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{{race infobox
{{sources}}
| name=Ents
| image=[[File:John Howe - Ents.jpg|250px]]
| caption="Ents" by [[John Howe]]
| pronun=
| othernames=''Onodrim'' ([[Sindarin|S]])<br />''Onyalië''([[Quenya|Q]]) <br />Shepherds of the Trees, Wood-demons
| origin=Created by [[Ilúvatar]] at [[Yavanna]]'s request
| location=[[Eriador]], [[East Beleriand]], [[Fangorn Forest]], [[Treegarth of Orthanc]]
| affiliation=
| rivalry=[[Trolls]]
| language=[[Entish]], [[Elvish]], [[Westron]]
| people=
| members=[[Treebeard]], [[Quickbeam]], [[Leaflock]],<ref name=tt474>{{TT|Treebeard}}, p.474</ref>[[Skinbark]],<ref name=tt474/>, [[Beechbone]],<ref>{{TT|Flotsam}}, p. 568</ref> [[Fimbrethil]]<ref>{{TT|Treebeard}}, p. 476</ref>
| lifespan=Unknown, but obviously very longeval
| distinctions=Tree-like appearance
| height=Very tall; several yards/meters
| hair=
| skin=Earthy colors
| clothing=
| weapons=
}}
The '''Ents''' were sentient, humanoid beings created at the request of [[Yavanna]] to protect the trees from other creatures, particularly Dwarves,<ref>{{S|1}}</ref> and thus were called "Shepherds of the Trees".<ref name=tt549>{{TT|Road}}, p. 549</ref>
==History==
===Origins===
The Ents were the most ancient living creatures surviving in [[Middle-earth]] in the [[Third Age]].<ref name=lp/><ref>{{L|131}}</ref> The Ents are a free people of their own kind, very similar in origin to the Dwarves.<ref group=note>See [[Eagles#Origin_and_nature|Eagles: Origin and nature]] for more details.</ref> In fact, "when Yavanna discovered the mercy of Eru to Aulë in the matter of the Dwarves, she besought Eru (through Manwë) asking him to give life" to the Ents, so that "the Ents were either souls sent to inhabit trees, or else that slowly took the likeness of trees owing to their inborn love of trees".<ref name=L247>{{L|247}}</ref><ref name=aule>{{S|Aule}}</ref>
 
Ents are the Shepherds of the Trees, as far as they were desired by Yavanna to protect the forests from [[Orcs]], Dwarves and other perils.<ref name=aule/> The males were devoted to [[Oromë]] while the [[Entwives]] to Yavanna.<ref name=L247/> They were created around the same time [[Awakening of the Elves|as the Elves]].<ref name=guide>{{HM|Guide}}, entry "Ents"</ref> The [[Eldar]] of the [[First Age]]<ref group="note">Possibly Eldar of the [[Great March]].</ref> loved to talk to everything and had tales of teaching the trees to talk. They gave them the desire to speak and taught them [[Elvish]].<ref name=lp>{{App|Other}}</ref> [[Treebeard]] said the Elves "curing the Ents of their dumbness" was a great gift that could not be forgotten.<ref name=treebeard>{{TT|III4}}</ref>


{{race
Before even [[Morgoth]] returned to the North the first Ents were not as wise or strong as in later times. They developed a language, [[Entish]], which was much simpler back then, and had very small knowledge of other [[languages]].<ref name=L247/>
|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".


==History==
=== Rise and decline ===
===Creation===
As [[Elrond]] said "''Time was once when a squirrel could carry a nut from tree to tree from Rivendell to the Great Sea...''".<ref>{{FR|Council}}</ref> Nearly all of [[Eriador]] was one huge forest and part of the Entish domain. Some Ents passed into [[East Beleriand]] and perhaps [[Tasarinan]].<ref name=treebeard/> An Ent-host showed up near [[Dolmed]] and helped [[Beren]] against the [[Dwarves of Nogrod]] who [[Battle of the Thousand Caves|sacked Doriath]] and slew King [[Thingol]]; the Dwarves were driven to the shadow woods of [[Blue Mountains|Ered Lindon]] and no-one managed to exit.<ref>{{L|248}}</ref><ref>{{S|Doriath}}</ref>
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.


