View source for Giants

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{{race infobox
| name=Giants
| image=[[File:Angus McBride - Giants.jpg|250px]]
| caption="Giants" by [[Angus McBride]]
| pronun=
| othernames=''stone-giants''<ref name="Queer"/>
| origin=
| location=[[Misty Mountains]]<ref name="Hill"/></br>''Possibly'' [[White Mountains]]<ref>[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], ''[[Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings|Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings]]'', omitted entry quoted in [[Wayne G. Hammond]], [[Christina Scull]], ''[[The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion]]'', pp. 536-7</ref>
| affiliation=
| rivalry=
| language=''Possibly'' [[Westron]]
| people=
| members=''Possibly'' [[Tarlang]]<ref name="Tarlang"/>
| lifespan=
| distinctions=
| height=Large
| hair=
| skin=
| clothing=
| weapons=
}}
The '''Giants''' were one of the mysterious [[:Category:Races|races]] of [[Middle-earth]], mentioned only fleetingly.

== History ==
Giants are mainly beings of legend. [[Gandalf|Gandalf the Grey]] was known for telling stories about [[dragons]] and [[Orcs|goblins]] and giants<ref>{{H|Party}}</ref> and [[Bilbo Baggins|Bilbo]] had heard of giants in tales,<ref>{{H|Riddles}}</ref> but none of these tales survive and the origin and history of the giants is obscure.<ref name="Giants">{{HH|IV}}, "(iii): The Giants", pp. 143-5</ref>

A local legend among the [[Pre-Númenóreans|indigenous people]] of [[Gondor]] told of giants living in the [[Outlands|lands]] by the [[Belegaer|Sea]], north of the [[Bay of Belfalas]]; they made the [[White Mountains]], to keep [[Men]] out of their lands. One of them, [[Tarlang]], tripped, and broke his neck. The other giants did not clean up his body, which became incorporated in the land instead. The giant's neck became [[Tarlang's Neck]], his head [[Dol Tarlang]], and the stones he was carrying [[Cûl Veleg]] and [[Cûl Bîn]].<ref name="Tarlang">{{HM|N}}, pp. 536-7</ref> The city of [[Minas Tirith]], as stood on [[Amon Tirith]], seemed to have been "carved" by giants out of the rock.<ref name=rk>{{RK|V1}}</ref>

The [[Ettenmoors]] owed their name to some [[Etten|gigantic creatures]] of that land, although these were perhaps merely some kind of [[trolls]].<ref>{{HM|RC}}, p. 183</ref><ref>{{FR|Flight}}</ref>

Some say that [[Beorn]] is a bear descended from the great and ancient bears of the mountains that lived there before the giants came.{{fact}}

The ''stone-giants'' lived in the Misty Mountains during the late [[Third Age]]. Great [[bears]] lived there before the Giants came.<ref name="Queer">{{H|Queer}}</ref> They found a sport in throwing rocks at each other, and then into the depths below them to hear them shatter among the trees.<ref name="Hill">{{H|Hill}}</ref>

Presumably, not all giants were savage or evil, as Gandalf hoped to convince a more or less decent giant to block the [[Front Porch]] to [[Goblin-town]], to make the [[High Pass]] in the [[Misty Mountains]] safe again.<ref>{{H|6}}</ref>

== Commentary==
{{expansion}}
Giants are mentioned as creatures mainly in the early [[legendarium]] written by young [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], and there are some references to them in the drafts of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' that were removed later; their only definite appearance is in ''[[The Hobbit]]''. Other than that, they notably never appear anywhere else among the creatures and races of [[Arda]], nor do they participate in any of the wars. Their origin, and even their existence, is not mentioned in the ''[[Valaquenta]]'' or the ''[[Long List of the Ents]]''; nor do they appear in the wars of the [[Elder Days]], and neither does [[Sauron]] use them as he did with the [[Orcs of the Misty Mountains]].

