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Record Nr. |
UNINA9910795983903321 |
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Autore |
Shippey T. A. |
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Titolo |
Beowulf and the North Before the Vikings / / Tom Shippey |
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Pubbl/distr/stampa |
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Leeds, England : , : Arc Humanities Press, , [2022] |
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©2022 |
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ISBN |
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1-64189-933-6 |
1-80270-055-2 |
1-80270-054-4 |
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Edizione |
[First edition.] |
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Descrizione fisica |
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1 online resource (136 pages) |
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Collana |
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Disciplina |
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Soggetti |
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Civilization |
History |
Scandinavia History To 1397 |
Europe History 392-814 |
Scandinavia Civilization |
Europe, Northern Civilization |
Europe, Northern Antiquities |
Scandinavie Histoire Jusqu'à 1397 |
Europe Histoire 392-814 |
Scandinavie Civilisation |
Europe septentrionale Civilisation |
Europe septentrionale Antiquités |
Northern Europe |
Europe |
Scandinavia |
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Lingua di pubblicazione |
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Formato |
Materiale a stampa |
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Livello bibliografico |
Monografia |
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Nota di bibliografia |
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Includes bibliographical references. |
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Nota di contenuto |
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Introduction : fantasy or history? -- Poetry and archaeology -- Old legend, new reality -- The bigger picture -- The non-national epic. |
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Sommario/riassunto |
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Ever 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 |
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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? |
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