Elizabeth Solopova
Elizabeth Solopova (born 20 January 1965[1]) is a Russian-British philologist and medievalist undertaking research at New College, Oxford.[2][3] She is known outside academic circles for her work on J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings.
Life
Elizabeth Solopova was born in the Soviet Union and graduated from Moscow State University. She completed her PhD in English at the University of Oxford.[4] She is a research fellow at the University of Oxford,[5] where she teaches Old and Middle English.[6]
Reception
The Keys of Middle-Earth
Solopova's 2005 book The Keys of Middle-Earth, written with Stuart D. Lee, on Tolkien's medieval sources for his fantasy writings, was warmly received by scholars, though they found some issues with it. It is her most-cited work.[7] It has been described as an excellent introduction, both for students to use as a text and as a resource for instructors, and an interesting sidelight on the linguistic issues that so fascinated Tolkien.[8] Scholars have praised it as a well-chosen selection of texts and a well-researched introduction to both Tolkien's career and the study of medieval languages.[9] Others have noted that it excludes The Silmarillion, which would have demanded the Finnish Kalevala.[10] As a student text, its medieval fragments are well-introduced but too short for most academic purposes.[11]
Key Concepts in Medieval Literature
Solopova's 2007 book Key Concepts in Medieval Literature, also written with Stuart D. Lee, has been praised as a scholarly introduction with essays at a level suitable for undergraduates and helpful recommendations for further reading. The literature is however exclusively English.[12]
Books
She has written or edited the following books:[13]
- 2000 Chaucer: The General Prologue
- 2005 The Keys of Middle-Earth: Discovering Medieval Literature through the Fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien
- 2009 Languages, Myths and History: An Introduction to the Linguistic and Literary Background of J. R. R. Tolkien's Fiction
- 2007 Key Concepts in Medieval Literature
- 2015 Latin Liturgical Psalters in the Bodleian Library: A Select Catalogue – a catalogue of 111 liturgical psalters from the Bodleian Library, with details of bookbinding, decoration, and text.[14]
- 2016 The Wycliffite Bible: Origin, History and Interpretation
- 2020 From the Vulgate to the Vernacular: Four Debates on an English Question c. 1450 (editor, with J. Catto and A. Hudson)
References
- ^ "Solopova, Elizabeth". Library of Congress.
- ^ "Solopova, Elizabeth". Library of Congress. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ "Elizabeth Solopova". University of Oxford. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ Collier, Pieter (16 June 2009). "Interview with Dr. Solopova, author of Languages, Myths and History". Tolkien Library. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ "About the Author: Elizabeth Solopova". University of Chicago Press. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ "Dr Elizabeth Solopova". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ "Elizabeth Solopova". Google Scholar. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ Wilcox, Miranda (2007). "The Keys of Middle Earth: Discovering Medieval Literature Through the Fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien". The Medieval Review. 9.
- ^ Marsh, Kay (2008). "Review of The Keys of Middle Earth: Discovering Medieval Literature Through the Fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien". Studies in the Novel. 40 (4): 517–519. JSTOR 29533903.
- ^ Holmes, John R. (2007). "[Review:] The Keys of Middle-earth: Discovering Medieval Literature through the Fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien". Tolkien Studies. 4 (1): 278–282. doi:10.1353/tks.2007.0020. S2CID 170900902.
- ^ Drout, Michael D. C. (2006). "[Review:] Stuart D. Lee and Elizabeth Solopova, The Keys of Middle-earth: Discovering Medieval Literature through the Fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien". Notes and Queries. 53 (4): 555–556. doi:10.1093/notesj/gjl196.
- ^ Johnson, Richard (10 March 2017). "Solopova/Lee, Key Concepts in Medieval Literature". The Medieval Review. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ "Books by Elizabeth Solopova". Goodreads. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ Toswell, M. J. (2015). "Reviews: Elizabeth Solopova, Latin Liturgical Psalters in the Bodleian Library: A Select Catalogue". Speculum. 90 (1): 298–299. doi:10.1017/S0038713414002991.
External links
- Official website
- v
- t
- e
and songs
- Songs for the Philologists (1936)
- The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son (1953)
- "A Walking Song" (1954)
- The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1962)
- "Errantry"
- "Fastitocalon"
- "The Sea-Bell"
- "The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late"
- The Road Goes Ever On (1967)
- Bilbo's Last Song (1974)
- List of Tolkien's alliterative verse
- The Hobbit (1937)
- "Leaf by Niggle" (1947)
- The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun (1945)
- Farmer Giles of Ham (1949)
- The Lord of the Rings:
- The Fellowship of the Ring (1954)
- The Two Towers (1954)
- The Return of the King (1955)
- Tree and Leaf (1964)
- The Tolkien Reader (1966)
- Smith of Wootton Major (1967)
fiction
- The Father Christmas Letters (1976)
- The Silmarillion (1977)
- Unfinished Tales (1980)
- Mr. Bliss (1982)
- The History of Middle-earth (1983–1996)
- Roverandom (1998)
- The Children of Húrin (2007)
- The History of The Hobbit (2007)
- The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún (2009)
- The Fall of Arthur (2013)
- The Story of Kullervo (2015)
- Beren and Lúthien (2017)
- The Fall of Gondolin (2018)
- The Nature of Middle-earth (2021)
- The Fall of Númenor (2022)
works
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Middle English text, 1925)
- "The Devil's Coach Horses" (1925)
- "Ancrene Wisse and Hali Meiðhad" (1929)
- "Sigelwara Land" (1932–34)
- "Chaucer as a Philologist: The Reeve's Tale" (1934)
- "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" (1936)
- "On Fairy-Stories" (1939)
- "On Translating Beowulf" (1940)
- Sir Orfeo (1944)
- Ancrene Wisse (1962)
- "English and Welsh" (1963)
- Jerusalem Bible (as translator and lexicographer, 1966)
academic
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo (translations, 1975)
- Exodus (1981)
- Finn and Hengest (1982)
- The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays (1983)
- Beowulf and the Critics (2002)
- Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary with "Sellic Spell" (2014)
- A Secret Vice (2016)
Writers |
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Christian | |
Literary critics |
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Linguists | |
Medievalists |
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- A Tolkien Compass
- Family
- Influences
- Artwork
- J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator
- Languages constructed by Tolkien
- The Inklings
- The Keys of Middle-earth
- Mythlore
- Mythopoeic Society
- Picturing Tolkien
- Tolkien and the Classical World
- Tolkien's impact on fantasy
- Tolkien and the modernists
- Tolkien Estate
- Tolkien fandom
- The Tolkien Society
- Tolkien Studies
- Memorials
- Reception
- Tolkien research
- Works inspired by Tolkien
- J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography (1977, authorized biography)
- The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide
- Master of Middle-Earth
- Perilous Realms
- Tolkien and the Great War
- The Worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien
- Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth
- Tolkien: A Cultural Phenomenon
- Tolkien, Race and Cultural History
- Tolkien's Art: 'A Mythology for England'
- Tolkien (biographical film)
- Poems and Songs of Middle Earth (album)
- Language and Human Nature
- The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary
- Understanding The Lord of the Rings