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[[Image:John Howe - Treebeard.jpg|thumb|''Treebeard'' by [[John Howe]].]]
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{{race
|image=[[Image:John Howe - Ents.jpg|250px]]
|name=Ents
|dominions=[[Fangorn Forest]], [[Eriador]], [[East Beleriand]]
|languages=[[Entish]], [[Elvish]], [[Westron]]
|height=10-25 ft.
|length= 
|skincolor=Earthy colors
|haircolor=
|distinctions=Tree-like appearance
|lifespan=Immortal
|members= [[Treebeard]], [[Beechbone]]
|}}
'''Ents''' were created at the request of [[Yavanna]] to guard the trees, and thus were called "Shepherds of the Trees".
'''Ents''' were created at the request of [[Yavanna]] to guard the trees, and thus were called "Shepherds of the Trees".


As with ''[[Hobbit]]'', '''Ent''' is a term that in modern times is almost exclusively connected with [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], and the usage of the term seldom evokes in people its earlier meanings.
==History==
===Creation===
Ents were a very old race that appeared in [[Middle-earth]] when the [[Elves]] did. They were created by [[Ilúvatar|Eru Ilúvatar]] at the behest of Yavanna, after she learned that [[Aulë]]'s children, the [[Dwarves]], were wont to fell trees. Ents were envisioned as Shepherds of the Trees and their duty was to protect the forests from [[Orcs]], Dwarves and other perils. The Elves had tales of teaching the trees to talk, and they also taught the Ents to talk. Although the Ents were sentient beings at the time, they did not know how to speak until the Elves taught them. [[Treebeard]] said the Elves "curing the Ents of their dumbness" was a great gift that could not be forgotten.


==Concerning Ents==
Ents were tree-like creatures, having become like the trees that they shepherded. They varied in traits, from everything to height and size, colouring, and the number of fingers and toes. An individual Ent more or less resembled the specific species of tree that they typically guarded.  For example, [[Quickbeam]] guarded rowan trees and thus looked very much like a rowan.  In the [[Third Age]] of Middle-earth, the [[Fangorn Forest|Forest of Fangorn]] was apparently the only place Ents still inhabited, although the Ent-like [[Huorns]] may still have survived elsewhere, as in the Old Forest.


Ents are a very old race that appeared in [[Middle-earth]] when the [[Elves]] did. They were apparently created by [[Ilúvatar|Eru Ilúvatar]] at the behest of Yavanna, after she learned that [[Aulë]]'s children, the [[Dwarves]], were wont to fell trees. Ents were envisioned as Shepherds of the Trees, to protect the forests from [[Orcs]], Dwarves and other perils. The Elves have tales of teaching the trees to talk, and they also taught the Ents to talk: although the Ents were sentient beings at the time, they did not know how to speak until the Elves taught them. [[Treebeard]] said of the Elves "curing the Ents of their dumbness" that it was a great gift that could not be forgotten ("Always wanted to talk to everything, the old Elves did").
=== Rise and Decline ===
[[File:Luca Bonatti - Farewell to Fangorn.jpg|left|thumb|[[Entwives]] in ''Farewell to Fangorn'' by Luca Bonatti]]
Almost nothing is known of the early history of the Ents — they apparently lived in and protected the large forests of Middle-earth in previous ages. At the end of the [[First Age]] they were sumoned by [[Beren]] and [[Lúthien]] to attack a band of dwarves. Treebeard told of a time when nearly all of [[Eriador]] was one huge forest and part of his domain, but these immense forests were cut by the [[Númenóreans]] of the Second Age, or destroyed in the calamitous War of the Elves and Sauron of the 17th century of the Second Age. Treebeard's statement is also supported by remarks [[Elrond]] Half-elven made at the Council of Elrond.  Elrond said that "Time was once when a squirrel could carry a nut from tree to tree from Rivendell to the Great Sea...", further indicating that all of Eriador was once a single vast primeval forest, of which Fangorn Forest was just "the Eastern End of it" according to Treebeard.


