'It is up to European man to know his modern mythology and the heroes related to it. Tolkien, like an "Anglo-Saxon bard", is one of those noble heralds who have brought our civilisational wealth to its pinnacle. May his work, as a new founding text for our identity, allow us to maintain the sacred fire.'
As a specialist in Germanic studies, Armand Berger has a unique passion for Tolkien's work, and in
Tolkien, Europe, and Tradition
, he demonstrates the European heritage that inspired Tolkien by explicating the finer details of Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian myth, the Finnish Kalevala, Greco-Roman influence, and much more. Berger provides many citations from Tolkien himself, relying on Tolkien's letters,
The Lord of the Rings
, interviews, and other sources.
Berger expertly demonstrates that these traditions shape the underlying identity of Middle-earth. In this sense, Tolkien's writings form a civilisational work that belongs to the identity of the West. Berger's little book is a call to Europeans to do more than simply enjoy the fantastically imaginative story of Middle-earth. They should also appreciate it as inspiration to identify and claim what is their own.