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.
[[File:Luca Bonatti - Farewell to Fangorn.jpg|left|thumb|''Farewell to Fangorn'' by [[:Category:Images by Luca Bonatti|Luca Bonatti]]]]
There used to be ''[[Entwives]]'', but during the [[First Age|First]] or the [[Second Age]]s they started to move farther away from the Ents because they liked to plant and control small things like vegetables, grass and flowers while the male Ents tended the larger trees of the great forest.<ref name=guide/> The Entwives passed the [[Anduin]] and went to the region that would later become the [[Brown Lands]]. After Morgoth was overthrown, their gardens blossomed and they taught [[Men]] agriculture who honoured them.<ref name=treebeard/>


=== Rise and Decline ===
But a time came in the [[Second Age]] when these immense forests were cut by the [[Númenóreans]]<ref>{{UT|Aldarion}}</ref> or destroyed in the calamitous [[War of the Elves and Sauron]] during the 17th century of that Age. The shrinking of the forest solidified their separation from the Entwives. The Fangorn Forest was just the Eastern End of that immense forest, and one of its small remnants. The gardens of the Entwives were destroyed by [[Sauron]], and they disappeared. The Ents looked for them in vain and it is sung by the Ents that one day they will find each other but there is very scarce hope that they survived.<ref>{{L|144}}</ref>
[[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 &#8212; 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.  
In the [[Third Age]], the [[Fangorn Forest]] was apparently the only place Ents still inhabited, although the Ent-like [[Huorns]] may still have survived elsewhere, as in the [[Old Forest]]. The Ents grew old without hope of having [[Entings]] without the Entwives. Some grew 'treeish' and ceased moving or speaking.<ref name=guide/>


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]].
[[Halfast Gamgee]] reportedly encountered a "Tree-man" near [[the Shire]].<ref>{{FR|Shadow}}</ref> However, it was never learned whether the "Tree-Man" was an Ent, an Entwife, or just a story.


=== The March of the Ents ===
=== Last March ===
[[File:John Howe - The Ents Destroy Isengard.jpg|thumb|''The Ents Destroy Isengard'' by [[John Howe]]]]
{{quote|The Ents are going to war!|[[Treebeard]]}}
{{quote|The Ents are going to war!|[[Treebeard]]}}
During the [[War of the Ring]] the Ents&mdash;usually a very patient, deliberate people&mdash;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.  
About {{TA|2950}},{{fact}}[[Saruman]]'s armies began harassing the few remaining Ents and cutting down large numbers of their trees. During the [[War of the Ring]] the Ents&mdash;usually a very patient, deliberate people&mdash;were spurred by [[Meriadoc Brandybuck]] and [[Peregrin Took]]. They convened an ''[[Entmoot]]'', a meeting of the Ents at [[Derndingle]].<ref name=treebeard/>
 
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]] Merry and Pippin. They [[Battle of Isengard|destroyed Isengard]] in an all-out assault and trapped Saruman in the tower of [[Orthanc]]. They flooded [[Nan Curunír]] and transformed it into a forested area which they called [[Treegarth of Orthanc]].<ref>{{TT|Voice}}</ref>
 
Not only that, but a few days later, they defended [[Rohan]] when [[Eastemnet]] was invaded by hostile forces.<ref>{{App|Great}}</ref>
 
Following the reunification of [[Arnor]] and [[Gondor]], Treegarth became a part of the [[Reunited Kingdom]] and [[Aragorn|King Elessar]] declared it an Entish realm, granting the Ents complete self-governance.<ref name=partings>{{RK|Partings}}</ref>
 
The Ents remained in Fangorn where they probably dwindled in the following [[Ages]],<ref name=guide/> but [[Galadriel]] wished to Treebeard that they would meet again in Tasarinan, when Beleriand is lifted again from the waves, in [[Arda Healed|Spring]].<ref name=partings/>


[[Image:Ted Nasmith - The Tree Shepherds.jpg|right|thumb|''The Tree Shepherds'' by [[Ted Nasmith]].]]
==Characteristics==
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]].
[[File:Ted Nasmith - The Tree Shepherds.jpg|right|thumb|''The Tree Shepherds'' by [[Ted Nasmith]]]]
Ents were 14-foot tall creatures like humanoid trees with very thick skin resembling tree bark. They resembled the trees that they shepherded. An individual Ent more or less resembled the specific species of tree that they typically guarded or honoured, to the point of the personality one might expect from that tree.<ref name=guide/> Thus they varied in height and size, colouring, and in number of fingers and toes. For example, [[Quickbeam]] guarded [[Rowans|rowan]] trees and thus looked very much like a rowan.


