Prof. Bowers to Lecture on Newly Discovered J.R.R. Tolkien Manuscript
Professor John Bowers of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas will deliver a lecture titled "Tolkien as a Chaucerian: The Reeve's Tale." The lecture comes out of Bowers' discovery of a new manuscript written, but never published, by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The lecture will be at 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, in Gearhart Hall 150.
Tolkien worked on a "Clarendon Chaucer" edition between 1922 and 1928, but he never completed the project because he was limited to 20 pages of notes and drafted 160 instead. Oxford University Press secured the return of these materials in 1951 and stashed them in the basement archives — where Bowers found them in summer 2013. Unknown because unpublished, the Chaucer edition changes our notion of Tolkien otherwise known as a Beowulf scholar and permits us to recognize influences on The Lord of the Rings. The importance of the Reeve's Tale with its violent miller can be traced from Tolkien's boyhood experiences with a scary miller, to his 1934 article "Chaucer as a Philologist: The Reeve's Tale" and then to The Two Towers with the evil mill-master Saruman.
The lecture ties in to professor Joshua Byron Smith's Retro Readings course for the Honors College, in which students from a wide variety of disciplines have been studying Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy this semester.
Bowers has published widely in the field of medieval literary studies, including The Crisis of the Will in Piers Plowman (Catholic University of American Press, 1986), The Canterbury Tales: Fifteenth-Century Continuations and Additions (Western Michigan University TEAMS Medieval Institute Publication, 1992, rev. 1999), The Politics of 'Pearl': Court Poetry in the Age of Richard II (D. S. Brewer, 2001), Chaucer and Langland: The Antagonistic Tradition (University of Notre Dame Press, 2007), and An Introduction to the 'Gawain' Poet (University Press of Florida, 2012).
The event is free and open to the public. Funding for the lecture has been provided by the Honors College and Medieval and Renaissance Studies.
Topics
Contacts
Joshua Byron Smith, assistant professor
Department of English
479-575-4301,
jbs016@uark.edu
Headlines
U of A Bands to Hold Three Nights of Concerts
The Symphonic Band, the Wind Symphony, the 4 O'Clock and 5 O'Clock Bands and the Wind Ensemble will perform April 21-23 at the Faulkner Performing Arts Center on the U of A campus.
Honors College to Host 'Best in Show' Dog Celebration
The campus and community are invited to celebrate our furry friends with popsicles, water and dog treats from 3-4 p.m. Thursday, April 25, in the Gearhart Courtyard.
New Parasite Affecting Canadian Partridges Named for Arkansas Poultry Scientist
A long-time colleague in Canada gave a newly found parasite the scientific name Eimeria hargisi in honor of U of A poultry science researcher Billy Hargis.
U of A School of Law Student Selected for Ms. J.D. Leadership Academy Intensive
Tristan Branstetter-Thomas, a second-year law student, was one of 30 students from across the country chosen to participate in the leadership academy at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in Chicago.
Needy Honored as Distinguished Alumna of University of Pittsburgh Engineering College
College of Engineering Dean Kim Needy was among seven alumni of the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering honored in April as part of the 2024 Class of Distinguished Alumni.