Christian, Norse and Celtic: Metaphysical Belief Structures in Nancy Farmer's the Saxon Saga (Critical Essay)

"Of 'pagan' belief we have little or nothing left in English. But the spirit survived." J.R.R. Tolkien, "Beowulf: The Monsters&the Critics" 36 The recreation of human experience in quasi-historical circumstances is one of the many uses of the modern medievalism which undergirds much of post-Tolkienian fantasy. Although they may only be partially true to historical facts, medieval worlds employed in fantasy are often based on detailed research and can immerse the reader in the structure of belief which informed historically identifiable pre-modern societies. In confronting the modern with the historical, fantasy not only helps contemporary readers learn about mythological and historical legacies of specific cultures from the past. It also creates a detached contextual frame to view and perhaps better understand a number of issues relevant to the globalized reality of post-9/11 world.