From the author of 'Offa: Rise of the Englisc Warrior' and 'Hengist & Horsa: The Scourge of the Gods'.
Taken from his notes, S. A. Swaffington, an expert on Old English culture, gives us a short, fun, easy to read guide on Anglo-Saxon Monsters, including information on Serpents, Trolls, Faeries, Orcs, Wights, Elves, Sprites, Dwarves and Imps, and others.
For example, did you know that J. R. R. Tolkien did not create Orcs? The term 'Orc' is Old English, meaning 'foreigner', 'monster', 'demon', and almost certainly comes from the Latin 'Orcus'.
When the Normans conquered England in 1066, the English referred to their conquerors as 'Orcs', a non-politically correct term for someone who isn't seen as human.
UK reviews:
...A very useful, fun and enlightening read
...Brilliant
...Interesting
...Excellently put together and I have learnt about mythical beings that I did not know about. A good read for everone.
...Though only a short book, it has many little facts that I wasn't aware of, such as where much of Tolkens inspirations came from.. things I didn't know like the meaning according to the Anglo-Saxons of "Orcs", which I wont go into, I'll leave it to you to read the book and discover it for yourselves. How the original magical beings such as elves and fairies were a lot darker than the later Victorians made them out to be. Thoroughly enjoyable book.
...This book may only be very short but in its few pages it tells us all we need to know about the superstions of our Anglo-Saxon forfathers and the creatures that bugged the hell out of them for all those centuries. Excellent and fun but with a dark twist that makes you wonder if that creak you have just heard in the house is just a creak in the house, or......could it really be a house wight getting up to no good because you haven't left it an offering? Now you know where all the odd socks go etc. Just buy it, it is fun and enlightening at the same time.
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