Title: The real Middle-earth
First published: 2003
Description: Tolkien readily admitted that the concept of Middle-earth was not his own invention. An Old English term for the Dark Age world, it was always assumed that the importance of magic in this world existed only in Tolkien's works; now Professor Brian Bates reveals the vivid truth about this historical culture. Behind the stories we know of Dark Age king and queens, warriors and battles, lies the hidden history of Middle-earth, a world of magic, mystery and destiny. Fiery dragons were seen to fly across the sky, monsters haunted the marshes, and elves fired poisoned arrows. Wizards cast healing spells, wise trees gave blessings, and omens foretold the deaths of kings. The very landscape itself was enchanted and the world imbued with a life force. Repressed by a millennium of Christianity, this belief system all but disappeared, leaving only faint traces in folk memory and fairy tales. In this remarkable book Professor Brian Bates has drawn on the latest archaeological findings to reconstruct the imaginative world of our past, revealing a culture with insights that may yet help us understand our own place in the world.
Subjects: English Fantasy fiction, England, Knowledge, Middle Earth (Imaginary place), Magic in literature, History and criticism, Medievalism, Literature and history, Fantasy fiction, English, In literature, Middle Ages in literature, History, England, in literature, Fantasy fiction, history and criticism, Anglo-Saxons, Social life and customs, Vikings, Magic, Civilization
Places: England
People: J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973)
Time periods: 20th century
LC classification: PR6039.O32 L63242 2003