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Nice article. It's a nuanced view, not a simple-minded attack on Tolkein or embrace of Nordicism, so it's harder to respond.

The Nordic and Germanic tribes had many noble and heroic virtues. So did the ancient Romans and the Greeks of Homer's day and the ancient peoples of the Bible. So, one supposes, did the Masai, the Bedouin, the Dakota.

What made the Germanic world significant was that it was young when the Mediterranean world was quite old. They were able to come into that Classical and Christian inheritance and make good use of it. And the German barbarians of that day also gave other countries, France, Spain, Italy, England, new foundations.

Unfortunately, this important role went to the heads of later Germans and made them think that they were greater than the civilization that they had served -- even to the point of thinking their race an end in themselves, above man, nature and God.

There is a greatness in the old Nordic myths, but also a chill. In themselves, they may not be any more brutal or violent or militaristic than Homer, but it's hard to dissasociate them from the use that was made of them in recent history.

One thing that makes Tolkien significant is he combined an enthusiasm for Northern myths with a faith in Christianity, and indeed Catholicism. Belloc and others in his Catholic camp loved France and hated Germany and the North for their association with Protestantism and, still more, with paganism.

Anyway, the article makes me curious as to what -- if anything -- Tolkien wanted to his books and his work to "do." Of course, they don't have to "do" anything other than to be a good read, but with such a background in myth and scholarship, Tolkien must have had something up his sleeve.

Tolkien himself said that he avoided any overt parallels, metaphors and symbolism. He was simply intersted in telling a good story and making use of his literary and philological skills. It's obvious, though, that his christian background bears heavily in the moral tone of the story.

I saw the film last night and enjoyed it. Well done. It was not completely faithful to the book, but no movie is. There was some blending of events and characters, as well as some embellishments to flesh out lesser characters. But, that's okay. To be faithful to the books, each film would probably have to be 5 or 6 hours long.