What was the title of J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1922 scholarly book on Middle English vocabulary?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1922 scholarly book was titled A Middle English Vocabulary.

The work was produced during Tolkien’s early academic career and was associated with his study of the Middle English poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It provided vocabulary material useful to students and scholars working with the language of the poem. Tolkien’s interest in medieval texts was not separate from his later fiction; it supplied the linguistic and literary habits that shaped his invented histories.

Tolkien’s first book is sometimes misidentified as a novel or as a work about Middle-earth. A Middle English Vocabulary was an academic reference work, not a fantasy story. His first major scholarly publication was followed by editions and studies of medieval works, including Sir Gawain and the Green Knight with E.V. Gordon.

The date also distinguishes it from Tolkien’s famous fiction. The Hobbit appeared in 1937, fifteen years later, while The Lord of the Rings was published in the mid-1950s. Tolkien’s career therefore began in scholarship long before he became a globally known novelist.