What was the name of J.R.R. Tolkien’s wife?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s wife was Edith Tolkien, formerly Edith Mary Bratt.

Tolkien met Edith Bratt in Birmingham when he was a teenager, and they developed a close relationship. His guardian, Father Francis Morgan, initially forbade Tolkien from seeing her until he reached the age of 21. Tolkien and Edith reunited after that restriction ended and married on 22 March 1916.

Their marriage lasted until Edith’s death in 1971. They had four children: John, Michael, Christopher, and Priscilla. Edith’s life and relationship with Tolkien helped inspire the fictional story of Beren and Lúthien, whose love overcomes separation and opposition.

The names Beren and Lúthien appear on the couple’s shared grave in Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford. Tolkien’s later mythology gives Lúthien a pivotal role as an immortal Elf who chooses a mortal life with Beren. Edith was not the editor of The Silmarillion; that task was undertaken by their son Christopher after Tolkien’s death.