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Treebeard

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This article is about the fictional character. For the fantasy illustrator, seeChris Baker (artist).

Treebeard
First appearanceThe Two Towers(1954)
In-universe information
Aliases
  • Fangorn
  • TheEnt
RaceEnt
Fangorn Forest
J. R. R. Tolkien'slegendariumlocation
In-universe information
Other name(s)Entwood
TypeThick, dense forest
Home of the Ents and Huorns
Remote from the world outside
The remnant of a larger more ancient forest
RulerTreebeard
LocationsWellinghall, Derndingle, Treebeard's hill, theEntwash
Locationsouth-westWilderland

Treebeard,orFangorninSindarin,is a tree-giant character inJ. R. R. Tolkien'sThe Lord of the Rings.He is anEntand is said byGandalfto be "the oldest living thing that still walks beneath the Sun upon thisMiddle-earth."[T 1]He lives in the ancientForest of Fangorn,to which he has given his name. It lies at the southern end of theMisty Mountains.He is described as being about 14 feet (4.5 m) in height, and in appearance similar to abeechor anoak.[T 1]

InThe Two Towers,Treebeard meets withMerry BrandybuckandPippin Took,twoHobbitsofthe Shire.This meeting proves to have consequences that contribute significantly to the story and enables the events that occur inThe Return of the King.

Fangorn's forest

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Further information:Forests in Middle-earth
Sketch map of part of Middle-earth in the Third Age.Fangornforest (top) is at the southern end of the Misty Mountains and west of the River Anduin.

The Forest of Fangorn was at the south-eastern end of theMisty Mountainsnear the Gap of Rohan. The mountains formed the western border of Fangorn. At the end of the mountain range stoodSaruman's stronghold ofIsengardnear the southwestern corner of the forest. To the east and south of Fangorn was the land ofRohan,andLothlórienlay to the north and slightly east. Fangorn Forest stretched for many miles and held many paths.[T 2][T 1]

Two significant rivers ran through the forest. To the north the Limlight flowed from the woods and then formed the northern border of Rohan. The river then merged into the larger Anduin. In the south, the Entwash spread deep into the forest arriving from Methedras, a mountainous region located near the Misty Mountains. The river then flowed through Rohan to the great river, the Anduin. The valley of Derndingle was to the south-west. There was a path where the Entwash passed into a region called Wellinghall with one of Treebeard's homes.[T 2][T 1]

Fangorn Forest was said to be humid, and trunks and branches of many kinds of tree grew thick, allowing little light to penetrate.Huornsalso lived deep within the forest, likeEntsbut more discreet. The Ents and Huorns drank from the river Entwash, and from it the Ents brewed their legendary drink, the Ent-draughts.[T 1]

Fictional biography

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Further information:Ents

Ents were created in the Elder Days to be the "Shepherds of the Trees" and protect trees from the anticipated destruction thatDwarveswould cause. InThe Lord of the Rings,Treebeard recounts to the hobbitsMerryandPippinhow the Ents were "awakened" and taught to speak by theElves.He says that only three Ents remain from the Elder Days: himself, Leaflock and Skinbark. He recalls when he could walk through the woods ofMiddle-earthfor days. He sings a song about roaming the woods of Middle-earth, naming regions ofBeleriandwhich were destroyed in the war withMorgothand now lie "beneath the waves." He says there are valleys in Fangorn forest where the Great Darkness, the period of Morgoth's rule before the arising of the Moon and Sun, never lifted, and the trees are older than he.[T 1]

Treebeard is described in some detail:

"They found they were looking at a most extraordinary face. It belonged to a large man-like, almostTroll-like, figure, at least fourteen foot high, very sturdy, with a tall head, and hardly any neck. Whether it was clad in stuff like green and grey bark, or whether that was its hide, was difficult to say. At any rate the arms, at a short distance from the trunk, were not wrinkled, but covered with a brown smooth skin. The large feet had seven toes each. The lower part of the long face was covered with a sweeping grey beard, bushy, almost twiggy at the roots, thin and mossy at the ends. But at the moment the hobbits noted little but the eyes. These deep eyes were now surveying them, slow and solemn, but very penetrating. They were brown, shot with a green light. "[T 1]

Treebeard learns that the hobbits think thatGandalfis dead, though apparently he knows otherwise.[1]He takes them to a place called Wellinghall, where the hobbits tell him their adventures and ofSaruman's treachery.[1]Treebeard replies that there is "something very big going on, that I can see", and comments that the hobbits "seem to be caught up in a great storm."[T 1]