==Appearance and traits==
There were trees that were awake or half-awake, and some were ''entish'' and Ents could awake or talk with some of them. Treebeard aroused some [[Huorns]] to destroy Isengard.<ref>{{TT|Flotsam}}</ref>
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==


''Ent'' is supposed to represent the language of the [[Vales of Anduin]].<ref name="Nomen"/>
Ents were dwelling in [[Ent-houses]] and were nourished by [[Ent-draughts]]. They were [[immortality|immortal]] (although they could be damaged or killed with sufficient force) and along with it, they were deliberate and slow in thought, decision and action. Their slow, long-winded language reflected this; of other languages they preferred [[Quenya]], which they also spoke in an agglutinating, long-winded way like Entish.


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>
However, once aroused, they possessed great strength, which resembled the age-long action of trees accelerated, crushing rocks and moving earth in seconds.<ref name=guide/> Though susceptible to pain, their thick skin made them very difficult to harm with metal weapons<ref>{{TT|Flotsam}}, p. 567</ref> (they are much more vulnerable to fire). Treebeard boasted that they were much more powerful than [[Trolls]], which [[Morgoth]] supposedly made as imitations of the Ents (he compares this with how [[Orcs]] were an imitation of [[Elves]]).<ref name=tt486>{{TT|Treebeard}}, p. 486</ref>


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>
The length 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{{fact}}</ref>


==Portrayal in Adaptions==
==Etymology==
<center><gallery perrow=4>
{{seealso|etten}}
File:Treebeard.jpeg|<center>[[Treebeard]] from [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' (film series)]]
''Ent'' is supposed to represent a name for a member of this race in the languages of the [[Vales of Anduin]], including in the language of Rohan.<ref name=Nomenclature>{{HM|N}}, entry '''Ent''', p. 756</ref>
 
The word ''Ent'' is derived from [[Old English]] ''[[wiktionary:ent#Old English|ent]]'', meaning "giant", although the Ents were unrelated to the [[giants]] or the [[Wikipedia:Jötunn|jotuns]] from Germanic mythology.<ref name=Nomenclature/><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>
 
==Other names==
The [[Sindarin]] name for Ents,<ref name=Words>{{PE|17}}, entry S '''Onodrim''', p. 83</ref><ref>{{HM|N}}, entry '''Ent''', p. 757</ref> as a race,<ref>{{L|144}}</ref><ref name=L168>{{L|168}}</ref> is '''''Onodrim'''''<ref>{{TT|Riders}}, p. 442</ref><ref>{{TT|White}}, p. 499</ref><ref>{{App|Other}}, p. 1130</ref> ("Ent-folk")<ref name=Words/>, and as individuals ''Onod'' (pl. ''Enyd'')<ref name=L168/>.
 
The [[Quenya]] name of the Ents is possibly '''''Onyalië''''', with the individual being *''[[Onya]]''.<ref name=onyalia>[http://web.archive.org/web/20160309231539/http://pa2rick.com/langlab/anaxartaron.html Analysis] of the phrase ''[[Anaxartaron Onyalië]]'' by [[Patrick H. Wynne]]</ref>
 
Saruman referred to the Ents as Wood-Demons.<ref>{{TT|Voice}}, p. 582</ref>
 
==Inspiration==
At several points, Tolkien specifically stated that the Ents were a spontaneous invention while writing [[Treebeard (chapter)]], without any recollection of previous thought or premeditation.<ref>{{L|162}}</ref><ref>{{L|180}}</ref><ref name=L247>{{L|247}}</ref>
 
In another point, Tolkien admitted that the Ents perhaps had a remote influence from the animate trees of the Fairy Land in [[George MacDonald]]'s ''[[Phantastes]]''.<ref>[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], "[[Letter to L.M. Cutts]]" (letter), ''[[Sotheby's English Literature, History, Fine Bindings, Private Press Books, Children's Books, Illustrated Books and Drawings 10 July 2003]]''</ref> Whilst in [[Letter 163|a letter]] to [[W.H. Auden]], Tolkien notes that they were perhaps borne from his own frustration with [[wikipedia:William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s ''[[wikipedia:Macbeth|Macbeth]]'': "Their part in the story is due, I think, to my bitter disappointment and disgust from schooldays with the shabby use made in Shakespeare of the coming of 'Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill'".<ref>{{L|163}}</ref>
 
