Notes from the book cover of Brian Bates latest book:
Tolkein 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 accross 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.
To those people of the real Middle-earth, the landscape took on a whole new meaning. Elvish spirits populated the trees, streams and stones, dwarves forged magical weapons, giants menaced from their mountains, and fire-breathing dragons slumbered under hills, guarding treasure which carried the fate of whole civilizatons. Real wizards cast spells, and flew on eight-legged horses, berserker warriors battled as shapeshifting bears, and seeresses foretold the future. A life force enchanted everything.
People understood their universe as held together by an interlaced web of golden threads visible only to the wizards. And at its centre lay Middle-earth, the realm inhabited by people and suffused with a magical power.
In today's scientific age, we tend to approach our lives from a more rational perspective. And yet the huge interest in fantasy books and films confirms our hunger to reconnect with the imagination of our ancestors. Bringing back to life a largely forgotten civilization, The Real Middle-Earth is a compelling account of an historical culture and enchanting as Tolkein's fictional version.
Reviews
Review One
This is a superb book. Vividly written, it explores the magical and spiritual beliefs of people who lived in the 'real' Middle-earth. This was the Anglo-Saxon and Norse cultures of a thousand years ago and more, which so inspired Tolkien. The author Brian Bates is well-known for previous books on this subject (especially his best-selling novel The Way of Wyrd). It is different from other books purporting to compare Tolkien with ancient mythology, because the world it reveals is one in which people saw their EVERYDAY LIVES as being charged with a mysterious power they called Wyrd. It was manifested by a magical landscape, in which trees, plants and animals all had powerful symbolic presences. Elves, dragons, giants and dwarves were encountered in reality as well as in dreams and stories. Shapeshifting, spellcasting and healing are explored as they happened in real life.
Bates also explains really well how such a magical outlook on life relates to our own perspectives. In a time where The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter confirms the potency of magic for our lives, we see how we once had a wisdom lost over the centuries as first Christianity and then science became dominant world views. But Bates does not paint a utopia - he makes clear that life was hard in Anglo-Saxon times. Yet he shows how we can still learn from these ancestors.
The book is refreshingly written, free from academic pomposity and dry argument. He offers vivid anecdotes, examples, and beautiful descriptions which make the reader feel present in those times. And for those readers who want to follow up topics in more detail, there is an excellent list of sources, with guidance for the specialist academic books that cover the material best.
'The Real Middle-earth' is a deserving bestseller, and I recommend it very highly.
Review Two
Bates is, according to the dustjacket, a professor of psychology, not of history. There is a virtual absence of critical source-analysis in this book, and a tendency to fall into what some might term mystical hokum; he appears to be a Jungian psychologist with interests in shamanic practices.
The bibliography is extensive, mixing the solidly academic with a few smaller works by antiquarians.
Those familiar with the subject-area may feel that too many well-known primary source quotes are being wheeled out again without evaluation.
As someone who's done a Masters in a related field of history, I think footnotes would have been welcome, especially for some of the more sweeping generalisations. However, I can see that not all general readers would like these.
Frequent referral to Anglo-Saxon society as 'Middle-Earth' does grate a bit, though many will surely find a comparison of Tolkien's stories with known history interesting. What irritated me most of all were basic errors of grammar and vocabulary that a good editor should have corrected.
I got the distinct impression that Bates is trying to set up the Anglo-Saxon and Norse cultures of the first millennium to be viewed in the same way as Native Americans are all too often seen these days: as virtually irreproachable guardians of the land and ancient knowledge, with too little close examination applied to this impression.
Not a bad introduction for the general reader, I suppose - especially if followed up by some of the better stuff in the bibliography.
Now, if only Ronald Hutton had written a book on the religion of this period - he's a historian who can balance sympathy towards pagan beliefs with a good historical analysis, and is highly recommended.
