...It is a long tale...
 | |
| Forest | |
| Fangorn Forest | |
|---|---|
| General Information | |
| Other names | Fangorn's Wood Entwood (R) Aldalómë, Ambaróna, Tauremorna(lómë) (Q) |
| Location | North of Rohan, east of the southern tip of the Misty Mountains |
| Type | Forest |
| Description | Dense, dark woodland |
| People and History | |
| Inhabitants | Ents, Huorns, Trees |
| Gallery | Images of Fangorn Forest |
All that lies north of Rohan is now to us so far away that fancy can wander freely there
Fangorn Forest[1][2][3][4] or the Forest of Fangorn[5] was a deep, dark woodland that grew beneath the southern Misty Mountains, under the eastern flanks of that range. According to a legend the King of the Galadhrim had met the oldest Ent Fangorn in ancient days.[6] As a consequence, it is possible that Fangorn Forest was named after the the Ent Fangorn. The forest was known as the Entwood in Rohan.[7]
Description
Fangorn Forest was located on the eastern side of the southern end of the Misty Mountains, stretching for several hundred miles on all sides. The river Limlaith flowed through the forest from the northwest, while the wider Entwash flowed southward through the forest from the Misty Mountains.[8] Birch, rowan, and pinewoods grew on the mountain slopes along the western edge of the forest. Peregrin Took described it as "very dim, and stuffy", comparing it to the Old Took's room in the Great Smials. Meriadoc Brandybuck contrasted the forest with Bilbo's description of the pitch-dark Mirkwood, saying, "This is just dim, and frightfully tree-ish."[9] Gimli said that "the air is stuffy... lighter than Mirkwood, but it is musty and shabby." Legolas described Fangorn as "tense" and "old, very old...and full of memory",[10] Fangorn said the Elves woke up the trees and taught them to speak.[9] Black crows, known as Crebain, dwelt in the forest as native wildlife.[11] In older times there was no visible border between Fangorn Forest and the wooded elven realm of Lórien. In those days Lórien extended beyond the river Celebrant to the south into open woodland that consisted of smaller trees, which merged into Fangorn Forest.[6] At the time of T.A. 1981 the borders of Fangorn Forest were still much closer to Lórien.[12]
History
Among the later inhabitants of middle earth during the Third Age, Fangorn was notorious as a dangerous place, similar to Mirkwood. This idea was likely started by the fact that any person who wandered far into Fangorn or cut down trees would have been killed by Ents. Paired with the old and ominous feel of the forest, this most likely led people to believe that the forest was cursed, giving it its bad name. While still wary of the forest, earlier inhabitants of neighboring Rohan were less apt to label it evil, instead merely referring to the forest as the Entwood.
First and Second Ages
Fangorn Forest was the easternmost survivor of the immense forest that spanned much of the Westlands in the Elder Days, but which was destroyed by the Númenóreans and Sauron during the Second Age. Before the deforestation of these regions by Númenórean shipbuilders, Fangorn Forest was much larger, and may have been connected to the Old Forest.[13]
By the end of the Second Age, all of the Entwives had moved away from Fangorn, passing East over the Anduin never to return, although rumours have been told that the Entwives moved to the Old Forest near the Shire. According to Treebeard, there have been no Entings in a long time after they were lost.
Third Age
Saruman often used to walk in Fangorn and talk with Treebeard, if he met him, and was always eager to listen to anything the old Ent told him about the forest. However, he never repaid Treebeard in the same way.[9] Saruman used this knowledge of the forest's secrets for his own advantage.
Beginning in T.A. 2953 Saruman started fortifying Isengard;[14] eventually his Orcs started abusing and harassing the forest, its trees and Ents, for his fortifications and war machines.
War of the Ring
On 28 February of T.A. 3019,[15] Éomer's Éored attacked and slaughtered the band of Uruk-hai of Uglúk under the eaves of Fangorn. This allowed Merry and Pippin to escape the Orcs and pass into the forest.[16] There they met Treebeard and informed him of the danger that Saruman posed to the Ents and their forest. Following the Entmoot the rest of the Ents finally agreed to march against Isengard, taking Merry and Pippin with them. Treebeard was angered by Saruman's Orcs chopping down parts of the forest. This was one of the reasons the Ents decided to attack Isengard.[9]
On 1 March T.A. 3019,[15] Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas entered the forest in search of Merry and Pippin. Rather than the two young hobbits, they encountered the White Wizard. At first they believed him to be Saruman before realizing that it was Gandalf, returned from death. His name was now Gandalf the White.[10]
On 3 March T.A. 3019,[15] Gandalf talked with Treebeard at Isengard and Huorns were sent to Helm's Deep to help the Rohirrim in the battle.[17]
Etymology
Fangorn is a Sindarin name, which literally means "beard-(of)-tree"[18][19] or more loosely "Treebeard".[20] It is a combination of the elements fang ("beard") and orn ("(tall) tree").[19]
Other names
Entwood is a modernization of Old English Entwudu (wudu, "wood"), so modernized because it was recognizable by speakers of Westron. Gondorians used that name, assimilated to their own language.[21]
In his song In the Willow-meads of Tasarinan,[9] Treebeard mentions three ancient names in Quenya:
- Ambaróna, "Eastern (Land)", being the adjectival form of ambarónë ("dawn"),[22] which contains the elements amba ("uprising", "sunrise", "orient") and (h)róna ("eastern", "east").[23]
- Tauremorna, "Black Forest", from taurë ("forest") and morna ("black", "dark").[24] Treebeard also mentions the longer form Tauremornalómë.
- Aldalómë, "Tree-twilight", from alda ("tree") and lómë ("night", "twilight").[25]
Portrayal in adaptations
2011: The Lord of the Rings Online:
- Fangorn Forest is realized in the game not as a single region, but as a series of consecutive areas in five different game regions. From north-east to south-west they are: Limlight Gorge south of the river Limlight in the "Great River" region, Balewood in the "Wildermore" region, Eaves of Fangorn in the "East Rohan" region, Entwood in the "West Rohan" region, and Fangorn's Edge in Nan Curunír (which is part of the Dunland region). Some of these areas are connected to one another but feature significant jumps in the level range of the enemies. When following the natural progression of the main story, the player will end up visiting each of these areas at different times and not in the order described.
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Uruk-hai", p. 458
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Road to Isengard", p. 549
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "Many Partings", p. 980
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Great Years", entry for the year 3019, February 28, p. 1092
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Farewell to Lórien", p. 373
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Appendix C: The Boundaries of Lórien"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Riders of Rohan", p. 437
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age" [map]
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Treebeard"
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The White Rider"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Ring Goes South"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Amroth and Nimrodel"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Appendix D: The Port of Lond Daer"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age"
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Great Years"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Uruk-hai"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Flotsam and Jetsam"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F, "The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age", "Of Other Races", p. 1131
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 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 fang-orn, p. 84
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Treebeard", p. 464
- ↑ 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 Entwade, Entwash, Entwood, pp. 769-70
- ↑ 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 Q Ambaróna, p. 82
- ↑ Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, entry Ambarona, pp. 384-5
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Unfinished index for The Lord of the Rings", in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, entry Tauremorna, p. 385
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Unfinished index for The Lord of the Rings", in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, entry Aldalome, p. 385