==Portrayal in adaptations==
<center><gallery perrow="4">
File:The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers - 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]]''
File:Jeff Murchie - Ent.png|<center>''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]''
</gallery></center>
</gallery></center>


'''2001-03: [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' (film series)]]:'''
'''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.
: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;<ref name>{{TT|Treebeard}}, p. 480</ref> the movie has them with skin like thick and rough bark. In the movie adaptation, 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.
: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)|''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' (video game)]]:'''
'''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)]]:'''
:Multiple Ents make appearance during the Fangorn Forest mission, destroying Saruman's Uruks fleeing from [[Helm's Deep]].
:Multiple Ents make appearances during the Fangorn Forest mission, destroying Saruman's Uruks fleeing from [[Helm's Deep]], although as non-playable characters.


'''2003: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring|Sierra's War of the Ring]]'':'''
'''2003: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring|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.
:A Summoned Ent is the strongest magic power available to the Free Peoples; an Ent's strength is equal only to the [[Balrogs|Balrog]] on the Evil site.


'''2004: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth]]'':'''
'''2004: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth]]'':'''
Line 69: Line 106:


'''2006: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II]]'':'''
'''2006: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II]]'':'''
:Ents are the now the units of the Elven faction.  
:Ents are units of the Elven faction and can be summoned in battles.
 
'''2007: ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]'':'''
:Before the release of the ''[[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 be 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> The ''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 shepherding 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>


'''2007-: ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]'':'''
'''2009: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: Conquest]]'':'''
: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 are featured in the game as playable characters, with their appearance being based on that of [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' film series]].  


{{references|notes}}
{{ents}}
{{ents}}
{{references}}
[[Category:Races]]
[[Category:Races]]
[[de:Ents]]
[[de:Ents]]
[[fr:encyclo/peuples/ents/ents]]
[[fi:Entit]]

Latest revision as of 16:05, 22 February 2024

Ents
Race
John Howe - Ents.jpg
"Ents" by John Howe
General Information
Other namesOnodrim (S)
Onyalië(Q)
Shepherds of the Trees, Wood-demons
OriginsCreated by Ilúvatar at Yavanna's request
LocationsEriador, East Beleriand, Fangorn Forest, Treegarth of Orthanc
RivalriesTrolls
LanguagesEntish, Elvish, Westron
MembersTreebeard, Quickbeam, Leaflock,[1]Skinbark,[1], Beechbone,[2] Fimbrethil[3]
Physical Description
LifespanUnknown, but obviously very longeval
DistinctionsTree-like appearance
Average heightVery tall; several yards/meters
Skin colorEarthy colors
GalleryImages of Ents

The Ents were sentient, humanoid beings created at the request of Yavanna to protect the trees from other creatures, particularly Dwarves,[4] and thus were called "Shepherds of the Trees".[5]

History[edit | edit source]

Origins[edit | edit source]

The Ents were the most ancient living creatures surviving in Middle-earth in the Third Age.[6][7] The Ents are a free people of their own kind, very similar in origin to the Dwarves.[note 1] In fact, "when Yavanna discovered the mercy of Eru to Aulë in the matter of the Dwarves, she besought Eru (through Manwë) asking him to give life" to the Ents, so that "the Ents were either souls sent to inhabit trees, or else that slowly took the likeness of trees owing to their inborn love of trees".[8][9]

Ents are the Shepherds of the Trees, as far as they were desired by Yavanna to protect the forests from Orcs, Dwarves and other perils.[9] The males were devoted to Oromë while the Entwives to Yavanna.[8] They were created around the same time as the Elves.[10] The Eldar of the First Age[note 2] loved to talk to everything and had tales of teaching the trees to talk. They gave them the desire to speak and taught them Elvish.[6] Treebeard said the Elves "curing the Ents of their dumbness" was a great gift that could not be forgotten.[11]

Before even Morgoth returned to the North the first Ents were not as wise or strong as in later times. They developed a language, Entish, which was much simpler back then, and had very small knowledge of other languages.[8]

Rise and decline[edit | edit source]

As Elrond said "Time was once when a squirrel could carry a nut from tree to tree from Rivendell to the Great Sea...".[12] Nearly all of Eriador was one huge forest and part of the Entish domain. Some Ents passed into East Beleriand and perhaps Tasarinan.[11] An Ent-host showed up near Dolmed and helped Beren against the Dwarves of Nogrod who sacked Doriath and slew King Thingol; the Dwarves were driven to the shadow woods of Ered Lindon and no-one managed to exit.[13][14]