[[Image:John Howe - Ents.jpg|thumb|200pxlleft|''Ents'' by [[John Howe]].]]
There used to be ''[[Entwives]]'' (literally "Ent-women"), but they started to move farther away from the Ents because they liked to plant and control things, so they moved away to the region that would later become the [[Brown Lands]] across the Great River [[Anduin]]. This area was destroyed by [[Sauron]], and the Entwives disappeared. The Ents looked for them, but have never found them. It is sung by the Ents that one day they will find each other. In ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', Sam Gamgee says his cousin Hal saw treelike giant in the north of the Shire. When Pippin and Merry tell Treebeard about the Shire, Treebread says the entwives would like that land.  
Ents are tree-like creatures, having become like the trees that they shepherd. They vary in traits, from everything to height and size, colouring, and the number of fingers and toes. An individual Ent more or less resembles the specific species of tree that they typically guard.  For example, [[Quickbeam]] guarded Rowan trees and thus looked very much like a Rowan (tall and slender, etc.).  In the [[Third Age]] of Middle-earth, the [[Fangorn Forest|Forest of Fangorn]] was apparently the only place Ents still inhabited, although the Ent-like [[Huorns]] may still have survived elsewhere, as in the Old Forest.


=== History ===
Treebeard boasted to Merry and Pippin about the strength of the Ents. He said that they were much more powerful than [[Trolls]], which [[Morgoth]] supposedly made as imitations of the Ents. He compares this with how [[Orcs]] were Morgoth's imitation of [[Elves]].
Almost nothing is known of the early history of the Ents — they apparently lived in and protected the large forests of Middle-earth in previous ages, and they briefly appear near the end of the [[First Age]], attacking a band of Dwarves, apparently summoned by [[Beren Erchamion|Beren]] and [[Lúthien Tinúviel|Lúthien]]. Treebeard told of a time when apparently all of [[Eriador]] was one huge forest and part of his domain, but these immense forests were cut by the [[Númenóreans]] of the Second Age, or destroyed in the calamitous War of the Elves and Sauron of the 17th century of the Second Age.  Treebeard's statement is also supported by remarks [[Elrond]] Half-elven made at the Council of Elrond. Elrond said that "Time was once when a squirrel could carry a nut from tree to tree from Rivendell to the Great Sea...", further indicating that all of Eriador was once a single vast primeval forest, of which Fangorn Forest was just "the Eastern End of it" according to Treebeard.
 
=== The March of the Ents ===
{{quote|The Ents are going to war!|[[Treebeard]]}}
During the [[War of the Ring]] the Ents—usually a very patient, deliberate people—did become angry at [[Saruman]], whose armies were cutting down large numbers of their trees. They convened an ''Entmoot'', a meeting of the Ents of [[Fangorn Forest]] at Derndingle.  


[[Image:Luka Luka - Farewell to Fangorn.jpg|thumb|[[Entwives]] in ''Farewell to Fangorn'' by [[Luka Luka]].]]
[[Image:Ted Nasmith - The Tree Shepherds.jpg|right|thumb|''The Tree Shepherds'' by [[Ted Nasmith]].]]
There used to be ''[[Entwives]]'' (literally "Ent-women"), but they started to move farther away from the Ents because they liked to plant and control things, so they moved away to the region that would later become the [[Brown Lands]] across the Great River [[Anduin]]. This area was destroyed by [[Sauron]], and the Entwives disappeared. The Ents looked for them, but have never found them. It is sung by the Ents that one day they will find each other. In the Fellowship of the Ring, Sam Gamgee says his cousin Hal saw treelike giant in the north of the Shire. When Pippin and Merry tell Treebeard about the Shire, Treebread says the entwives would like that land.  
After lengthy deliberation (though from the perspective of the Ents, this was very quick action), they marched on Saruman's fortress at [[Isengard]]: the last march of the Ents.  They were led by Treebeard, the oldest Ent, and accompanied by the [[Hobbits]] [[Meriadoc Brandybuck]] and [[Peregrin Took]]. They destroyed Isengard in an all-out assault and trapped Saruman in the tower of [[Orthanc]].  Tolkien later noted that the destruction of Isengard by the Ents was based off of personal disappointment in MacBeth, when "Birnham Wood is come to castle Dunsinane". Tolkien was less than thrilled that it amounted to men walking on stage with leaves in their hats; he decided that when he did the scene for himself, he would do it correctly.


