Oxonmoot is a conference andfan convention organized byThe Tolkien Society devoted to celebrate and study the life and works ofJ. R. R. Tolkien. It takes place every year inOxford, England, formerly around 22 September, the date ofBilbo andFrodo Baggins's birthdays, also known asHobbit Day, although, since 2014, the event has often been moved to an earlier date at the beginning of September.[1][2]
Vera Chapman, founder of the Tolkien Society and Jessica Yates, one of the Oxonmoot founders, at Eagle and Child, Oxonmoot 1979
The idea of a Tolkien-related gathering in Oxford came from the multiple connections of the writer with the city, and was initially suggested by John Abbot in the fanzineNazgul. The first Oxonmoot took place over 13 to 15 September 1974, and was based in the former Welsh Pony pub inGeorge Street. Among other activities such as visiting theBodleian Library and lunching inThe Eagle and Child pub, attendants of this first meeting laid a wreath on Tolkien's grave, and recitedA Elbereth Gilthoniel.[3] During this first Oxonmoot an American student and member of theMythopoeic Society joined the original group.[3] The 1992 Oxonmoot, at the centenary of Tolkien's birth, was held together with the 23rd Mythopoeic Conference.[4] From 1991 Oxonmoot has been hosted in different colleges of theUniversity of Oxford, for example,Lady Margaret Hall from 2009 to 2014,[5][6]St Antony's College from 2015 to 2019,[7][8][9] andSt Anne's College from 2021.[2]
Oxonmoot has become the largest of the Tolkien Society's calendar of events, typically bringing about 200 fans from the UK and abroad.[10] The 2018 Oxonmoot was the largest with more than 300 attendees, coinciding with the popular Bodleian exhibitionTolkien: Maker of Middle-earth.[11]
Fan gathering at Tolkien's gravesite during the 2008 Oxonmoot.
Oxonmoot takes place over a weekend and includes talks, art shows, reading circles, theatre performances,[14] workshops, and social events such as quizzes, a banquet and amasquerade.[15]
The event closes with a remembrance ceremony calledEnyalië at Tolkien's grave inWolvercote cemetery. The name “Enyalïe” is from Tolkien'sconstructed languageSindarin, meaning “remembrance”.[19] TheEnyalië continues the tradition established during the first Oxonmoot of laying a wreath on the grave of Tolkien and his wifeEdith, and includes words by the Chairman of the Tolkien Society, a selected reading from Tolkien, and a recital of the poemNamárië.[20]
