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{{disambig-more|Oliphaunt|[[Oliphaunt (disambiguation)]]}}
[[Image:Alan Lee - An Oliphaunt.jpg|thumb|250px|An Oliphaunt by [[Alan Lee]].]]
[[File:Alan Lee - An Oliphaunt.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Alan Lee]] - ''An Oliphaunt'']]
'''Oliphaunts''' were enormous animals, similar to [[elephants]], used in the [[War of the Ring]] by the allies of [[Sauron]].
==Description==
Oliphants lived in the jungles of [[Far Harad]], far to the south of any known maps of [[Middle-earth]], where the [[Haradrim]] called them ''Mûmakil''. Massive, often ferocious beasts, their legs were like trees, their bodies were larger than a house, they had enormous sail-like ears, and they had a long snout like a huge serpent.  Somehow the Haradrim tamed them and the result was possibly the most brutally effective beast of war that Middle-earth ever saw.
The Haradrim strapped massive, carriage-like tiered towers on the backs of these beasts, and from these towers Haradrim archers and spearmen hurled projectiles down upon their enemies. The ''[[mûmak]]'' itself, enraged and goaded by its cruel Haradrim masters, would charge through the enemy, trampling archer, swordsman and horse beneath its massive feet.<ref name="Stewed">{{TT|IV4}}</ref>
Killing a ''mûmak'' was almost impossible - its rough, leathery hide made arrows relatively harmless, and any archer standing to take a shot would be an easy target for the archers on top of the ''mûmak''. Horses had a natural fear of the ''mûmakil'' so even the most skilled horsemen could not get close enough to strike at its great, trunk-like legs. The only known way to kill an oliphaunt was to shoot it in the eye, which typically meant standing in front of it as it charged the archer, and thus a very difficult task to perform.<ref name="Pelennor">{{RK|V6}}</ref>


'''Oliphaunts''' large [[Elephants|elephants]] of unknown species. In the tongue of the [[Haradrim]], they were known as ''mûmakil'' (singular ''[[mûmak]]''); this was later used by the [[Men]] of [[Gondor]].   
==History==
 
Due to their habitation in the far south, oliphants were creatures of legend to the inhabitants of the [[Westlands]].  The [[Hobbits]] had a old [[Oliphant|poem]] about oliphants,<ref>{{AB|Preface}}</ref> which [[Samwise Gamgee]] recited to [[Gollum]] in [[Ithilien]].<ref name="Gate">{{TT|IV3}}</ref>
==The animal==
From monstrous to homely; the Elephant was clearly a loved and respected animal in Tolkien's factual bestiary. In [[The Black Gate is Closed]] [[Sam Gamgee]] foreshadows the appearance of the creatures when he stands up, puts his hands behind his back and begins; "Grey as a mouse, big as a house, Nose like a snake, I make the earth shake... etc". This poem is published in full on this website under the title [[Oliphaunt]].
On [[7 March]] {{TA|3019}}<ref name="Great">{{App|Great}}</ref> [[Faramir]] led the [[Rangers of Ithilien]] on an ambush against a contingent of Haradrim marching north. This battle was witnessed by [[Frodo Baggins]] and Sam, and they saw an Oliphant in full charge. The maddened animal had smashed its war-tower in its rush through the woods; unguided it trampled soldiers of both sides until it disappeared from view.<ref name="Stewed"/>
 
Oliphaunts were clearly a legendary creature to the Hobbits, judging from the delighted recognition by Sam, of the elephantine individual which later crashed past their hiding place in [[North Ithilien]] in [[Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit]]. Presumably this recognition came from ancient tales from when the hobbits lived further south and east or from their contact with other more wandering peoples after the hobbits had firmly settled themselves in [[The Shire]] and the [[Bree]]lands. Investigation of Tolkien's texts does not suggest an appearance or reference to Oliphaunts prior to the [[Third Age]].
During the [[Siege of Gondor]], beginning on [[14 March]],<ref name="Great"/> oliphants were used to drag war towers and engines to be used against the walls of [[Minas Tirith]].<ref>{{RK|V4}}</ref>  On [[15 March]],<ref name="Great"/> in the subsequent [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]], oliphants were used as rallying points for the Haradrim after the [[Rohirrim]] had charged into the fray.  Eventually all of the great beasts were killed as the forces of the West won the battle, but both [[Derufin]] and [[Duilin (son of Duinhir)|Duilin]], the sons of [[Duinhir]] of [[Morthond]] were trampled in the process.<ref name="Pelennor"/>
 
