Fangorn
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| Place from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium | |
| Other names | Entwood |
|---|---|
| Description | Thick, dense forest Home of the Ents and Huorns Remote from the world outside |
| Location | Wilderland |
| Lord | Treebeard |
Fangorn (Sindarin: [Fangaorne]; "Beardtree") in J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium, is a forest located in the fictional world of Middle-earth and is the home of the tree shepherds, the Ents. It is named after the oldest Ent, Treebeard or Treebeard after it. Tolkien does however state there is confusion about the two. The Forest of Fangorn provides an important role in The Lord of the Rings novel as does Mirkwood, Doriath and Lothlórien in the Third Age, a time where Sauron challenged Middle-earth to battle and domination. The forest provides the means by where adventure expands with the breaking up of the Fellowship. Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took are the first to discover the Ents are alive but are dwindling in numbers due to the loss of the Entwives. They were lost because of the events of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. The forest was again damaged severely during the War of the Ring by the forces of Saruman who lived close by in the fortress of Isengard.
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[edit] Etymology
"Fangorn" was the original name for the Ent Treebeard, who was the eldest of his species who looked after vast areas of his home and the surrounding land which was named Fangorn Forest. Additionally Fangorn translates in the fictional language of Sindarin from "fanga" meaning "beard" and "orne" meaning "tree". Sindarin is a language Tolkien created and described the Elves of Middle-earth to possess; who "awoke" the Ents into moving lifeforms. In other parts of Middle-earth Fangorn Forest was called the "Entwood" by the Rohirrim.
Fangorn Forest apparently had several names as told by Treebeard who referred to the forest by several Quenya names in Lord of the Rings, some of which were Ambaróna, Tauremornalómë, Tauremorna and Aldalómë. "Ambaróna" means "uprising, sunrise, orient" from "amba" meaning "upwards" and "róna" meaning "east". "Aldalómë" means "tree twilight" from "alda" meaning "tree" and "lómë" meaning "dusk, twilight".[1] "Tauremorna" means "gloomy forest" from "taur" meaning "forest" and "morna" meaning "gloomy, somber".[1] "Tauremornalómë" means "gloomy twilight forest".[2]
[edit] Geography
The Forest of Fangorn is located at the south-eastern end of the Misty Mountains near the Gap of Rohan. The mountains formed the western border of Fangorn. At the end of the mountain range stood the stronghold of Isengard near the southwestern corner of the forest and this was where Saruman lived.[citation needed] To the east and south of Fangorn was the land of Rohan and Lothlórien lay to the north and slightly east. Fangorn Forest stretched for many miles and held many paths.
Tolkien stated that two important and significant rivers ran through the forest. To the north the Limlight flowed from the woods and then formed the northern border of Rohan. The river then merged into the larger Anduin river. In the south, the Entwash spread deep into the forest arriving from Methedras, a mountainous region located near the Misty Mountains. The river then flowed from Fangorn and was directed through Rohan to the Anduin river. The valley of Derndingle was located to the south-west. There was a path where the Entwash passed into a region called Wellinghall and this was where the Entwash passed the home of Treebeard, the shepherd of the forest.
Fangorn Forest was said to be humid and trunks and branches grew thick where very little light penetrated the forest. Similarly Fangorn was said to be a dangerous and evil place like Mirkwood where huge spiders roamed the forest and other evil creatures lay, but this was not the case following the events of Lord of the Rings. The forest was home to many different kinds of trees. Huorns also lived in the forest similar to Ents but more discreet. Most lived deep in the Forest of Fangorn. The Ents and Huorns would feed off the river Entwash, where it held magical properties which gave them the ability to move unlike the other trees in the forest.
[edit] History
Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took enter the forest in the second volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers. There, they meet Treebeard and persuade him of the danger Saruman poses to the Ents and their forest. Following an Entmoot, the rest of the Ents agree to march against Isengard, taking Merry and Pippin with them, and send Huorns to Helm's Deep to deal with the Orcs there. Part of the Ents' anger was caused by Saruman's orcs chopping down the trees at the south and west side of the forest. It is especially notable in that Fangorn Forest is personified by Treebeard whose deliberate and slow moving character anthropomorphosises Tolkien's deep invented history and places its vast time in a contrapuntal humor with the 'hasty' immediacy of the hobbits' drama in the War of the Ring.[3]
In The Two Towers, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas enter the forest to search for Merry and Pippin. They encounter an old man dressed in white. At first, they believe it to be Saruman before realizing that it is Gandalf, who they thought had been killed at Khazad-dûm.
Fangorn forest is actually just the easternmost remnant of the immense forest that spanned all of Eriador and Calenardhon in the First Age and early Second Age. Treebeard expresses a deep sadness at the loss of the forest primeval to the orcs and the age of men and their machines.[4]The rest of the forest was destroyed by the Númenóreans and Sauron. It was the oldest part of Treebeard's realm, and the Ents' last retreat.
[edit] Politics
In The Two Towers, Treebeard summons an Entmoot, a town hall meeting-style political gathering, for the purpose of deciding what to do about Saruman's threat to Fangorn. While the rules governing Entmoots are never set out in detail, they appear to be very irregular meetings convoked in emergencies. The suffix -moot suggests a parliament.
[edit] Culture
[edit] Adaptations
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Tolkien, J.R.R. (in English). The Silmarillion; Appendix: "Elements in Quenya and Sindarin Names".
- ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. (in English), The Lost Road and Other Writings, The History of Middle-earth, 5
- ^ Lobdell, Jared. A Tolkien Compass. p. 84. ISBN 0875483160. "only look at The Lord of the Rings for the briefest of times to catch a vision of ancient forests, of trees like men walking, of leaves and sunlight, and of deep shadows."
- ^ Dickerson, Matthew T.; Jonathan Evans (2004). Ents, Elves, and Eriador: The Environmental Vision of J. R. R. Tolkien. University Press of Kentucky.
[edit] External links
- Tolkien in the land of Arthur: the Old Forest episode from The Lord of the Rings. Mythopoeic Society, 2006. An article discussing the significance of forests in Tolkien's work, in particular, the Old Forest with comparisons to other myths and romances.
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