What was the name of J.R.R. Tolkien’s wife, whom he associated with Lúthien?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s wife was Edith Bratt, later Edith Tolkien. Tolkien associated her with Lúthien, the immortal Elf whose love story with the mortal Beren is one of his central legends.

Tolkien met Edith in Birmingham when he was a teenager, but his guardian initially opposed the relationship while Tolkien was young. Tolkien and Edith eventually married on 22 March 1916, shortly before he served in the First World War.

Their marriage influenced Tolkien’s mythology, but Lúthien is not simply a fictional biography of Edith. Tolkien created a much larger legendarium around the character and her descendants. The couple had four children. Their shared grave in Wolvercote Cemetery uses the names Beren and Lúthien, making the literary connection visible on their memorial.