<strong>Jay Ruud</strong> is a retired professor of English at the University of Central Arkansas with a Ph.D. in Medieval Literature, now devoting much of his time to fiction writing. He has retold the traditional legend of King Arthur for modern readers as a series of Merlin Mysteries, the final volume of which, <em>To the Great Deep</em>, was published in the fall of 2020. He’s also written scholarly books, including an <em>Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature</em> (2006), <em>A Critical Companion to Dante</em> (2008), and <em>A Critical Companion to Tolkien</em> (2011), as well as the first full-length study of Chaucer’s short poems, <em>“Many a Song and Many a Leccherous Lay”: Tradition and Individuality in Chaucer Lyric Poetry</em> (1992), a book that was reissued by Routledge in October 2019 after 27 years. For the latest news, visit jayruud.com, and you can follow Jay on Facebook, Facebook.com/jay.ruud.author, and on Instagram @GildasOfCornwall.<br><br>
