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The mates of the [[Ents]], who had their gardens in the regions later known as the [[Brown Lands]]. When [[Sauron]] blasted that region, the Entwives escaped into the wilds of [[Middle-earth]] and were lost to the Ents (or so the Ents themselves believed).
{{quote|‘How very sad!’ said [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]]. ‘How was it that they all died?’<br>‘They did not die!’ said [[Treebeard]] ‘I never said died. We lost them, I said. We lost them and we cannot find them.’|''[[The Two Towers]]'', "[[Treebeard]]"}}
[[File:Luca Bonatti - Farewell to Fangorn.jpg|thumb|300px|''Farewell to Fangorn'' by [[:Category:Images by Luca Bonatti|Luca Bonatti]]]]
'''Entwives''' and '''Entmaidens''' were female [[Ents]].
==Description==
[[Treebeard]] described the Entwives as "fair", especially in youth. Of older Entwives and Entmaidens he said the following:
{{blockquote|[T]he Entwives were bent and browned by their labour; their hair parched by the sun to the hue of ripe corn and their cheeks like red apples. Yet their eyes were still the eyes of our own people.}}
 
The Entwives were described as desiring order, plenty and peace.<ref name=TT476>{{TT|Treebeard}}, p. 476</ref> Treebeard said that they would have liked the lands of [[The Shire]].<ref>{{TT|Treebeard}}, p. 472</ref>
==History==
[[File:Ralph Damiani - Ancient Knowledge.jpg|250px|right|thumb|''Ancient Knowledge'' by [[:category:Images by Ralph Damiani|Ralph Damiani]]]]
The Entwives were created along with the male Ents by [[Yavanna]], the [[Valar|Vala]] responsible for all growing things. Unlike their husbands who were dedicated to [[Oromë]], the Entwives were dedicated to Yavanna.<ref>{{L|247}}</ref> They originally travelled with the Ents, but in the [[First Age]],<ref group=note>The exact date of this is not told however it occurred before what Treebeard refers to as the [[The Darkness#Great Darkness|Great Darkness]], i.e. [[Morgoth]]'s dominion over [[Middle-earth]].</ref> they settled down and created gardens because they liked to plant and control small things like vegetables, grass and flowers, while the male Ents tended the larger [[trees]] of the forests. Unlike the Ents who wished to speak to the trees and let them grow however they'd like, the Entwives wanted to be obeyed by the plants for they desired order. The rest of the Ents kept on wandering, visiting the gardens occasionally.<ref name=TT476/> The Ents wished for the Entwives to return to them but they refused believing their land to be better.<ref name=TT477>{{TT|Treebeard}}, p. 477</ref> When [[Morgoth]] started growing his power in the North, the Entwives passed eastward over the [[Anduin]]. After Morgoth was overthrown, their gardens blossomed and they taught agriculture to the primitive [[Men]] and were honoured by them.<ref name=TT476/>
 
To stop the advance of the [[Last Alliance of Elves and Men|Last Alliance]] down the Anduin, [[Sauron]] pursued a scorched earth policy.<ref name=L144/> Their lands were burned and uprooted and thereafter Men referred to the land as the Brown Lands.<ref name=TT476/>
===Search for the Entwives===
Sometime during the [[War of the Last Alliance]], Treebeard desired to see his wife [[Fimbrethil]] but when he reached their lands he found them marred by war and the Entwives no longer there. For a long time, they searched frequently for the Entwives asking all creatures if they had seen them. Some had not seen them, others said they were seen going east, some said west and others south.<ref name=TT476/> Many songs were sung by [[Elves]] and Men about the Ents' search for the Entwives. Over time their searches became more infrequent and they journeyed shorter distances until the Entwives were mere memory to most Ents.<ref name=TT476/> The loss of the Entwives had a large effect on the Ents as there were no new [[Entings]],<ref name=TT475>{{TT|Treebeard}}, p. 475</ref> and survival of the Ents as a race was due only to their long lifespan but some Ents died and others became "treeish" until there were few Ents left.<ref>{{TT|Treebeard}}, pp. 474-5</ref>
 
===Fate of the Entwives===
The Ents held that the Entwives were not dead but merely lost.<ref name=TT475/> They believed that they would one day find each other and hoped to go to a land where they could both be happy.<ref name=TT477/>
 
The Entwives may have been wiped out by Sauron during the [[War of the Last Alliance]] but some could have fled east or become slaves of Sauron used for agriculture. If this were the case, any surviving Entwives would likely "be far estranged from the Ents, and any rapprochement would be difficult".<ref name=L144>{{L|144}}</ref>
 
Sometime before the [[War of the Ring]], [[Halfast Gamgee]] claimed that he saw an [[Elms|elm]]-like "Tree-Man" walking in the [[North Moors]].<ref>{{FR|Shadow}}, pp. 44-5</ref> However, it was never learned whether the "Tree-Man" was an Ent, an Entwife, or just a story.
==See also==
* [[Entmaidens]]
* [[:Category:Images of Entwives|Images of Entwives]]
* [[The Ent and the Entwife]] (song/poem)
* [[Letter 338]] - Letter discussing the fate of the Entwives.
* [[Letter 144]] - Letter discussing the fate of the Entwives.
 
