influence on "Beowulf" research. Lewis