Treebeard muses, "I must do something, I suppose." He recalls although he told Saruman many things, Saruman never told him anything. He realizes that Saruman is plotting to be "a Power", and wonders what evil he is really doing: why has Saruman taken up with Orcs, why there are so many Orcs in his woods, and why these Orcs are able to bear sunlight. He is angered by trees being felled "to feed the fires ofOrthanc".[T 1]He overcomes his anger and then, thinking aloud, begins to make plans for the next day, and tells Merry and Pippin about theEntwives.[T 1]

The next day, Treebeard announces that he has been busy, and they will drink and then go to the Entmoot, a gathering of Ents. He carries them there; the gathering lasts three days. It ends with all the Ents shouting, and then singing a marching song and striding toIsengardwith Treebeard in the lead: "the last march of the Ents", as Treebeard calls it.Huornsfollow, marching, as they later discover, to theBattle of Helm's Deep.[T 1]

The Ents arrive at Isengard as Saruman's army is leaving, and they wait until it has gone. Treebeard bangs on the gates and shouts for Saruman to come forth. Saruman refuses, and the Ents attack. They reduce the outer walls to rubble and destroy much of what is inside. Treebeard gets the Ents to divert the river Isen, drowning the ruined fortress and its underground furnaces and workshops. Saruman is left in the impregnable tower, surrounded by water and watchful Ents.[T 3]

A delegation led by Gandalf arrives at Isengard and, except for Gandalf, are amazed that it has been destroyed. Treebeard promises that Saruman will remain in the tower.[T 4]

Treebeard is still at Isengard, now renamed the Treegarth of Orthanc, when a group led by Aragorn, King ofGondor,arrives after the victory overSauron,made possible partly because the Ents had helped to destroy Saruman's forces. Treebeard admits that he had let Saruman go. Gandalf gently chastises him, saying that Saruman might have persuaded Treebeard to let him go by "the poison of his voice." Treebeard delivers the keys of Orthanc to the King, who gives the valley of Orthanc to Treebeard and his ents.[T 5]

Analysis

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In-fiction origins

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InSindarin,one of Tolkien'sElvish languages,"Fangorn" is a compound offanga,"beard", andorne,"tree", so it is the equivalent of the English "Treebeard". TheRiders of Rohancalled Fangorn Forest the "Entwood", the wood of theEnts.Treebeard gave it various names inQuenya,another Elvish language:"Ambaróna"means "uprising, sunrise, orient" fromamba,"upwards" andróna,"east"."Aldalómë"means "tree twilight" fromalda,"tree" andlómë,"dusk, twilight".[T 6]"Tauremorna"means "gloomy forest" fromtaur,"forest", andmorna,"gloomy".[T 6]"Tauremornalómë"means "gloomy twilight forest".[T 7]

Medieval echoes

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Further information:Tolkien and the medieval

The word "Ent" was taken from theOld Englishentoreoten,meaning "giant". Tolkien borrowed the word from a phrase in the Anglo-Saxon poemsThe RuinandMaxims II,orþanc enta geweorc( "cunning work of giants" ),[2]which describesRomanruins in Britain.[T 8][3]

The philologist and Tolkien scholarTom Shippeynotes that Treebeard says farewell to the elf-rulers Celeborn and Galadriel "with great reverence" and the words "It is long, long since we met by stock or by stone",[T 5]in words which echo a line in theMiddle EnglishpoemPearl:"We meten so selden by stok other stone".Where inPearlthe mention of stock and stone means in earthy reality, Shippey writes, the phrase fits the Fangorn context well, since Treebeard's "sense of ultimate loss naturally centres on felled trees and barren ground."[4]

Environmentalism

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Further information:Environmentalism in The Lord of the Rings

Matthew T. DickersonandJonathan Evanssee Treebeard as vocalizing a vital part ofTolkien's environmental ethic,the need to preserve and look after every kind of wild place, especially forests.[5]Tolkien's biographerJohn Garthwrites that "A deep feeling for trees is Tolkien's most distinctive response to the natural world."[6]

Professorial figure

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Shippey, who like Tolkien had been a university professor, writes that Fangorn's explanations are "authoritative and indeed.. 'professorial'. They admit no denial."[7]Tolkien's biographer,Humphrey Carpenter,wrote that Treebeard's deep booming voice with his "hrum, hroom" mannerism was based on that of Tolkien's friend, fellow-Inkling,and professor of English at theUniversity of Oxford,C. S. Lewis.[8]

