Like his Oxford friend, C.S. Lewis, Mr. Tolkien knew—at a deep, personal level—the bitter truths about the human predicament. Living through some of the darkest moments in human history, they both understood the reality of the Fall and every evil thing it has brought about in our world. They conceived their most popular works in the shadow of the Second World War, when the survival of Great Britain—and of Western civilization—was an open question. Through the power of their imagination, they gave us a vision of life as it was meant to be.
Indeed, the aim of their storytelling was to re-enchant the world: to recover the concepts of courage, sacrifice, humility, friendship, and faith. This same objective defines the initiatives of The Rivendell Center: to reintroduce these ideas—uniquely embedded in the story of our civilization—to audiences in New York and around the world.
Film ProjectBenjamin Rush
The American Revolution’s Indispensable Doctor
Film ProjectThe Gift of the Italians
A Traveler’s Guide to Western Civilization from Cicero to Sophia Loren
Film ProjectThe War For Middle‑Earth
J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Confront the Gathering Storm
Film ProjectChurchill at Yalta
Dining with the Devil to Save the Soul of the West
Lecture SeriesCicero in the City
Anticipating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Cicero in the City lecture series will explore the ideals, institutions, and individuals who built Western civilization and the American republic.
Lecture SeriesThe Lincoln Lectures
Inspired by the eloquence and statesmanship of Abraham Lincoln, the Lincoln Lectures will explore the great speeches of Western civilization: from The Apology of Socrates to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address to Winston Churchill’s “We Will Never Surrender” speech at the start of the Second World War…
