Theodore Silverstein, 96; Literary Scholar at University of Chicago

Theodore Silverstein, 96, University of Chicago literary scholar whose analysis of the Dark Ages included Old English poetry and visionary apocalypses, died Sept. 1 in Chicago.

A professor at the university from 1947 until 1973, Silverstein translated the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in a version some critics held superior to the previous one by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Born in England, he immigrated to Boston as a child and graduated from Harvard. His teaching career began at the private University of Kansas, which is now a part of the University of Missouri.

Silverstein had a colorful history as a World War II Army Air Force intelligence officer. Only recently declassified, his assignments took him to North Africa and Italy to question captured German pilots and then he roamed Europe to intercept communications among German pilots. He once took over the Eiffel Tower for the interception project.