== External links ==
* [[User:Ardamir/Essays/Entwives|Of the Ents and the Entwives]] - An essay on the location of the Entwives by [[User:Ardamir|Ardamir]].
*[http://tolkien.slimy.com/tfaq/EnemyMisc.html#Entwives What became of the Entwives?] from the [[Tolkien FAQ]].
*[http://www.tolkiensociety.org/blog/2017/05/yes-but-is-it-canon/ Yes, but is it canon?] - An article about a map that Tolkien may have labelled with the Entwives' location.
 
{{references|notes}}


'''See also''': [http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=12512 I found the Entwives!] discussion on the where-abouts of the Entwives
[[Category:Ents]]
[[Category:Ents]]
[[de:Entfrauen]]
[[fr:encyclo/personnages/ents/ents-femmes]]
[[fi:Entvaimot]]

Latest revision as of 18:39, 9 March 2024

"‘How very sad!’ said Pippin. ‘How was it that they all died?’
‘They did not die!’ said Treebeard ‘I never said died. We lost them, I said. We lost them and we cannot find them.’"
― The Two Towers, "Treebeard"
Farewell to Fangorn by Luca Bonatti

Entwives and Entmaidens were female Ents.

Description[edit | edit source]

Treebeard described the Entwives as "fair", especially in youth. Of older Entwives and Entmaidens he said the following:

[T]he Entwives were bent and browned by their labour; their hair parched by the sun to the hue of ripe corn and their cheeks like red apples. Yet their eyes were still the eyes of our own people.

The Entwives were described as desiring order, plenty and peace.[1] Treebeard said that they would have liked the lands of The Shire.[2]

History[edit | edit source]

Ancient Knowledge by Ralph Damiani

The Entwives were created along with the male Ents by Yavanna, the Vala responsible for all growing things. Unlike their husbands who were dedicated to Oromë, the Entwives were dedicated to Yavanna.[3] They originally travelled with the Ents, but in the First Age,[note 1] they settled down and created gardens because they liked to plant and control small things like vegetables, grass and flowers, while the male Ents tended the larger trees of the forests. Unlike the Ents who wished to speak to the trees and let them grow however they'd like, the Entwives wanted to be obeyed by the plants for they desired order. The rest of the Ents kept on wandering, visiting the gardens occasionally.[1] The Ents wished for the Entwives to return to them but they refused believing their land to be better.[4] When Morgoth started growing his power in the North, the Entwives passed eastward over the Anduin. After Morgoth was overthrown, their gardens blossomed and they taught agriculture to the primitive Men and were honoured by them.[1]

To stop the advance of the Last Alliance down the Anduin, Sauron pursued a scorched earth policy.[5] Their lands were burned and uprooted and thereafter Men referred to the land as the Brown Lands.[1]

Search for the Entwives[edit | edit source]

Sometime during the War of the Last Alliance, Treebeard desired to see his wife Fimbrethil but when he reached their lands he found them marred by war and the Entwives no longer there. For a long time, they searched frequently for the Entwives asking all creatures if they had seen them. Some had not seen them, others said they were seen going east, some said west and others south.[1] Many songs were sung by Elves and Men about the Ents' search for the Entwives. Over time their searches became more infrequent and they journeyed shorter distances until the Entwives were mere memory to most Ents.[1] The loss of the Entwives had a large effect on the Ents as there were no new Entings,[6] and survival of the Ents as a race was due only to their long lifespan but some Ents died and others became "treeish" until there were few Ents left.[7]

Fate of the Entwives[edit | edit source]

The Ents held that the Entwives were not dead but merely lost.[6] They believed that they would one day find each other and hoped to go to a land where they could both be happy.[4]

The Entwives may have been wiped out by Sauron during the War of the Last Alliance but some could have fled east or become slaves of Sauron used for agriculture. If this were the case, any surviving Entwives would likely "be far estranged from the Ents, and any rapprochement would be difficult".[5]

Sometime before the War of the Ring, Halfast Gamgee claimed that he saw an elm-like "Tree-Man" walking in the North Moors.[8] However, it was never learned whether the "Tree-Man" was an Ent, an Entwife, or just a story.

See also[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

Notes

  1. ↑ The exact date of this is not told however it occurred before what Treebeard refers to as the Great Darkness, i.e. Morgoth's dominion over Middle-earth.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Treebeard", p. 476
  2. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Treebeard", p. 472
  3. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 247, (dated 20 September 1963)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Treebeard", p. 477
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 144, (dated 25 April 1954)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Treebeard", p. 475
  7. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Treebeard", pp. 474-5
  8. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Shadow of the Past", pp. 44-5
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