Elizabeth Solopova is a Russian-British

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined ...

and

medievalist The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often v ...

undertaking research at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...

. She is known outside academic circles for her work on J. R. R. Tolkien's

Middle-earth Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the '' Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is ...

writings.

Life

Elizabeth Solopova was born in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

and graduated from

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

. She completed her PhD in English at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. She is a research fellow at the University of Oxford, where she teaches Old and Middle English.

Reception

''The Keys of Middle-Earth''

Solopova's 2005 book ''The Keys of Middle-Earth'', written with

Stuart D. Lee Stuart Dermot Lee (born 3 February 1966) is a British specialist in information technology at Oxford University Computing Services and a Reader (academic rank), Reader in E-learning at Oxford University, but is best known for his scholarly books on ...

, 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. 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. 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. Others have noted that it excludes ''

The Silmarillion ''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavri ...

'', which would have demanded the Finnish ''Kalevala''. As a student text, its medieval fragments are well-introduced but too short for most academic purposes.

''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.

Books

She has written or edited the following books: * 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

psalter A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters w ...

s from the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

, with details of

bookbinding Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, b ...

, decoration, and text. * 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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Solopova, Elizabeth British philologists Women philologists Living people Fellows of New College, Oxford Writers from Moscow 1965 births Tolkien studies