Stone-trolls were a race of trolls in the service of Sauron. Not much is known of these creatures, except that they inhabited the Westlands of Middle-earth and that they spoke a "debased form of the Common Speech".[1] It is possible that they were not actually living beings, but mere counterfeits made by Melkor, and they would return to their stone images once exposed to the light of the Sun.[2]
William, Tom, and Bert — the trolls encountered by Bilbo Baggins and his companions on their journey to Erebor — were likely of this kind, as they spoke Westron.[3][4]
In T.A. 3018, Sam Gamgee composed the humorous poem "The Stone Troll", about Tom visiting an old troll gnawing on the bones of Tim.[4][5][6]
Inspiration
The three trolls attempt to trap and carry the Dwarves in bags. This is reminiscent to the scene in Beowulf where Grendel carries his human prey in a glove.[7]
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F, "The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age", "Of Other Races"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 153, (dated September 1954)
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "Roast Mutton"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Robert Foster (1978), The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, p. 366
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Flight to the Ford"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, "The Stone Troll"
- ↑ "Tolkien Society Anglo-Saxon Study Pack 2" 2006, The Tolkien Society