Christopher Snyder (historian)

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Christopher Allen Snyder is the Dean of Shackouls Honors College at Mississippi State University, in Starkville, Mississippi. He was previously a professor of European history and director of the Honors Program at Marymount University, in Arlington, Virginia. [1] [2]

Contents

Snyder received his Ph.D. in medieval history in 1994 from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He entered the world of Tolkien studies with his 2013 book The Making of Middle-earth.

Publications

Reception

David Bratman, reviewing The Making of Middle-earth for Tolkien Studies , calls Snyder "that rare thing, a medievalist writing on Tolkien who did not become a medievalist through being a Tolkien fan first." Bratman describes the book as for a general audience, to some extent conflating Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films (about which Bratman says Snyder is enthusiastic) with Tolkien's book. He finds Snyder "most in his element" in the chapter on "Tolkien's Middle Ages" where he introduces everything from classical civilisation to the pre-Raphaelites and the early fantasy author George MacDonald. [3]

David W. Marshall, reviewing the book for Arthuriana , writes that it stands out on the well-trodden road as it explores all aspects from languages and Tolkien's sources to his artwork and life. Marshall calls it " a lovely book, with early maps, manuscript illuminations, illustrations, and photos adorning pages that are printed to resemble vellum", and call-out boxes highlighting aspects such as the Sindarin language or the development of Gollum's character. [4]

Kate DiGirolamo, reviewing the book for Library Journal , notes that even fantasy fiction "has its roots in reality", and finds Snyder an "expert guide" through the historical context and literary influences on Tolkien's Middle-earth, though she finds the account of Tolkien's own life "sparse". In her view, Snyder "brilliantly interweaves Tolkien's academic papers, letters, and reviews of his books, along with gorgeous illustrations and supplementary images" to give readers a view of how Middle-earth derives from real history. [5]

Related Research Articles

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The Worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien: The Places that Inspired Middle-earth is a 2020 non-fiction book by the journalist and Tolkien scholar John Garth. It describes the places that most likely inspired J. R. R. Tolkien to invent Middle-earth, as portrayed in his fantasy books The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Those places include many that Tolkien lived in or visited in his early life, as well as sites from history and literature. Most are real, for instance with England as the counterpart of the Shire, though some, like Atlantis, are mythical, and others, like Mirkwood, probably have roots in real places. He notes the ambiguities in some of the connections, and that others have made superficial comparisons, such as of Tolkien's towers with various modern towers in Birmingham, where Tolkien lived as a child. Garth presents his theories of the likely origins of some of these places, supporting these with maps and photographs.

References

  1. "Chris Snyder". Marymount University. Archived from the original on 21 December 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  2. Clark, Rhodri (November 18, 2003). "Anglo-Saxon spin halted to credit Welsh". WalesOnline. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  3. Bratman, David (2014). "The Making of Middle-earth: A New Look Inside the World of J.R.R. Tolkien by Christopher Snyder, and: The Essential Tolkien Trivia and Quiz Book: A Middle-earth Miscellany by William MacKay". Tolkien Studies. 11 (1): 254–257. doi:10.1353/tks.2014.0007. ISSN   1547-3163. S2CID   170373518.
  4. Marshall, David W. (2014). "The Making of Middle-earth: A New Look Inside the World of J.R.R. Tolkien by Christopher Snyder". Arthuriana. 24 (4): 149–151. doi:10.1353/art.2014.0056. ISSN   1934-1539. S2CID   161712168.
  5. DiGirolamo, Kate (13 December 2013). "[Review] The Making of Middle-earth: A New Look Inside the World of J.R.R. Tolkien". Library Journal . Retrieved 14 February 2021.