In [[The Lord of the Rings]] the beasts are being used by fighting men from [[Harad]] as trained servants of war to intimidate their enemies and their enemies' horses and to provide an oversight of battle-fields. This gives a joint nod to the use of war-elephants by Persians and the Moghuls of India and perhaps also to the use by Hannibal of African Elephants in sacking parts of Italy during the late 2nd Century.
After the defeat of Sauron when Frodo and Sam had been rescued and brought to the [[Field of Cormallen]], Sam wandered in the glades near [[Henneth Annûn]], hoping to see the oliphant he had seen before, but to no avail.<ref>{{RK|VI4}}</ref>
 
The Oliphaunts or [[Mûmakil]] to use the plural of the singular [[Mûmak]] were notably used by the men of Harad in [[The Siege of Gondor]] and subsequently in [[The  Battle of the Pelennor Fields]] on March 15th, T.A. 3019. They were big enough to carry tower-like structures on their backs, but as this practice has been used with modern species of elephants, it is left to the the reader's imagination as to whether the beasts referred to in the Lord of the Rings are particularly gigantic.
 
On a practical level, for people to be confronted with such large, thick-skinned, unfamiliar and unpredictable beasts would have meant an immediate disadvantage. Working out how to effectively kill or disabled a raging mûmak on a chaotic battlefield would have been a trying task to say the least. Tolkien makes reference in [[The Battle of the Pelennor Fields]] to horses being frightened of them; "... wherever the ''mûmakil'' came there the horses would not go, but blenched and swerved away; and the great monsters were unfought, and stood like towers of defence, and the [[Haradrim]] rallied about them." A heroic and possibly tragically lone solution, is made later in the text; "and both Duilin of Morthond and his brother were trampled to death when they assailed the mûmakil, leading their bowmen close enough to shoot at the eyes of the monsters."
--Ralph Brew 12:21, 30 September 2009 (UTC)


==Etymology==
==Etymology==
The word "oliphaunt" was only used by [[Hobbits]]. [[Gandalf]] mentions [[elephants]] once in ''[[The Hobbit]]'' so perhaps 'oliphaunt' is a [[Hobbitish]] corruption of this original word. But whether these two creatures are the same, can not be said with certainty.
In the tongue of the [[Haradrim]], oliphants were known as ''mûmakil'' (singular ''mûmak''); this word was adopted by the [[Men]] of [[Gondor]].<ref name="Stewed"/> In [[Sindarin]], the beast was known as the '''Annabon''', or "long-snout".<ref>{{LR|Etymologies}}, '''MBUD'''</ref>
 
Oliphant/olifant/olifaunt had been archaic words for elephant and the ivory. The most famous use of the oliphant (as in horn) is in ''[[wikipedia:The Song of Ronald|The Song of Roland]]'' "The oliphant is set to Roland's Lips"; Roland fails to call for help at the Battle of Roncevaux in 778 until it is too late for him and his comrades.
Oliphant/olifant/olifaunt had been archaic words for elephant and their ivory. The most famous use of the oliphant (as in horn) is in ''[[wikipedia:The Song of Roland|The Song of Roland]]'' "The oliphant is set to Roland's Lips"; Roland fails to call for help at the Battle of Roncevaux in 778 until it is too late for him and his comrades.
Oliphant in English is derived from Old French ''olifant'' and [[Old English]] ''olfend'' from Old High German ''olbenta'''camel'.<ref>{{HM|N}}, p. 761</ref>
The word "oliphaunt" was only used by [[Hobbits]].<ref name="Gate"/>  [[Gandalf]] mentions elephants once in ''[[The Hobbit]]''<ref>{{H|2}}</ref> so perhaps "oliphaunt" is a [[Hobbitish]] corruption of this original word. But whether these two creatures are the same cannot be said with certainty.


