Verlyn Flieger (born 1933) is an author,

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

, and Professor Emerita in the Department of English at the

University of Maryland at College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

, where she taught courses in comparative

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

, medieval literature, and the works of

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...

. She is well known as a

Tolkien scholar The works of J. R. R. Tolkien have generated a body of research covering many aspects of his fantasy writings. These encompass ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Silmarillion'', along with his legendarium that remained unpublished until after ...

, especially for her books ''

Splintered Light ''Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World'' is an 1983 book of literary criticism by the leading Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger, in which she argues that light is a central theme of Tolkien's Middle-earth mythology, in particul ...

'' and ''A Question of Time''. She has won the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award four times for her work on 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 t ...

writings.

Biography

Flieger holds a master's degree (1972) and doctorate (1977) from

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

, and has been associated with the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

since 1976. In 2012, retiring from teaching at Maryland, Flieger began teaching Arthurian studies online at

Signum University Signum University is a non-profit, online graduate school based in New Hampshire, granting the degree of Master of Arts in Language and Literature. Its founder and president is Corey Olsen. Signum's master's degree program has four areas of con ...

. Her best-known books are '' Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World'' (1983; revised edition, 2002), which argues that light is a central theme of Tolkien's

mythology; ''A Question of Time: J. R. R. Tolkien's Road to Faerie'', which won the 1998

Mythopoeic Award The Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given annually for outstanding works in the fields of myth, fantasy, and the scholarly study of these areas. Established by the Mythopoeic Society in 1971, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Awar ...

for

Inklings The Inklings were an informal literary discussion group associated with J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis at the University of Oxford for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949. The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who pra ...

studies; and ''Interrupted Music: The Making of Tolkien's Mythology'' (2005). The Tolkien scholar

Bradford Lee Eden Bradford Lee Eden is a librarian and musicologist, best known as a Tolkien scholar. Biography Bradford Lee Eden was born in 1960. He has a degree in religion from the University of North Texas and a Ph.D. in Medieval Musicology from Indiana Stat ...

describes ''Splintered Light'' as "the most important and influential book on both language and music in Tolkien's works", discussing how the two are interwoven as "central themes" throughout ''

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 Gavriel ...

''. She won the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award for Inklings Studies a second time in 2002 for '' Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-earth'', which she co-edited with

Carl Hostetter Carl may refer to: * Carl, Georgia, city in USA * Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name * Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of ...

; J. S. Ryan, reviewing the book for ''VII'', called it a "luminous companion" to the 12 volumes of ''

The History of Middle-earth ''The History of Middle-earth'' is a 12-volume series of books published between 1983 and 1996 that collect and analyse much of Tolkien's legendarium, compiled and edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien. The series shows the development over ti ...

'', and "clearly indispensable". Ryan stated that it "pays a much merited tribute" to

Christopher Tolkien Christopher John Reuel Tolkien (21 November 1924 – 16 January 2020) was an English academic editor, becoming a French citizen in later life. The son of author and academic J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien edited much of his father' ...

's six decades or more of work on his father's writings, indeed from his childhood as one of the original audience for ''The Hobbit''. Ryan describes the 14 essays as "carefully argued", noting among other things Bratman's description of the 4 styles Tolkien used in the Legendarium as "Annalistic, Antique, Appendical, and Philosophical". In 2013 she won the Mythopoeic Award again for ''Green Suns and Faërie: Essays on J. R. R. Tolkien'', and in 2019, for a fourth time, for ''There Would Always Be a Fairy Tale: More Essays on Tolkien''. Flieger has written two

young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

fantasies, ''Pig Tale'' and ''The Inn at Corbies' Caww'', a collection of

Arthurian King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a Legend, legendary king of Great Britain, Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest tradition ...

stories, ''Arthurian Voices'', and some short stories. With

David Bratman David Bratman is a librarian and Tolkien scholar. Biography David Bratman was born in Chicago to Robert Bratman, a physician, and his wife Nancy, an editor. He was one of four sons in the family. He was brought up in Cleveland, Ohio and then in ...

and

Michael D. C. Drout Michael D. C. Drout (; born 1968) is an American Professor of English and Director of the Center for the Study of the Medieval at Wheaton College. He is an author and editor specializing in Anglo-Saxon and medieval literature, science fiction a ...

, she is co-editor of '' Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review''.

Books

Scholarly

; written * 1983 '' Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World'' (2002 edition ) * 2001 ''A Question of Time: J.R.R. Tolkien's Road to Faerie'', 2001, * 2005 ''Interrupted Music: The Making Of Tolkien's Mythology'', * 2012 ''Green Suns and Faerie: Essays on J.R.R. Tolkien'', * 2019 ''There Would Always be a Fairytale: More Essays on Tolkien'', ; edited * 2000 '' Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-earth'' (with

), * 2005 ''

Smith of Wootton Major ''Smith of Wootton Major'', first published in 1967, is a novella by J. R. R. Tolkien. Background The book began as an attempt to explain the meaning of Faery by means of a story about a cook and his cake, and Tolkien originally thought to cal ...

'' by J.R.R. Tolkien, extended critical edition, * 2008 ''Tolkien on Fairy-stories'' by J.R.R. Tolkien (with

Douglas A. Anderson Douglas Allen Anderson (born December 30, 1959) is an American writer and editor on the subjects of fantasy and medieval literature, specializing in textual analysis of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. He is a winner of the Mythopoeic Award for sch ...

), * 2015 ''

The Story of Kullervo ''The Story of Kullervo'' is a collection of several texts, including a prose version of the Kullervo cycle in Elias Lönnrot's Karelian and Finnish epic poem ''Kalevala'', written by J. R. R. Tolkien when he was an undergraduate at Exeter Coll ...

'' by J.R.R. Tolkien, * 2016 ''

The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun ''The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun'' is a poem of 508 lines, written by J. R. R. Tolkien in 1930 and published in ''Welsh Review'' in December 1945. and are Breton words for "lord" and "lady". The poem is modelled on the genre of the "Breton lay ...

'' by J.R.R. Tolkien,

Fiction

* 2000 "Avilion" in ''The Doom of Camelot'', ed. James Lowder * 2002 ''Pig Tale'', * 2005 "Green Hill Country" in ''Seekers of Dreams'', ed.

* 2011 ''The Inn at Corbies' Caww'', Kitsune Books, * 2020 ''Arthurian Voices'', The Gabbro Head Press,

References

External links

Tolkien Studies bibliographic information at Muse
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flieger, Verlyn 1933 births Living people Tolkien studies American academics of English literature Catholic University of America alumni University of Maryland, College Park faculty American short story writers