J.R.R. Tolkien’s wife and lifelong romantic inspiration was Edith Bratt.
Tolkien met Edith when he was a teenager, and they married on 22 March 1916. Their relationship influenced the legend of Beren and Lúthien, one of the central love stories in Tolkien’s mythology. Tolkien’s own gravestone names him Beren, while Edith’s names her Lúthien.
Edith was a talented pianist and had a strong influence on Tolkien’s personal life. The couple had four children: John, Michael, Christopher, and Priscilla. Christopher later became the principal editor and publisher of much of his father’s posthumous writing.
Edith is sometimes confused with Mabel Suffield, Tolkien’s mother, whose encouragement helped develop his early interest in languages and stories. Edith was not the source of Tolkien’s entire mythology, but her relationship with him provided a personal model for one of its most enduring tales.