Who co-wrote A Middle English Vocabulary with J.R.R. Tolkien?

Kenneth Sisam co-wrote A Middle English Vocabulary with J.R.R. Tolkien.

A Middle English Vocabulary was published in 1922 and was designed as a companion to editions of Middle English texts. Sisam and Tolkien worked within the philological tradition of carefully explaining historical words, forms, and meanings for students and readers.

The book belongs to Tolkien’s early scholarly career, before the publication of The Hobbit. His work with Middle English vocabulary reflects the language study that informed his later teaching, research, and invented languages. Tolkien’s expertise was rooted in historical linguistics rather than only in modern literary storytelling.

E.V. Gordon was another important scholar connected with Tolkien: the two collaborated on an edition of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. That collaboration is why Gordon is sometimes incorrectly named as the co-author of A Middle English Vocabulary, but the vocabulary book was co-written with Kenneth Sisam.