mindil - these are some absolutely brilliant posts.
One thing that ties in very nicely with this theory is the way Tolkien tried to introduce Numenor -
both of his first(?) attempts to write the story were time-travel narratives.
The Lost Road starts with a blatant Tolkien stand-in named an equivalent of Aelfwine, and travels back through metaphysically linked bearers of the name to Numenor and Elendil.
The Notion Club Papers has two members of the Fake Inklings not only receiving messages from ancient Numenor in their dreams, but eventually travelling... back?... there.
Going from
The Lost Road specifically, 'Ronald Tolkien' could be glossed in English as 'wise ruler/foolhardy'. There are a
lot of potential characters he could 'link' to who are named after wisdom (notably Finrod and Fingolfin in the First Age)... and one notable Fool of a Took. ^_^
Come to think of it, 'wise fool' is a riddling pun on 'Samwise'. Once he made the link to two of the Fellowship's Hobbits, the story must have practically written itself.
(Is the break in writing at Moria because the war made it too hard to feel childlike? Oh, there is
so much scope with this idea!)
hS