The Ent Fangorn is one of the two oldest beings in all of Middle-earth, along with Tom Bombadil.
The name Fangorn in elvish translates to Treebeard.
Today, we are going to look at the many forest locations in which he dwelt during his long
years in Arda.
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The origins of the Ents go back all the way to the Years of the Trees and are actually
tied to the creation of the dwarves.
After Aule creates the dwarves in secret, and Eru shows them mercy and allows them to
remain in Middle-earth, Yavanna is concerned for her creations - specifically she fears
the dwarves will cut down all her trees in Middle-earth.
Through Manwe, she pleads with Eru, asking if anything she made would be free from the
dominion of others.
Eru has pity on Yavanna, and creates the Ents, so that they may protect the trees of Middle-earth.
The Ents become known as the Shepherds of the Trees.
The males are devoted to Orome, the hunter of the Valar, while the Entwives are devoted
to Yavanna herself.
It is also around this same time that the Elves are created.
The Eldar teach the trees to talk and even more, to speak Elvish.
Treebeard would later say it was a great gift that could not be forgotten, that the elves
cured the Ents of their dumbness.
At this point they are not as wise or as strong as they would become in later ages, but they
begin to develop their own language - Entish.
Treebeard is among these Ents created by Eru Iluvatar, though his rightful name is Fangorn
- the name a forest would one day bear in his honor.
In his early years, Treebeard, who stands roughly 14 feet tall, lives in a vast forest
that spans from Beleriand in the West throughout Eriador and south to Calenardhon.
Treebeard comes to love Fimbrethil - who becomes his entwife even before the Dark Lord Morgoth
first comes to power in the first age.
One of the few recorded deeds of Ents during the first age comes in the story of Beren
and Luthien.
I’ll save the in-depth dive into Sack of Menegroth for another video, but (503FA) After
the Dwarves of Nogrod kill King Thingol (Luthien’s father), they soon after ravage his treasury,
and begin their journey home to the Blue Mountains from Doriath.
En route, they are hunted down by Beren and his army of Green-elves in the Battle of Sarn
Athrad.
Though most of the dwarves are killed in the ford, some escape and flee toward the mountains.
However, as they climb the slopes of Mount Domed, ents come forth and drive the dwarves
into the forest, from which none escaped.
In one of his letters, Tolkien explains that this event “would not make for love between
Ents and Dwarves”.
*oh that's good clip* We don’t know for certain which ents took part in this battle,
but we do have an idea of some of the locations where Treebeard visited during his time either
in or before the first age.
In the Lord of the Rings, we learn that Treebeard has memories from ancient realms such as the
willow-meads of Tasarinan, the elm-woods of Ossiriand, the pine-trees of Dorthonion, and
the beeches of Neldoreth.
These lands, along with all of Beleriand, would be destroyed during the War of Wrath
with Morgoth that ended the first age.
Beleriand and all it’s realms would then sink into the sea.
With Beleriand destroyed by the War, we know that Treebeard and the ents certainly now
dwell in the forests of Eriador.
And while this map looks correct in terms of what we are accustomed to in the second
and third ages, we actually find out from Elrond in Fellowship of the Ring that the
land even then was still a great forest.
“Time was once when a squirrel could carry a nut from tree to tree from Rivendell to
the Great Sea.”
So nearly all of Eriador even south as far as Calenardhon was a huge forest and part
of the Entish domain.
Sometime in either the first or second age, the Entwives begin to move further away from
the Ents.
While the male Ents tend to the larger trees of the great forest, the Entwives enjoy planting
and controlling small things like vegetables, grass and flowers.
The Entwives pass over the Anduin and come to a land where they could tend their gardens.
After Morgoth is overthrown at the end of the first age, the gardens of the Entwives
thrive and they teach agriculture to Men, who in turn hold them in honor.
However, as we know, the vast forest realm of the ents would not last.
A time comes in the Second Age when much of this immense forest is either cut by Numenoreans,
or destroyed in the tumultuous War of the Elves and Sauron that lasts from 1693-1701
of the Second Age.
This shrinking of the forest solidifies the Ents separation from the Entwives, as the
ents retreat to the relatively small forest that remains of the once great realm.
The Fangorn forest we see in The Lord of the Rings, named in honor of Treebeard himself,
is but a small remnant of the great forest that once was.
An equally, if not more tragic fate would come to the gardens of the Entwives.
During the War of the Last Alliance, (3429-3441), Sauron lays waste to the entire land.
He employs a scorched earth policy in an attempt to hinder the approach of the Last Alliance
as they march toward Mordor.
The gardens of the entwives are completely destroyed and the area becomes a desolate
desert with arid moors.
Sometime after this tragedy, the Ents cross the Anduin in search of the Entwives.
Unfortunately, they would find no trace of them.
****flee?
Treebeard is convinced that the Entwives were not all destroyed, but instead were “lost”.
