Vincent Ferré is a French scholar of comparative literature, a medievalist, and a

Tolkien scholar The works of J. R. R. Tolkien have generated a body of research covering many aspects of his High fantasy, fantasy writings. These encompass ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Silmarillion'', along with Tolkien's legendarium, his legendarium t ...

, known especially for his book on ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'', ''Tolkien: sur les rivages de la Terre du Milieu'', and for his encyclopedic ''Dictionnaire Tolkien''.

Life

Vincent Ferré was born in

Mayenne Mayenne ( ) is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Il ...

, France in 1974. He gained his Baccalaureat from the

Lycée In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

Lavoisier, Mayenne in 1992, and then spent two years studying literature at the

Lycée Fénelon, Paris The Lycée Fénelon is an academic institution located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, in the Latin Quarter. It receives its name from François Fénelon, a French theologian and writer (1651-1715) who promoted women's education in his ...

. He gained his master's degree in 1996 in comparative literature at the

Université Sorbonne Nouvelle The Sorbonne Nouvelle University (, also known as Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3, Paris 3, Sorbonne Nouvelle and the Sorbonne) is a public liberal arts and humanities university in Paris, France. It is one of the inheritors of the hi ...

in Paris. He spent four years at the

École normale supérieure de Fontenay-Saint-Cloud École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

. He then gained a Diplôme d'études approfondies (an additional year of study) at the Sorbonne. He completed his PhD with a thesis on

Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust ( ; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the novel (in French language, French – translated in English as ''Remembrance of Things Pas ...

Broch In archaeology, a broch is an British Iron Age, Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland. Brochs belong to the classification "complex Atlantic roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s. Brochs are round ...

, and Don Passos in 2003. He has two children. He worked in the faculty of humanities in the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

13-Paris Nord from 2004, completing his postdoctoral research

Habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

in 2011. In 2012 he became professor of comparative literature at the

Paris-East Créteil University Paris-East Créteil University (French: ''Université Paris-Est Créteil'', commonly known as Paris XII or UPEC) is a public university located in Créteil, Île-de-France, France. It was inaugurated in 1970. The institution provides instruction ...

. Since 2022 he has been at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University, also in Paris. Ferré has become known for his work on

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

's writings on the fantasy world of

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

. He has supervised the translation of many of Tolkien's books.

Reception

Thomas Barège, reviewing ''Dictionnaire Tolkien'' in ''Acta Fabula'', calls it a fine tool, both synthetic and complete, providing thorough guidance for the reader. He notes that '' The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia'' is in places more detailed, and is less concerned with a fan audience; the two works are in his view largely complementary. Thomas Fornet-Ponse, reviewing ''Tolkien: Sur les rivages de la terre du milieu'' for ''Hither Shore'', writes that Ferré offers a readable and informative introduction to ''The Lord of the Rings'', with material of interest also to experts. Among the topics covered are Tolkien's admitted focus on death and immortality in the novel.

Books

* 2001 ''Tolkien: sur les rivages de la Terre du Milieu'', Christian Bourgois. * 2004 ''Tolkien. trente ans après (1973-2003)'', Christian Bourgois. Includes essays by

Tom Shippey Thomas Alan Shippey (born 9 September 1943) is a British medievalist, a retired scholar of Middle and Old English literature as well as of modern fantasy and science fiction. He is considered one of the world's leading academic experts on the ...

Verlyn Flieger Verlyn Flieger (born 1933) is an author, editor, and Professor Emerita in the Department of English at the University of Maryland at College Park, where she taught courses in comparative mythology, medieval literature, and the works of J. R. R. To ...

Thomas Honegger Thomas Honegger (born 1965) is a German scholar of literature, known especially for his studies of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Biography Thomas Honegger obtained an MA in English Studies, Medieval Germanic Languages, and Medieval German ...

. * 2009 ''Tolkien aujourd’hui'' (ed., with Michael Devaux and Charles Ridoux), Presses Universitaires de Valenciennes. * 2010 ''Médiévalisme, modernité du Moyen Âge'', L'Harmattan. * 2012 ''Dictionnaire Tolkien'',

CNRS Éditions The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 engi ...

. * 2014 ''Lire J.R.R. Tolkien'', Pocket. ; As translator * 2018 ''Trésors de Tolkien'' by

Catherine McIlwaine Catherine McIlwaine is the Tolkien archivist at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, and a Tolkien scholar. She won a World Fantasy Special Award—Professional for curating an exhibition of Tolkien's artwork at the Bodleian, and a Hugo Award and a Tol ...

, Christian Bourgois.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferre, Vincent Living people Tolkien scholars 1974 births