The Real Middle-Earth: A History of the Dark Ages that Inspired Tolkien

In The Real Middle-Earth , explore the magically enchanting early-English civilization on which Tolkien based his world of The Lord of the Rings. 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 kings 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. Drawing on historical and archaeological research, Brain Bates uncovers the Middle-Earth that centres on England - a home to dragons, elves, dwarves and demons - a land where spells had real force. "Tolkien readily admitted that the concept of Middle-earth was not his own invention but was drawn from Anglo-Saxon and Norse mythology. But now there is another remarkable story to be told: the magical world of Middle-earth was more than a concept - it really existed." "Drawing on the latest historical and archaeological research, Professor Brian Bates shows that, stretching from Old England to Scandinavia and across to western Europe, from the Celts through the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, there arose about two thousand years ago a largely forgotten civilization which foreshadowed Tolkien's imagined world."--BOOK JACKET. An engaging popular history of the magically enchanting early-English civilization on which Tolkien based his world of The Lord of the Rings.[Bokinfo]