The Real Middle Earth

Quatrième de couverture

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 Brian Bates reveals the 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. This text draws on archaeological findings to reconstruct the imaginative world of our past, revealing a culture with insights that may help us understand our own place in the world.

Sommaire

• ** Rediscovering the Real Middle-Earth
• The Real Middle-Earth
• The People of Middle-Earth
• How They Lived
• The Magic of the Forest
• ** The Doom of Dragons
• Towers of Doom
• The Dragon's Lair
• A Hoard of Treasure
• ** The Enchanted Earth
• Elves' Arrows
• Plant Magic
• Spirit Nights
• Wells of Wisdom
• ** Magical Beasts
• The Raven's Omen
• Shapeshifters
• The Wizard's Wild Ride
• ** Wizards of Wyrd
• The Web of Destiny
• The Seeress
• ** Dwarves, Giants and Monsters
• Ents
• The Dwarves' Forge
• Spellbinding
• The Spider Monster
• ** Voyage to the Otherworld
• Journey to the Edge of Middle-Earth