Description From Civilisation to the Dawn of Imagination 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. ‘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.’
