Hobbits – An offshoot of the Human Race, Hobbits seem to have been made “of sterner stuff” than Men, perhaps even Numenoreans, in many ways. Huorns might become more like Ents and Ents more like Huorns over time, according to Treebeard, but we’re still not sure how closely related they were. Huorns – The name literally means “tree hound” but Huorns were a bit more wild and dangerous than your average sheep dog. The loss of the Entwives is one of the saddest and most profound events in the history of Middle-earth, and it has inspired fannish debates and artwork for generations. Tolkien wrote on a fan-made map of Middle-earth, as revealed by Pip Willis, son of the map’s illustrator.Įntwives – The female counterparts to the Ents, they never appeared in any of Tolkien’s stories, except in anecdotes recounted by Treebeard for Merry and Pippin. These trees were transformed into the talking apple trees in the 1939 Victor Fleming film adaptation of the story. Frank Baum also imagined a forest of “fighting trees” who resisted the passage of Dorothy and her companions in The Wizard of Oz. The Life of Apollonius of Tyana by Philastratus). When Thespesion commanded the Elm to salute (speak to) Apollonius, it did so “in accents which were articulate and like those of a woman” (Cf. For example, the Greek philosopher/sophist (who lived in the 2nd Century CE) Philostratus told a story about two philosophers (Apollonius and Thespesion) who paused to argue near an Elm tree. Each race wants something the other possesses but they cannot exchange these “gifts”.Įnts – Tolkien’s walking, talking trees seem to be unique, but they are not entirely so. Tolkien’s Elves, unlike many fairy creatures of myth and folklore, seem to be intrinsically drawn toward their mortal cousins in an eery dance of envy: Men long to be “immortal” like the Elves and Elves long to be reassured that there is a future for them (as for Men) after the world ends. Whereas Men’s spirits “leave the circles of the world” after inhabiting the world for a relatively short span of years, the Elves’ spirits are meant to remain within the circles of the world for as long as the world endures, and hence their bodies sustain those spirits for much longer than the bodies of Men sustain their own spirits. But after 2,000 years they began leaving the island and returning to Middle-earth, where their descendants survived until the Fourth Age.Įlves – Tolkien’s Elves are, according to him, “biologically human” but they have been given a fate that is separate from the fate of (other) humans (Men and Hobbits). One branch of Drúgs migrated to Beleriand with the Second House of the Edain, and later settled in Númenor. The Drúgs were a loyal and good-hearted people who hated evil things, especially Orcs. Tolkien, a fragment from his ‘Dunharrow’ drawing.ĭrugs and Drúedain – The Drúgs were a race of humans, perhaps inspired by early (and erroneous) interpretations of the northern human species Neanderthals. The ‘Pukel-men’, as the Rohirrim called them, were statues carved by ancient Drugs to honor their ancestors. Zeus, one of the prototypes for Manwë, is also associated with giant eagles (including the one that torments Prometheus, who is tied to a rock until Heracles frees him). Giant Eagles – Giant eagles have appeared in various sources, including Norse and Icelandic mythology and also in the writings of Marco Polo. Nonetheless, I think it is generally agreed that the following creatures were given a very clear profile by Tolkien through his fiction that differentiated them from earlier creatures that may have appeared in mythology, folklore, and fiction. Even Hobbits bear some strong resemblances to certain types of fairy-creatures: they live in hills, they are diminutive in size, they can disappear quickly, they mostly live apart from Men, they have pointed ears, they have mysterious origins, etc. Tolkien Invent for Middle-earth?ĪNSWER: It’s hard to say how many of the creatures in the various Tolkien books were actual creatures of his own invention. How many of these amazing creatures did he invent for his stories? Q: How Many Creatures did J.R.R. Middle-earth feels real and natural, and yet Tolkien filled his stories with fantastic creatures like Ents and Wargs.
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