Portrayal in adaptations

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Treebeard, as portrayed inRalph Bakshi'sThe Lord of the Rings

Treebeard hasinspired artists and illustratorssuch asInger Edelfeldt,John Howe,[9]Ted Nasmith,[10]Anke Eißmann,[11]andAlan Lee.[12]InRalph Bakshi's 1978 animated adaptation ofThe Lord of the Rings,John Westbrookprovided the voice of Treebeard.[13]Stephen Thornevoiced the character inBBC Radio's 1981serialization.[14]

Treebeard (voiced byJohn Rhys-Davies) inPeter Jackson'sThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

InPeter Jackson's filmsThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers(2002) andThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King(2003), Treebeard is a combination of a largeanimatronic modeland aCGIconstruct; his voice is performed byJohn Rhys-Davies,who also portraysGimli.[15]Jackson's interpretationof Treebeard makes him far more suspicious of the Hobbits (as possible Orcs) than Tolkien does,[16]and far more reluctant to go to war with Saruman until he sees the damage done to the forest.[17]

A 6-metre-high sculpture of Treebeard by Tolkien's great-nephew Tim Tolkien received planning permission inBirmingham,where Tolkien grew up.[18]OnThe Tolkien Ensemble's albumAt Dawn in Rivendell,Treebeard is voiced byChristopher Lee.[19]

References

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Primary

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  1. ^abcdefghijkTolkien 1954,book 3, ch. 4 "Treebeard"
  2. ^abThe Lord of the RingsMap: "The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age"
  3. ^Tolkien 1954,book 3, ch. 9 "Flotsam and Jetsam"
  4. ^Tolkien 1954,book 3, ch. 8 "The Road to Isengard"
  5. ^abTolkien 1955book 6, ch. 6 "Many Partings"
  6. ^abTolkien 1977,Appendix: "Elements in Quenya and Sindarin Names"
  7. ^Tolkien 1987
  8. ^Carpenter 2023,#163 toW. H. Auden,7 June 1955

Secondary

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  1. ^abLobdell 1975,p. 84.
  2. ^Shippey, Tom(2001).J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century.Houghton Mifflin.p. 88.ISBN978-0-618-12764-1.
  3. ^Shippey 2005,p. 149.
  4. ^Shippey 2005,p. 205.
  5. ^Dickerson & Evans 2006,pp. 119–144.
  6. ^Garth 2020,pp. 112–131.
  7. ^Shippey 2005,pp. 150–151.
  8. ^Carpenter 1977,p. 198.
  9. ^Howe, John(2002)."Treebeard".Illustrator John Howe.Retrieved16 September2012.
  10. ^Nasmith, Ted."Treebeard and the Entmoot".Ted Nasmith official website.Archived fromthe originalon 24 May 2012.Retrieved16 September2012.
  11. ^Eißmann, Anke(2000)."Treebeard".Anke Eißmann official website.Retrieved16 September2012.
  12. ^Joint, Laura (5 October 2007)."Trees as art".BBC.Retrieved16 September2012.
  13. ^Beck, Jerry (28 October 2005).The Animated Movie Guide.Chicago Review Press.p.154.ISBN978-1-56976-222-6.
  14. ^Simpson, Paul (2013).A Brief Guide to C. S. Lewis: From Mere Christianity to Narnia.Little, Brown Book Group.p. part 123.ISBN978-1-4721-0067-2.
  15. ^Nathan, Ian (23 October 2012) [2002]."The Making Of The Two Towers".Empire.Retrieved28 March2020.Treebeard will mainly be a CGI creation; this animatronic version is used for the close-ups with Hobbit actors Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan.
  16. ^Bratman, David(2005). "Summa Jacksonica: A Reply to Defenses of Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' films, after St. Thomas Aquinas". InCroft, Janet Brennan(ed.).Tolkien on Film: Essays on Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings'.Mythopoeic Press.pp. 27–62.ISBN978-1887726092.
  17. ^Kollmann, Judith (2005). "Elisions and Ellipses: Counsel and Council in Tolkien's and Jackson'sThe Lord of the Rings".InCroft, Janet Brennan(ed.).Tolkien on Film: Essays on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings.Mythopoeic Press.p. 159.ISBN1-887726-09-8.
  18. ^"LOTR statue in safety debate".CBBC Newsround. 9 April 2006.Retrieved6 November2010.
  19. ^Cunningham, Michael (The Tolkien Society) (13 May 2003)."'At Dawn in Rivendell' Review ".The One Ring.Retrieved2 October2022.

Sources

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