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Test Your JRR Tolkien IQ Trivia Quiz

So, you think you're a JRR Tolkien buff? Try the quiz to see if you know the basics of one of the greatest authors of our time, JRR Tolkien!

A multiple-choice quiz by junepearl. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
junepearl

Time
3 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
121,889

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
1769

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Where was JRR Tolkien born? Hint

Bloemfontein, South Africa

Evaton, South Africa

London, England

Birmingham, England

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Question 2 of 10

2. What was Tolkien's wife's name? Hint

Priscilla

Edith

Mary

Josephina

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Question 3 of 10

3. Tolkien had a sister named Hilary.

True

False

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Question 4 of 10

4. What disease caused the death of Tolkien's mother? Hint

Cancer

Diabetes

Consumption

She died in childbirth

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. The Silmarillion was published after Tolkien died.

True

False

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Question 6 of 10

6. What was the name of Tolkien's closest friend and fellow writer? Hint

J.K. Rowling

Lloyd Alexander

C.S. Lewis

Anne McCaffrey

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Question 7 of 10

7. Tolkien taught at what university? Hint

Princeton

Harvard

Oxford

Yale

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Question 8 of 10

8. 'The Adventures of Tom Bombadil' was written by JRR's son, Christopher Tolkien.

True

False

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Question 9 of 10

9. In what year was 'The Hobbit' first published? Hint

1937

1939

1945

1941

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Question 10 of 10

10. In what year did Tolkien die? Hint

1973

1971

1974

1969

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Where was JRR Tolkien born?

Answer: Bloemfontein, South Africa

Tolkien was born there because his mother and father moved there a few months before he was born. Tolkien's father was a banker, and the promotional opportunities were too good to pass up.

2. What was Tolkien's wife's name?

Answer: Edith

Priscilla is the name of Tolkien's daughter.

3. Tolkien had a sister named Hilary.

Answer: false

Tolkein's brother was named Hilary; he had no sisters.

4. What disease caused the death of Tolkien's mother?

Answer: Diabetes

Before she died, Tolkien's mother converted to the Catholic church, and JRR and Hilary were taken care of by their priest for a period of their childhood.

5. The Silmarillion was published after Tolkien died.

Answer: true

Tolkien wrote much of the Silmarillion during the first World War, in which all but one of his friends (at that time) died. Tolkien came home early due to trench fever.

6. What was the name of Tolkien's closest friend and fellow writer?

Answer: C.S. Lewis

Tolkien and Lewis were part of a group that got together every Tuesday morning to drink beer and go over some of their works together.

7. Tolkien taught at what university?

Answer: Oxford

Tolkien also studied there, and the way Tolkien came up with the idea for the Hobbit was that he was marking some exams when he came across a blank one, and for no particular reason, wrote down the famous line: 'In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit.'

8. 'The Adventures of Tom Bombadil' was written by JRR's son, Christopher Tolkien.

Answer: false

Before tolkien died, he wrote many books, including 'The Adventures of Tom Bombadil'. Christopher Tolkien actually edited the 'Histories of Middle Earth', a twelve-book series.

9. In what year was 'The Hobbit' first published?

Answer: 1937

The only reason 'The Hobbit' got published was because the son of one of the men that worked at the publishing company gave it a great review. Without that review, we may never have gotten to read 'The Hobbit', or 'The Lord of the Rings', the novel's sequel.

10. In what year did Tolkien die?

Answer: 1973

Tolkien's wife passed on two years before he did. He spent the last two years in a small dwelling in a seaside town in England. They were buried beside one another, and on their tombstones underneath their names were 'Luthien' and 'Beren'.

Source: Author junepearl

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor thejazzkickazz before going online.
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