{"product_id":"9781403966834","title":"The Real Middle Earth : Exploring the Magic and Mystery of the Middle Ages, J.R.R. Tolkien, and \"The Lord of the Rings\"","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eThe Real Middle Earth\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Brian Bates\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJ.R.R. Tolkien claimed that he based the land of Middle Earth on a real place. \u003ci\u003eThe Real Middle Earth\u003c\/i\u003e brings alive, for the first time, the very real civilization in which those who lived had a vision of life animated by beings beyond the material world. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMagic was real to these people and they believed their universe was held together by an interlaced web of golden threads visible only to wizards. At its center was Middle Earth, a place peopled by humans, but imbued with spiritual power. It was a real realm that stretched from Old England to Scandinavia and across to western Europe, encompassing Celts, Anglo Saxons and Vikings. Looking first at the rich and varied tribes who made up the populace of this mystical land, Bates looks at how the people lived their daily lives in a world of magic and mystery. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUsing archaeological, historical, and psychological research, Brian Bates breathes life into this civilization of two thousand years ago in a book that every Tolkien fan will want.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e“This is the only book that I have ever read that manages literally to evoke the magic of Anglo-Saxon England, rooting the medieval texts firmly in a landscape, a people and a sense of experience. It situates the English in one corner of a vast enchanted world.” —\u003ci\u003eRonald Hutton, Professor of History at the University of Bristol and author of The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781403966834\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"St. Martin's Griffin","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40673458258126,"sku":"9781403966834","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_4c06a344-1c07-4f3e-bf05-4a08f001b511.jpg?v=1639884213","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781403966834","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}