{"product_id":"beowulf-and-the-north-before-the-vikings-past-imperfect","title":"Beowulf and the North before the Vikings (Past Imperfect)","description":"\u003cp\u003eEver since Tolkien’s famous lecture in 1936, it has been generally accepted that the poem Beowulf is a fantasy, and of no use as a witness to real history. This book challenges that view, and argues that the poem provides a plausible, detailed, and consistent vision of pre-Viking history which is most unlikely to have been the poet’s invention, and which has moreover received strong corroboration from archaeology in recent years. Using the poem as a starting point, historical, archaeological, and legendary sources are combined to form a picture of events in the North in the fifth and sixth centuries: at once a Dark and a Heroic Age, and the time of the formation of nations. Among other things, this helps answer two long-unasked questions: why did the Vikings come as such a shock? And what caused the previous 250 years of security from raiders from the sea?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Arc Humanities Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44361107832966,"sku":"9781802700138","price":57.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0671\/9199\/6550\/files\/9781802700138.jpg?v=1788924591","url":"https:\/\/aevumbooks.com\/products\/beowulf-and-the-north-before-the-vikings-past-imperfect","provider":"Aevum Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}