==Portrayals in adaptations==
==Portrayals in adaptations==
'''1968: ''[[The Hobbit (1968 radio series)|BBC Radio's The Hobbit]]'':'''
'''1968: [[The Hobbit (1968 radio series)|''The Hobbit'' (1968 radio series)]]:'''
:Gandalf's line "Great elephants!" was replaced by "Great oliphaunts"; this was one of several uses of material from ''The Lord of the Rings''.
:Gandalf's line "Great elephants!" was replaced by "Great oliphaunts"; this was one of several uses of material from ''The Lord of the Rings''.


'''2002: ''[[Peter Jackson's The Two Towers]]'':'''
'''2002: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]'':'''
:Two oliphaunts appear in the ambush in [[Ithilien]]. They are CGI created, and they are much, much bigger than today's elephants; furthermore, they have 2 sets of big tusks and one set of tiny tusks.
:Two oliphaunts appear in the ambush in [[Ithilien]]. They are CGI created, and they are much, much bigger than today's elephants; furthermore, they have 2 sets of big tusks and one set of tiny tusks.


'''2003: ''[[Peter Jackson's The Return of the King]]'':'''
'''2003: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'':'''
:Oliphaunts are used in the scenes from the [[Battle of Pelennor Fields]], mounted with towers and decorated with deadly spikes on their multiple tusks. The [[Rohirrim]] charge headlong into battle, and even pass under them. Several oliphaunts were killed.
:Oliphaunts are used in the scenes from the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields|Battle of Pelennor Fields]], mounted with towers and decorated with deadly spikes on their multiple tusks. The [[Rohirrim]] charge headlong into battle, and even pass under them. Later in the battle, [[Legolas]] shoots down an oliphaunt. Several oliphaunts were killed during the battle.  
 
:[[Weta]] made a large slain prop ''mûmak'' at almost the last minute, much to Weta staff's consternation, on request by the director Peter Jackson. It appears in the scene where [[Peregrin Took]] enters the field and locates the dazed and disoriented [[Meriadoc Brandybuck]] after his experience with [[Eowyn]] in successfully slaying the [[Witch-king of Angmar]]. Rumour has it that the prop became a favourite picnic destination for crew members.


:[[Weta Workshop|Weta]] made a large slain prop ''mûmak'' at almost the last minute, much to Weta staff's consternation, on request by the director [[Peter Jackson]]. It appears in the scene where [[Peregrin Took]] enters the field and locates the dazed and disoriented [[Meriadoc Brandybuck]] after his experience with [[Éowyn]] in successfully slaying the [[Witch-king]] of [[Angmar]]. The prop became a favourite picnic destination for crew members.
{{references}}
[[de:Mûmakil]]
[[de:Mûmakil]]
[[fr:encyclo:biologie:faune:mumakil]]
[[fr:encyclo:biologie:faune:mumakil]]
[[fi:Mûmakil]]
[[fi:Olifantit]]


[[category:Mammals]]
[[Category:Animals]]

Revision as of 15:06, 22 June 2014

The name Oliphaunt refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see Oliphaunt (disambiguation).

Oliphaunts were enormous animals, similar to elephants, used in the War of the Ring by the allies of Sauron.

Description

Oliphants lived in the jungles of Far Harad, far to the south of any known maps of Middle-earth, where the Haradrim called them Mûmakil. Massive, often ferocious beasts, their legs were like trees, their bodies were larger than a house, they had enormous sail-like ears, and they had a long snout like a huge serpent. Somehow the Haradrim tamed them and the result was possibly the most brutally effective beast of war that Middle-earth ever saw.