But the Entwives were not there.
Long we called, and long we searched; and we asked all folk that we met which way the
Entwives had gone.
Some said they had never seen them; and some said that they had seen them walking away
west, and some said east, and others south.
But nowhere that we went could we find them.
Our sorrow was very great.
Yet the wild wood called, and we returned to it.
For many years we used to go out every now and again and look for the Entwives, walking
far and wide and calling them by their beautiful names.
But as time passed we went more seldom and wandered less far.
And now the Entwives are only a memory for us, and our beards are long and grey.
In the more than 3000 years to follow, Fangorn Forest would become the only apparent dwelling
place of the Ents.
Over time, as their hope begins to fade of finding the Entwives and having future Entings
(baby Ents), some of the ents grow “Tree-ish” and cease moving or speaking altogether.
We are told that later in the Third Age, after Saruman comes to dwell in Orthanc, that the
wizard would walk in Fangorn.
If they met, he would talk with Treebeard and was always eager to listen to anything
the ent would tell him about the forest.
However, he never repaid Treebeard in the same manner, and instead used this knowledge
of the forest’s secrets for his own advantage.
In 2953, Saruman begins fortifying Isengard.
Eventually, his orc armies begin harassing the few remaining Ents and start cutting down
large numbers of their trees.
This foul deed of Saruman would be repaid however.
In part, thanks to the very hobbits whom his own orcs would bring to Fangorn Forest.
On Feb 29, 3019, Treebeard discovers Merry and Pippin near Treebeard’s Hill.
He welcomes them to one of his ent-houses at Wellinghall where they spend the night,
and are given the ent-draught which causes them to grow in stature.
There they speak, among other things, of Saruman’s evil deeds.
‘Some time ago I began to wonder how Orcs dared to pass through my woods so freely,’
he went on.
‘Only lately did I guess that Saruman was to blame, and that long ago he had been spying
out all the ways, and discovering my secrets.
He and his foul folk are making havoc now.
Down on the borders they are felling trees – good trees.
Some of the trees they just cut down and leave to rot – orc-mischief that; but most are
hewn up and carried off to feed the fires of Orthanc.
There is always a smoke rising from Isengard these days.
‘Curse him, root and branch!
Many of those trees were my friends, creatures I had known from nut and acorn; many had voices
of their own that are lost for ever now.
And there are wastes of stump and bramble where once there were singing groves.
I have been idle.
I have let things slip.
It must stop!’
Treebeard raised himself from his bed with a jerk, stood up, and thumped his hand on
the table.
The vessels of light trembled and sent up two jets of flame.
There was a flicker like green fire in his eyes, and his beard stood out stiff as a great
besom.
‘I will stop it!’ he boomed.
‘And you shall come with me.
You may be able to help me.
You will be helping your own friends that way, too; for if Saruman is not checked Rohan
and Gondor will have an enemy behind as well as in front.
Our roads go together – to Isengard!’
After his initial burst of anger, Treebeard admits his hastiness.
The following day, Feb 30, they travel to Derndingle, a hollow in the south of the forest,
where they would first hold the Entmoot, to decide what the ents should do regarding Saruman.
This meeting would last from Feb 30 to March 2.
Rather than having them stand around for days, Treebeard sends Merry and Pippin with Bregalad.
This ent, also known as Quickbeam in the common tongue, had already made up his mind about
going to war.
According to Treebeard, Quickbeam is the nearest thing to a hasty Ent, having earned his nickname
by answering an Elder’s question before he finished asking it.
Merry and Pippin learn that Quickbeam belonged to Skinbark’s people, who had lived on the
slopes above and to the West of Isengard.
They suffered most greatly at the hands of Saruman’s orcs.
Quickbeam tells the tale of his beloved rowan-trees:
‘And these trees grew and grew, till the shadow of each was like a green hall, and
their red berries in the autumn were a burden, and a beauty and a wonder.
Birds used to flock there.
I like birds, even when they chatter; and the rowan has enough and to spare.
But the birds became unfriendly and greedy and tore at the trees, and threw the fruit
down and did not eat it.
Then Orcs came with axes and cut down my trees.
I came and called them by their long names, but they did not quiver, they did not hear
or answer: they lay dead.
Finally, Treebeard and the ents come to the conclusion that they are facing an inevitable
slow extinction and that they will attack Isengard to avenge the damage Saruman’s
orcs had done to their tree-herds.
As they march to Isengard, Treebeard admits to Merry and Pippin that it is likely enough
that they march to their doom.
As he speaks about their likely demise, he laments that he would dearly have liked to
see Fimbrethil again.
On the night of March 2, the Ents arrive for the Battle of Isengard, the Last March of
the Ents.
During the battle, an ent named Beechbone is caught in a burning spray sent up by Saruman
from beneath the Ring of Isengard and perishes in the blaze.
