CONGRESS CANCELED Tolkien and Se Wyrm

Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University

Description

^{Tolkien admits to being influenced by the dragons of Beowulfand the Volsungasaga. In those medieval epic texts, the dragon is monstrous but somewhat uncanny and familiar to human kind; distinctions are blurred. Something similar happens in Tolkien’s fictions, presenting exciting new considerations on the subject of monstrosity. Papers could explore the interdisciplinary relationships between the dragons of medieval legend and those of Middle-earth. Christopher Vaccaro}