[[Image:Treebeard.jpeg|thumb|[[Treebeard]] from [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]].]]
==Appearance and traits==
Treebeard boasted to Merry and Pippin about the strength of the Ents. He said that they were much more powerful than [[Trolls]], which [[Morgoth]] (in the Elder Days or First Age) supposedly made as imitations of the Ents, but did not come near to their power. He compares this with how [[Orcs]] were Morgoth's imitation of [[Elves]].
The length and speed of an ent-stride was about 4 feet. With about 2.2 strides per second, an Ent could cover a speed of about 6 miles per hour<ref>Tolkien's calculations in [[Marquette]] paper MSS 4/2/19</ref>
==Etymology and Names==


The Elvish name for Ents is ''Onodrim'', singular ''Onod''.
''Ent'' is supposed to represent the language of the [[Vales of Anduin]].<ref name="Nomen"/>


=== The March of the Ents ===
The [[Sindarin]] name for Ents, as a race, is ''[[Onodrim]]'', and as individuals ''[[Onod]]'' (pl. ''Enyd'').<ref name="Nomen">{{HM|N}}, pp. 756-7</ref> The [[Quenya]] name of the Ents is possibly ''[[Onyalie]]'' with the individual being *''Onya''<ref>[http://www.pa2rick.com/langlab/anaxartaron.html Analysis] of the phrase ''[[Anaxartaron Onyalie]]'' by [[Patrick H. Wynne]].</ref>
{{quote|The Ents are going to war!|[[Treebeard]]}}
In ''[[The Two Towers]]'', the second volume of Tolkien's ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', the Ents&mdash;usually a very patient, deliberate people&mdash;do become angry at [[Saruman]], whose armies are cutting down large numbers of their trees. They convene an ''Entmoot'', a meeting of the Ents of [[Fangorn Forest]] at Derndingle.  


[[Image:Ted Nasmith - The Tree Shepherds.jpg|thumb|''The Tree Shepherds'' by [[Ted Nasmith]].]]
The word ''Ent'' is derived from [[Old English]] ''ent'', meaning "giant" (from ''eoten'', [[Norse]] ''jotun''), although the Ents were unrelated to the [[giants]] or the [[Wikipedia:Jötunn|jotuns]].<ref name="Nomen"/><ref>{{HM|SG}}, "Appendix C: Old English Poem of Attila", p. 376 (note 17)</ref> It has been noted that ''ent'' "probably means some kind of giant", but that the exact usage or meaning of the word in Old English is unknown.<ref>[[Michael D.C. Drout]], "[http://oenewsletter.org/OEN/archive.php/essays/drout37_3/ An Anglo-Saxonist Gets his Fifteen Minutes: or, what happens when the media briefly pay attention]" at [http://www.oenewsletter.org/OEN/index.php ''Old English Newsletter'' Online] (accessed 10 March 2011)</ref>
After lengthy deliberation (though from the perspective of the Ents, this is very quick action), they march on Saruman's fortress at [[Isengard]]: the last march of the Ents.  They are led by Treebeard, the oldest Ent, and accompanied by the [[Hobbits]] [[Meriadoc Brandybuck]] and [[Peregrin Took]]. They destroy Isengard in an all-out assault and trap Saruman in the tower of [[Orthanc]]. Tolkien later noted that the destruction of Isengard by the Ents was based off of personal disappointment in MacBeth, when "Birnham Wood is come to castle Dunsinane", Tolkien was less than thrilled that it amounted to men walking on stage with leaves in their hats; he decided that when he did that scene for himself, he'd do it right.


