Songs for the Philologists

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien & Eric Valentine Gordon

Songs for the Philologists is a collection of poems by E.V. Gordon and J.R.R. Tolkien as well as traditional songs. Originally a collection of typescripts compiled by Gordon in 1921–1926 for the students of the University of Leeds, it was given by A.H. Smith of University College London, a former student at Leeds, to a group of students to be printed privately in 1935 or 1936, and printed in 1936 with the impressum “Printed by G. Tillotson, A.H. Smith, B. Pattison and other members of the English Department, University College, London.”

Since Smith had not asked permission of either Gordon or Tolkien, the printed booklets were not distributed. Most copies were destroyed in a fire, and only a few, perhaps around 14, survived.

Of the 30 songs in the collection, 13 were contributed by Tolkien.

Includes contributions in English, Old English, Middle English, Gothic, Icelandic, Old Norse, Latin.