Helen Damico is Professor Emerita of English Medieval Language and Literature at the University of New Mexico, USA where she was twice selected as Outstanding Teacher and honored as UNM Presidential Teaching Fellow. She is a founder of its Institute for Medieval Studies, a recipient of the New Mexico Humanities Award for Lifetime Contributions to the Humanities, and a member of The Medieval Academy of America and recipient of its CARA Award for Outstanding Service to Medieval Studies. She is also an Honorary Member of the International Society of Anglo-Saxonists. She edited the three volumes of Medieval Scholarship:Biographical Essays in the Formation of a Discipline and is the author of Beowulf's Wealhtheow and the Valkyrie Tradition.