Farewell to Fangorn by Luca Bonatti

There used to be Entwives, but during the First or the Second Ages they started to move farther away from the Ents because they liked to plant and control small things like vegetables, grass and flowers while the male Ents tended the larger trees of the great forest.[10] The Entwives passed the Anduin and went to the region that would later become the Brown Lands. After Morgoth was overthrown, their gardens blossomed and they taught Men agriculture who honoured them.[11]

But a time came in the Second Age when these immense forests were cut by the Númenóreans[15] or destroyed in the calamitous War of the Elves and Sauron during the 17th century of that Age. The shrinking of the forest solidified their separation from the Entwives. The Fangorn Forest was just the Eastern End of that immense forest, and one of its small remnants. The gardens of the Entwives were destroyed by Sauron, and they disappeared. The Ents looked for them in vain and it is sung by the Ents that one day they will find each other but there is very scarce hope that they survived.[16]

In the Third Age, the Fangorn Forest was apparently the only place Ents still inhabited, although the Ent-like Huorns may still have survived elsewhere, as in the Old Forest. The Ents grew old without hope of having Entings without the Entwives. Some grew 'treeish' and ceased moving or speaking.[10]

Halfast Gamgee reportedly encountered a "Tree-man" near the Shire.[17] However, it was never learned whether the "Tree-Man" was an Ent, an Entwife, or just a story.

Last March[edit | edit source]

The Ents Destroy Isengard by John Howe
"The Ents are going to war!"
Treebeard

About T.A. 2950,[source?]Saruman's armies began harassing the few remaining Ents and cutting down large numbers of their trees. During the War of the Ring the Ents—usually a very patient, deliberate people—were spurred by Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took. They convened an Entmoot, a meeting of the Ents at Derndingle.[11]

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 Merry and Pippin. They destroyed Isengard in an all-out assault and trapped Saruman in the tower of Orthanc. They flooded Nan Curunír and transformed it into a forested area which they called Treegarth of Orthanc.[18]

Not only that, but a few days later, they defended Rohan when Eastemnet was invaded by hostile forces.[19]

Following the reunification of Arnor and Gondor, Treegarth became a part of the Reunited Kingdom and King Elessar declared it an Entish realm, granting the Ents complete self-governance.[20]

The Ents remained in Fangorn where they probably dwindled in the following Ages,[10] but Galadriel wished to Treebeard that they would meet again in Tasarinan, when Beleriand is lifted again from the waves, in Spring.[20]

Characteristics[edit | edit source]

The Tree Shepherds by Ted Nasmith

Ents were 14-foot tall creatures like humanoid trees with very thick skin resembling tree bark. They resembled the trees that they shepherded. An individual Ent more or less resembled the specific species of tree that they typically guarded or honoured, to the point of the personality one might expect from that tree.[10] Thus they varied in height and size, colouring, and in number of fingers and toes. For example, Quickbeam guarded rowan trees and thus looked very much like a rowan.

There were trees that were awake or half-awake, and some were entish and Ents could awake or talk with some of them. Treebeard aroused some Huorns to destroy Isengard.[21]

Ents were dwelling in Ent-houses and were nourished by Ent-draughts. They were immortal (although they could be damaged or killed with sufficient force) and along with it, they were deliberate and slow in thought, decision and action. Their slow, long-winded language reflected this; of other languages they preferred Quenya, which they also spoke in an agglutinating, long-winded way like Entish.

However, once aroused, they possessed great strength, which resembled the age-long action of trees accelerated, crushing rocks and moving earth in seconds.[10] Though susceptible to pain, their thick skin made them very difficult to harm with metal weapons[22] (they are much more vulnerable to fire). Treebeard boasted that they were much more powerful than Trolls, which Morgoth supposedly made as imitations of the Ents (he compares this with how Orcs were an imitation of Elves).[23]

The length 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[24]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

See also: etten

Ent is supposed to represent a name for a member of this race in the languages of the Vales of Anduin, including in the language of Rohan.[25]

The word Ent is derived from Old English ent, meaning "giant", although the Ents were unrelated to the giants or the jotuns from Germanic mythology.[25][26] 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.[27]

Other names[edit | edit source]

The Sindarin name for Ents,[28][29] as a race,[30][31] is Onodrim[32][33][34] ("Ent-folk")[28], and as individuals Onod (pl. Enyd)[31].