His death brings his fellow ents to the peak of their destructive anger.
They surround Isengard, destroy its gates, and crumble its walls.
Saruman’s entire force that remained at Isengard for its defence - around 1-2 thousand
orcs and men, are completely destroyed.
Saruman is left trapped in his tower.
Soon after, Wormtongue arrives at Isengard intending to bring a message to Saruman.
Treebeard captures him and imprisons him within Orthanc as well.
He assigns Merry and Pippin the role of door-wardens of Orthanc.
That same day, Gandalf arrives in a hurry, finding Merry and Pippin alive and well and
seeking Treebeard:
‘‘Treebeard,’’ said Gandalf.
‘‘I need your help.
You have done much, but I need more.
I have about ten thousand Orcs to manage.’’
After Gandalf leaves, hurrying to make his arrival at Helm’s Deep, Treebeard digests
the new information which Gandalf has hastily shared with him.
Finally, he says “Well, now Treebeard must get busy again…..Huorns will help.”
Now this is the first and really only mention of Huorns in Tolkien’s works.
Their origins are unknown and it isn’t clear if they were trees that had become entish,
or ents that had become tree-ish - we know that Merry believes the latter.
Either way, they are somewhere between trees and ents.
They could speak with ents and when their anger was aroused, they could move with great
speed.
One possible example of a Huorn is Old Man Willow - the tree that Tom Bombadil saves
the hobbits from in the Old Forest.
That night, Merry and Pippin hear hundreds of Huorns passing by, as they made their way
south to Helm’s deep to help in the battle against Saruman’s orcs.
Around midnight that night, the Ents break the dams of Isengard, flooding the pits where
Saruman created his war machines.
Two days later, the company of Gandalf, Theoden, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and others arrive
at Isengard after their victory at Helm’s Deep.
After Gandalf speaks with Saruman, he asks Treebeard to pour back the water into Orthanc
so that Saruman may never escape.
Treebeard declares that trees would return to Isengard and that the new forest would
be called “Watchwood.”
In the coming months, as the heroes of the Fellowship go on to battles with Sauron’s
forces, the ents get to work.
They destroy the Ring of Isengard - the defensive circle that protected the tower of Orthanc,
and fill it with trees.
In the following weeks, the ents see a great inrush of orcs.
These were many of the orcs that had attacked Lorien, but were repelled by Galadriel.
They make their way across the Wold, where they are shocked to see Ents.
The few orcs that survive are driven into the river, where they also meet their doom.
It is noted by Treebeard later that without this action by the ents, it is likely that
the Riders of Rohan would not have had a home to return to.
Thus, the land of Rohan, and those left behind during the war, are saved from the orcs by
the shepherds of the forest.
Eventually, Saruman begins to appear more withered away and Treebeard comes to pity
him.
On August 15, they allow him to leave Isengard along with Grima Wormtongue.
Before he is allowed to leave, Saruman is made to lock the tower and hand over the keys
of Orthanc.
One week later, Treebeard welcomes Gandalf, King Elessar, and the rest of their company
to the newly named “Treegarth of Orthanc”.
Treebeard presents the keys of Orthanc to Aragorn and Aragorn declares the Treegarth
of Orthanc to be an Entish realm, officially open to their own self-governance.
Then Treebeard said farewell to each of them in turn, and he bowed three times slowly and
with great reverence to Celeborn and Galadriel.
'It is long, long since we met by stock or by stone, A vanimar, vanimalionnostari! ' he
said.
'It is sad that we should meet only thus at the ending.
For the world is changing: I feel it in the water, I feel it in the earth, and I smell
it in the air.
I do not think we shall meet again.'
And Celeborn said: 'I do not know, Eldest.'
But Galadriel said: 'Not in Middle-earth, nor until the lands that lie under the wave
are lifted up again.
Then in the willow-meads of Tasarinan we may meet in the Spring.
Farewell!'
Treebeard laments that there may be new trees that come to Isengard, there will be no entings.
Aragorn tells Treebeard that perhaps there is now more hope in their search, as lands
to the eastward will be open to them that have long been closed.
While this does not encourage Treebeard, there is one story in Middle-earth that may offer
us readers a small glimmer of hope.
In a small moment early in The Fellowship of the Ring, Sam is speaking with Ted Sandyman
at the Green Dragon.
He tells of his cousin Halfast Gamgee seeing a “tree-man” beyond the North Moors.
This tree-man was bigger than a tree and walked seven yards each stride.
He notes that it was an elm tree, despite that fact that there were no elm trees on
the North Moors.
Whether this was an ent, an entwife, a huorn, or nothing altogether remains a mystery.
As for Treebeard, it is presumed that he stays in this new Entish realm for a time as it
continues to grow and thrive under the Fourth Age rule of King Elessar.
Under the care of the ents, the Treegarth of Orthanc is made into one of the most beautiful
gardens left in all
of Middle-earth.