It is quite possible that their appearance in ''[[The Hobbit]]'' is a relic from this early phase of the legendarium. [[John D. Rateliff]] has argued that they might have become "free agents"; not wicked, but simply not aware of their surroundings.<ref name="Giants"/>

This led some [[Tolkienists]] to assume that giants are maybe a fleeting idea of Tolkien while writing ''The Hobbit'' but never considered again to incorporate them in his developing legendarium. [[Robert Foster]] comments that the ''stone-giants'' "may be no more serious than [[Golfimbul]]".<ref>{{HM|Guide}}, p. 366</ref>

Other theories attempt to include the giants among the known races of Arda. For example they might be a large race of [[Men]] (like [[Hobbits]] are a small race of Men), or [[Trolls]], or simply "nature [[Spirit (disambiguation)|spirits]]" more or less like [[Tom Bombadil]].<ref>{{webcite|author=Steuard Jensen|website=FAQ|articlename=What were the giants?|articleurl=http://tolkien.slimy.com/faq/Creatures.html#Giants}}</ref> Furthermore, [[Douglas A. Anderson]]'s annotations in ''[[The Annotated Hobbit: Revised and Expanded Edition]]'' express the opinion that stone-giants are a variety of Troll.<ref>{{HM|AH}}, p. 104</ref>

== Other versions of the legendarium ==
=== ''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'' and associated writings ===
Giants originally had a larger part in the [[legendarium]]. In one early manuscript, the giants are counted among the [[úvanimo]]r, servants of [[Morgoth|Melko]].<ref name="Lost">{{LT1|X}}</ref> In another manuscript, the giants are counted among the Earthlings, and are divided between the "wood-giants" ([[Qenya]] ''ulbandi'') and "mountainous-giants" (Qenya ''taulir'').<ref name="Parma">{{PE|14}}, p. 9</ref> And in other early writings, two giants are named: [[Nan (Giant)|Nan]] (said to be like an [[Elms|Elm]]-tree) and [[Gilim]] (whose name is [[Gnomish]] for "winter").<ref name="Lays">{{LB|C5}} (verse 1497)</ref><ref>{{LT2|I}}</ref>.

=== Giants and Ents ===
Giants were the wicked precursors of [[Ents]]. The elm-like features of the Giant Nan, and that in early versions of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' it was the Giant [[Treebeard]] who held [[Gandalf]] captive, not [[Saruman]],<ref>{{RS|3XXI}}</ref> makes the connection between Giants and Ents within [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]'s imagination clear.<ref name="Giants"/> 

An early name for the [[Ettenmoors]] was called "Entish Lands". As [[Christopher Tolkien]] notes, "Ent" comes from an [[Old English]] word for "giant",<ref>{{RS|1XId}}</ref> and was used before Tolkien conceived the later benevolent Ents of ''[[The Two Towers]]''. The word is seen at various points in ''[[Beowulf (poem)|Beowulf]]'', for example line 2717, ''enta geweorc'', "the work of giants".<ref>Howell D. Chickering, Jr., "Beowulf: A Dual Language Edition", pp. 212-3</ref>

=== Giants as a subgroup of Men ===
In a draft for what would become the chapter ''[[The Shadow of the Past]]'' from ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', it is mentioned that the [[Sauron|Necromancer]] was rallying his forces and causing wars and devastation from his stronghold in [[Mordor]], and that giants were said to be among those forces. There, the giants were described as "a [[Men|Big Folk]] only far bigger and stronger than Men the [?ordinary] Big Folk, and no stupider, indeed often full of cunning and wizardry."<ref>{{RS|2XV}}, p. 253</ref>

=== Other names and etymologies ===
An early [[Sundocarmë|root]] for "giant" is given as [[NOROTH]]. This yields [[Quenya]] ''[[norsa]]'',<ref name="NOROTH">{{LR|Etymologies}} (cf. the [[Sundocarmë|root]] NOROTH)</ref> and ''Noroth'' (likely supposed to be a [[Noldorin]] word<ref name="Web">{{webcite|author=Roman Rausch|articleurl=http://sindanorie.lima-city.de/RS&TI&WR.htm|articlename=''Essekenta Endamarwa'' - Names from ''The Return of the Shadow'', ''The Treason of Isengard'' and ''The War of the Ring''|dated=23 December 2006|website=Sindanórie|accessed=8 October 2011}}</ref>). A discarded Quenya word was ''hanako'', from a root KHAN-AK.<ref name="Vin">{{VT|45a}}, p. 21</ref>

== Inspiration ==
In Germanic mythology names for the giants were ''jotun'' ([[Norse]]) and ''eoten'' ([[Old English]]). From the latter word Tolkien derived the name "[[etten]]".