The Quenya name of the Ents is possibly Onyalië, with the individual being *Onya.[35]

Saruman referred to the Ents as Wood-Demons.[36]

Inspiration[edit | edit source]

At several points, Tolkien specifically stated that the Ents were a spontaneous invention while writing Treebeard (chapter), without any recollection of previous thought or premeditation.[37][38][8]

In another point, Tolkien admitted that the Ents perhaps had a remote influence from the animate trees of the Fairy Land in George MacDonald's Phantastes.[39] Whilst in a letter to W.H. Auden, Tolkien notes that they were perhaps borne from his own frustration with Shakespeare's Macbeth: "Their part in the story is due, I think, to my bitter disappointment and disgust from schooldays with the shabby use made in Shakespeare of the coming of 'Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill'".[40]

Portrayal in adaptations[edit | edit source]

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;[41] the movie has them with skin like thick and rough bark. In the movie adaptation, 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 appearances during the Fangorn Forest mission, destroying Saruman's Uruks fleeing from Helm's Deep, although as non-playable characters.

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 units of the Elven faction and can be summoned in battles.

2007: The Lord of the Rings Online:

Before the release of the Rise of Isengard expansion, the only Ent appearing in the game was the one called Longbough, who could be found in the Eavespires in Evendim.[42] The 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 shepherding the trees.[43]

2009: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest:

Ents are featured in the game as playable characters, with their appearance being based on that of The Lord of the Rings film series.

Notes

  1. See Eagles: Origin and nature for more details.
  2. Possibly Eldar of the Great March.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Treebeard", p.474
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Flotsam and Jetsam", p. 568
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Treebeard", p. 476
  4. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Beginning of Days"
  5. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Road to Isengard", p. 549
  6. 6.0 6.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F, "The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age", "Of Other Races"
  7. J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 131, (undated, written late 1951)
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 247, (dated 20 September 1963)
  9. 9.0 9.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of Aulë and Yavanna"
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Robert Foster, The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, entry "Ents"
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Treebeard"
  12. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Council of Elrond"
  13. J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 248, (dated 5 October 1963)
  14. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Ruin of Doriath"
  15. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "Aldarion and Erendis: The Mariner's Wife"
  16. J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 144, (dated 25 April 1954)
  17. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Shadow of the Past"
  18. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Voice of Saruman"
  19. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Great Years"
  20. 20.0 20.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "Many Partings"
  21. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Flotsam and Jetsam"
  22. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Flotsam and Jetsam", p. 567
  23. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Treebeard", p. 486
  24. Tolkien's calculations in Marquette paper MSS 4/2/19[source?]
  25. 25.0 25.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings" in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, entry Ent, p. 756
  26. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, "Appendix C: Old English Poem of Attila", p. 376 (note 17)
  27. Michael D.C. Drout, "An Anglo-Saxonist Gets his Fifteen Minutes: or, what happens when the media briefly pay attention" at Old English Newsletter Online (accessed 10 March 2011)
  28. 28.0 28.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", in Parma Eldalamberon XVII (edited by Christopher Gilson), entry S Onodrim, p. 83
  29. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings" in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, entry Ent, p. 757
  30. J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 144, (dated 25 April 1954)
  31. 31.0 31.1 J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 168, (dated 7 September 1955)
  32. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Riders of Rohan", p. 442
  33. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The White Rider", p. 499
  34. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F, "The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age", "Of Other Races", p. 1130
  35. Analysis of the phrase Anaxartaron Onyalië by Patrick H. Wynne
  36. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Voice of Saruman", p. 582
  37. J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 162, (dated 18 April 1955)
  38. J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 180, (dated 14 January 1956)
  39. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Letter to L.M. Cutts" (letter), Sotheby's English Literature, History, Fine Bindings, Private Press Books, Children's Books, Illustrated Books and Drawings 10 July 2003
  40. J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 163, (dated 7 June 1955)
  41. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Treebeard", p. 480
  42. Longbough at Lotro-wiki.com (accessed 23 September 2011)
  43. Monster: Bog-lurker at Lorebook.Lotro.com (accessed 23 September 2011)
Ents
Treebeard (Fangorn) · Leaflock (Finglas) · Skinbark (Fladrif) · Quickbeam (Bregalad) · Beechbone · Fimbrethil (Wandlimb)