==Portrayal in Adaptions==
==Portrayal in Adaptions==
<center><gallery perrow=4>
File:Treebeard.jpeg|<center>[[Treebeard]] from [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' (film series)]]
File:Jeff Murchie - Ent.png|<center>''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]''
</gallery></center>


Ents in [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]] were portrayed as, perhaps, more tree-ish than in the books (the books describe them as having smooth skin; the movie has them with skin like thick and rough bark.  They have been accused of being "stupidified", though the explanation that [[Peter Jackson]] gives is that he wanted to give Merry and Pippin a more important role in the action. In the movie adaption, the Ents at the Entmoot decide that this is "not our war", despite strong protest from Merry.  The scene is also shorter, cutting out [[Bregalad]] completely.
'''2001-03: [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' (film series)]]:'''
:Ents in [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' (film series)]] were portrayed as, perhaps, more tree-ish than in the books. For example, the books describe them as having smooth skin; the movie has them with skin like thick and rough bark. In the movie adaption, the Ents at the Entmoot decide that this is "not our war", despite strong protest from Merry.  The scene is also shorter, cutting out [[Bregalad]] completely; Treebeard is the only Ent who is named and speaks on screen.


Treebeard is about to take them north to the border, when Pippin insists that they go South instead, because "''the closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm''". This "does not make sense" to Treebeard, but he does as they ask, and sees the ruin and destruction that Saruman has wrought on southern Fangorn.  Treebeard then calls the Ents to battle with his booming Ent-call, and they appear out of the forest as if they had been standing there waiting for it. That they do not know the borders of their own forest is another critizism. But others have accepted Jackson's reasoning as valid, because of the seemingly minor actions of Merry and Pippin throughout The Two Towers.
:Treebeard is about to take them north to the border, when Pippin insists that they go South instead, because "''the closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm''". This "does not make sense" to Treebeard, but he does as they ask, and sees the ruin and destruction that Saruman has wrought on southern Fangorn.  Treebeard then calls the Ents to battle with his booming Ent-call, and they appear out of the forest as if they had been standing there waiting for it. That they do not know the borders of their own forest is another possible logical gap. But others have accepted Jackson's technique as valid, because of the seemingly minor actions of Merry and Pippin throughout The Two Towers.


==Trivia==
'''2003: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (video game)|''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' (video game)]]:'''
J.R.R. Tolkien most likely had not heard of the phenomenon, but there are actually rare trees which can "walk" by growing roots on the side in which they intend to move and killing the roots on the opposite side. [http://boonedocks.net/pa/pa.php?p:339:15]
:Multiple Ents make appearance during the Fangorn Forest mission, destroying Saruman's Uruks fleeing from [[Helm's Deep]].


==External links==
'''2003: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring|Sierra's War of the Ring]]'':'''
* [http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/birminghampost/news/tm_objectid=15530734&method=full&siteid=50002&headline=tolkien-statue-plan-splits-community-name_page.html  Plan to construct a 25' Ent in Birmingham]
:A Summoned Ent is the strongest magic power available to the Free Peoples, an Ent's strength is equal only to the [[Balrog]] on the Evil site.
 
'''2004: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth]]'':'''
:In the storyline missions, Ents are assisting Merry and Pippin in the escape from the Uruks as well as destroying Isengard concurrent with the Battle of Helm's Deep. In the skirmish mode, Ents can be summoned both as a "Magic" power by all free peoples and as permanent units by the Rohan faction.
 
'''2006: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II]]'':'''
:Ents are the now the units of the Elven faction.
 