In the ''[[The Return of the King|Return of the King]]'' it is noted that [[Minas Tirith]] "''seemed to have been not builded but carven by giants out of the bones of the earth''".<ref name=rk/> [[Wayne G. Hammond|Hammond]] and [[Christina Scull|Scull]] have suggested that this notion derives from [[Old English]] mythology, in which giants were often portrayed as builders of ancient structures.<ref>{{HM|RC}}, p. 514</ref>

== Other fiction ==
In ''[[Farmer Giles of Ham]]'', [[The Giant|a giant]] troubles [[Farmer Giles]]' land, who chases him off with his blunderbuss.{{fact}}

== Portrayal in adaptations ==
{{Gallery
|title=Giants in adaptations
|width=200
|height=200
|lines=3
|File:Nicholas Jainschigg - Thunder's Companion.jpg|''Thunder's Companion'' by Nicholas Jainschigg for [[Middle-earth Collectible Card Game|''MECCG'']]

|File:The Lord of the Rings - The Battle for Middle-earth II - Mountain Giant.jpg|Mountain giant in  ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II]]''

|File:The Lord of the Rings Online - Giant.jpg|A giant in  ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]''

|File:The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey - Stone Giants.jpg|A ''stone giant'' in  ''[[The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey]]''
|File:The Lord of the Rings - War in the North - Bargrisar.png|Bargrisar in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: War in the North]]''
}}

=== Films ===
'''2012: ''[[The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey]]'':'''
:''Stone-giants'' are seen throwing rocks and crashing into each other as [[Thorin and Company]] travel over the [[Misty Mountains]]. In the film, they are interpreted as literally being colossal stone entities.

=== Games ===
'''1982: ''[[Middle-earth Role Playing]]'':'''
:Several divisions and races of giants are described and given statistics, such as Stone Giants<ref>{{ICE|8070}}</ref>, Ice Giants<ref>{{ICE|2025}}</ref>, Giants of the Southern Misty Mountains<ref>{{ICE|3600}}</ref>, and Red Giants<ref>{{ICE|2012}}</ref>.

'''1995: ''[[Middle-earth Collectible Card Game]]'':'''
:Giants, called ''Thunder's Companions'', are one of the Hazard Creatures.

'''2003: [[The Hobbit (2003 video game)|''The Hobbit'' (2003 video game)]]:'''
:Stone-giants are golem-like creatures that appear in the fourth level, hurling rocks at Bilbo as he tries to travel along a mountain path. They are completely made of stone, and their stones are dangerous.<ref>[[The Hobbit (2003 video game)|''The Hobbit'' (2003 video game)]], "Over Hill and Under Hill"</ref> 

'''2006: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II]]'':'''
:"Mountain Giants" are large and powerful beings in the Goblin faction, with brown scaly skin. They can hurl stones at great distance, and serve as the faction's artillery units.

'''2007: ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]'':'''
:Several tribes of giants appear in the game, including ''Stone-giants'', Ogres (also called Jorthkyn or Earth-kin), and Ice-giants. While some are enemy creatures, others remain neutral and can be befriended by the player.

'''2011: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: War in the North]]'':'''
:A renegade ''Stone-Giant'' named Bargrisar appears in the game, serving as a boss character. Swayed by [[Sauron]] to serve him, he becomes the leader of a large party of Orcs and Trolls. Backed by his army, Bargrisar seeks to destroy the nests of the [[Great Eagles]] and plunder the North for riches. Similar to the portrayal in ''[[The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey]]'', he is a being composed entirely of stone.

'''2014: ''[[Lego The Hobbit: The Video Game]]'':'''
:Multiple stone-giants appear as the main conflict in the level ''Over Hill and Under Hill'', in which their fighting poses a threat to the party.

=== Other ===
'''1989: [[The Hobbit (comic book)|''The Hobbit'' (comic book)]]:'''
:Giants are displayed as bearded gigantic men with regular leather attire.

== See also ==
*[[Etten]]
*[[Ents]]
*[[Ogres]]
*[[Trolls]]

== External links ==
*[http://middle-earth.xenite.org/2013/03/26/are-the-stone-giants-supposed-to-be-demons-like-the-balrog/ Are the Stone Giants Supposed to Be Demons like the Balrog?] by [[Michael Martinez]]

{{references}}
{{Legend}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giants}}

[[Category:Giants| ]]
[[Category:Races]]
[[Category:Races in The Book of Lost Tales]]
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