The Haradrim strapped massive, carriage-like tiered towers on the backs of these beasts, and from these towers Haradrim archers and spearmen hurled projectiles down upon their enemies. The mûmak itself, enraged and goaded by its cruel Haradrim masters, would charge through the enemy, trampling archer, swordsman and horse beneath its massive feet.[1]

Killing a mûmak was almost impossible - its rough, leathery hide made arrows relatively harmless, and any archer standing to take a shot would be an easy target for the archers on top of the mûmak. Horses had a natural fear of the mûmakil so even the most skilled horsemen could not get close enough to strike at its great, trunk-like legs. The only known way to kill an oliphaunt was to shoot it in the eye, which typically meant standing in front of it as it charged the archer, and thus a very difficult task to perform.[2]

History

Due to their habitation in the far south, oliphants were creatures of legend to the inhabitants of the Westlands. The Hobbits had a old poem about oliphants,[3] which Samwise Gamgee recited to Gollum in Ithilien.[4]

On 7 March T.A. 3019[5] Faramir led the Rangers of Ithilien on an ambush against a contingent of Haradrim marching north. This battle was witnessed by Frodo Baggins and Sam, and they saw an Oliphant in full charge. The maddened animal had smashed its war-tower in its rush through the woods; unguided it trampled soldiers of both sides until it disappeared from view.[1]

During the Siege of Gondor, beginning on 14 March,[5] oliphants were used to drag war towers and engines to be used against the walls of Minas Tirith.[6] On 15 March,[5] in the subsequent Battle of the Pelennor Fields, oliphants were used as rallying points for the Haradrim after the Rohirrim had charged into the fray. Eventually all of the great beasts were killed as the forces of the West won the battle, but both Derufin and Duilin, the sons of Duinhir of Morthond were trampled in the process.[2]

After the defeat of Sauron when Frodo and Sam had been rescued and brought to the Field of Cormallen, Sam wandered in the glades near Henneth Annûn, hoping to see the oliphant he had seen before, but to no avail.[7]

Etymology

In the tongue of the Haradrim, oliphants were known as mûmakil (singular mûmak); this word was adopted by the Men of Gondor.[1] In Sindarin, the beast was known as the Annabon, or "long-snout".[8]

Oliphant/olifant/olifaunt had been archaic words for elephant and their ivory. The most famous use of the oliphant (as in horn) is in The Song of Roland "The oliphant is set to Roland's Lips"; Roland fails to call for help at the Battle of Roncevaux in 778 until it is too late for him and his comrades.

Oliphant in English is derived from Old French olifant and Old English olfend from Old High German olbenta'camel'.[9]

The word "oliphaunt" was only used by Hobbits.[4] Gandalf mentions elephants once in The Hobbit[10] so perhaps "oliphaunt" is a Hobbitish corruption of this original word. But whether these two creatures are the same cannot be said with certainty.

Portrayals in adaptations

1968: The Hobbit (1968 radio series):

Gandalf's line "Great elephants!" was replaced by "Great oliphaunts"; this was one of several uses of material from The Lord of the Rings.

2002: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers:

Two oliphaunts appear in the ambush in Ithilien. They are CGI created, and they are much, much bigger than today's elephants; furthermore, they have 2 sets of big tusks and one set of tiny tusks.

2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King:

Oliphaunts are used in the scenes from the Battle of Pelennor Fields, mounted with towers and decorated with deadly spikes on their multiple tusks. The Rohirrim charge headlong into battle, and even pass under them. Later in the battle, Legolas shoots down an oliphaunt. Several oliphaunts were killed during the battle.
Weta made a large slain prop mûmak at almost the last minute, much to Weta staff's consternation, on request by the director Peter Jackson. It appears in the scene where Peregrin Took enters the field and locates the dazed and disoriented Meriadoc Brandybuck after his experience with Éowyn in successfully slaying the Witch-king of Angmar. The prop became a favourite picnic destination for crew members.

References