'''2007-: ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]'':'''
:Prior to the release of ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard|Rise of Isengard]]'') expansion, the only Ent appearing in the game was the one called Longbough, who could found in the Eavespires in [[Evendim]].<ref>[http://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Longbough Longbough] at [http://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Main_Page Lotro-wiki.com] (accessed 23 September 2011)</ref> ''Rise of Isengard'' expansion and subsequent updates introduced more Ent characters, among them [[Quickbeam]], Gnarlstump, Thickbark, Greylimb and Twistroot. A creature similar to Ents is called ''Bog-lurker'', said to have assisted the Ents in the shepherding of the trees.<ref>[http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Monster:Bog-lurker Monster: Bog-lurker] at [http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Lorebook_home Lorebook.Lotro.com] (accessed 23 September 2011)</ref>


{{ents}}
{{ents}}
 
{{references}}
[[Category:Races]]
[[Category:Races]]
[[de:Ents]]
[[de:Ents]]

Revision as of 00:33, 22 December 2012

"I shan't call it the end, till we've cleared up the mess." — Sam
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Ents
Race
John Howe - Ents.jpg
General Information
MembersTreebeard, Beechbone
Physical Description
LifespanImmortal
DistinctionsTree-like appearance
Average height10-25 ft.
GalleryImages of Ents

Ents were created at the request of Yavanna to guard the trees, and thus were called "Shepherds of the Trees".

History

Creation

Ents were a very old race that appeared in Middle-earth when the Elves did. They were created by Eru Ilúvatar at the behest of Yavanna, after she learned that Aulë's children, the Dwarves, were wont to fell trees. Ents were envisioned as Shepherds of the Trees and their duty was to protect the forests from Orcs, Dwarves and other perils. The Elves had tales of teaching the trees to talk, and they also taught the Ents to talk. Although the Ents were sentient beings at the time, they did not know how to speak until the Elves taught them. Treebeard said the Elves "curing the Ents of their dumbness" was a great gift that could not be forgotten.

Ents were tree-like creatures, having become like the trees that they shepherded. They varied in traits, from everything to height and size, colouring, and the number of fingers and toes. An individual Ent more or less resembled the specific species of tree that they typically guarded. For example, Quickbeam guarded rowan trees and thus looked very much like a rowan. In the Third Age of Middle-earth, the Forest of Fangorn was apparently the only place Ents still inhabited, although the Ent-like Huorns may still have survived elsewhere, as in the Old Forest.

Rise and Decline

Entwives in Farewell to Fangorn by Luca Bonatti

Almost nothing is known of the early history of the Ents — they apparently lived in and protected the large forests of Middle-earth in previous ages. At the end of the First Age they were sumoned by Beren and Lúthien to attack a band of dwarves. Treebeard told of a time when nearly all of Eriador was one huge forest and part of his domain, but these immense forests were cut by the Númenóreans of the Second Age, or destroyed in the calamitous War of the Elves and Sauron of the 17th century of the Second Age. Treebeard's statement is also supported by remarks Elrond Half-elven made at the Council of Elrond. Elrond said that "Time was once when a squirrel could carry a nut from tree to tree from Rivendell to the Great Sea...", further indicating that all of Eriador was once a single vast primeval forest, of which Fangorn Forest was just "the Eastern End of it" according to Treebeard.

There used to be Entwives (literally "Ent-women"), but they started to move farther away from the Ents because they liked to plant and control things, so they moved away to the region that would later become the Brown Lands across the Great River Anduin. This area was destroyed by Sauron, and the Entwives disappeared. The Ents looked for them, but have never found them. It is sung by the Ents that one day they will find each other. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Sam Gamgee says his cousin Hal saw treelike giant in the north of the Shire. When Pippin and Merry tell Treebeard about the Shire, Treebread says the entwives would like that land.

Treebeard boasted to Merry and Pippin about the strength of the Ents. He said that they were much more powerful than Trolls, which Morgoth supposedly made as imitations of the Ents. He compares this with how Orcs were Morgoth's imitation of Elves.

