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

Main article: 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)