The March of the Ents

"The Ents are going to war!"
Treebeard

During the War of the Ring the Ents—usually a very patient, deliberate people—did become angry at Saruman, whose armies were cutting down large numbers of their trees. They convened an Entmoot, a meeting of the Ents of Fangorn Forest at Derndingle.

The Tree Shepherds by Ted Nasmith.

After lengthy deliberation (though from the perspective of the Ents, this was very quick action), they marched on Saruman's fortress at Isengard: the last march of the Ents. They were led by Treebeard, the oldest Ent, and accompanied by the Hobbits Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took. They destroyed Isengard in an all-out assault and trapped Saruman in the tower of Orthanc. Tolkien later noted that the destruction of Isengard by the Ents was based off of personal disappointment in MacBeth, when "Birnham Wood is come to castle Dunsinane". Tolkien was less than thrilled that it amounted to men walking on stage with leaves in their hats; he decided that when he did the scene for himself, he would do it correctly.

Appearance and traits

The length and speed of an ent-stride was about 4 feet. With about 2.2 strides per second, an Ent could cover a speed of about 6 miles per hour[1]

Etymology and Names

Ent is supposed to represent the language of the Vales of Anduin.[2]

The Sindarin name for Ents, as a race, is Onodrim, and as individuals Onod (pl. Enyd).[2] The Quenya name of the Ents is possibly Onyalie with the individual being *Onya[3]

The word Ent is derived from Old English ent, meaning "giant" (from eoten, Norse jotun), although the Ents were unrelated to the giants or the jotuns.[2][4] It has been noted that ent "probably means some kind of giant", but that the exact usage or meaning of the word in Old English is unknown.[5]

Portrayal in Adaptions

2001-03: The Lord of the Rings (film series):

Ents in The Lord of the Rings (film series) were portrayed as, perhaps, more tree-ish than in the books. For example, the books describe them as having smooth skin; the movie has them with skin like thick and rough bark. In the movie adaption, the Ents at the Entmoot decide that this is "not our war", despite strong protest from Merry. The scene is also shorter, cutting out Bregalad completely; Treebeard is the only Ent who is named and speaks on screen.
Treebeard is about to take them north to the border, when Pippin insists that they go South instead, because "the closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm". This "does not make sense" to Treebeard, but he does as they ask, and sees the ruin and destruction that Saruman has wrought on southern Fangorn. Treebeard then calls the Ents to battle with his booming Ent-call, and they appear out of the forest as if they had been standing there waiting for it. That they do not know the borders of their own forest is another possible logical gap. But others have accepted Jackson's technique as valid, because of the seemingly minor actions of Merry and Pippin throughout The Two Towers.

2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (video game):

Multiple Ents make appearance during the Fangorn Forest mission, destroying Saruman's Uruks fleeing from Helm's Deep.

2003: Sierra's War of the Ring:

A Summoned Ent is the strongest magic power available to the Free Peoples, an Ent's strength is equal only to the Balrog on the Evil site.

2004: The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth:

In the storyline missions, Ents are assisting Merry and Pippin in the escape from the Uruks as well as destroying Isengard concurrent with the Battle of Helm's Deep. In the skirmish mode, Ents can be summoned both as a "Magic" power by all free peoples and as permanent units by the Rohan faction.

2006: The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II:

Ents are the now the units of the Elven faction.

2007-: The Lord of the Rings Online:

Prior to the release of Rise of Isengard) expansion, the only Ent appearing in the game was the one called Longbough, who could found in the Eavespires in Evendim.[6] Rise of Isengard expansion and subsequent updates introduced more Ent characters, among them Quickbeam, Gnarlstump, Thickbark, Greylimb and Twistroot. A creature similar to Ents is called Bog-lurker, said to have assisted the Ents in the shepherding of the trees.[7]
Ents
Treebeard (Fangorn) · Leaflock (Finglas) · Skinbark (Fladrif) · Quickbeam (Bregalad) · Beechbone · Fimbrethil (Wandlimb)

References