View source for Treebeard

{{short description|Tree-giant in Tolkien's novel ''Lord of the Rings''}}
{{About|the fictional character|the fantasy illustrator|Chris Baker (artist)}}
{{good article}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox character
| name         = Treebeard
| first        = ''[[The Two Towers]]'' (1954)
| aliases      = {{Unbulleted list|Fangorn|''The'' Ent}}
| race         = [[Ent]]
}}
{{Infobox fictional location
| name         = Fangorn Forest
| source       = [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s [[Tolkien's legendarium|legendarium]]
| image        = 
| image_size   = 240px
| alt_name     = Entwood
| type         = Thick, dense forest<br/>Home of the Ents and Huorns<br/>The remnant of a larger ancient forest
| blank_label  = Location
| blank_data   = south-west [[Wilderland]]
| blank_label1 = Lifespan
| blank_label2 = Founder
| ruler        = Treebeard
| locations    = Wellinghall, Derndingle, Treebeard's hill, the [[Rohan (Middle-earth)#Borders|Entwash]]
}}
'''Treebeard''', or '''''Fangorn''''' in [[Sindarin]], is a tree-giant character in [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. He is an [[Ent]] and is said by [[Gandalf]] to be "the oldest living thing that still walks beneath the Sun upon this [[Middle-earth]]."<ref name="Treebeard" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954}}, book 3, ch. 4 "Treebeard"</ref> He lives in the ancient '''Forest of Fangorn''', to which he has given his name. It lies at the southern end of the [[Misty Mountains]]. He is described as being about 14 feet (4.5 m) in height, and in appearance similar to a [[Common beech|beech]] or an [[Common oak|oak]].<ref name="Treebeard" group=T/>

In ''[[The Two Towers]]'', Treebeard meets with [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry Brandybuck]] and [[Peregrin Took|Pippin Took]], two [[Hobbit]]s of [[Shire (Middle-earth)|the Shire]]. This meeting proves to have consequences that contribute significantly to the story and enables the events that occur in ''[[The Return of the King]]''.

{{anchor|Forest}}

== Fangorn's forest ==

{{further|Forests in Middle-earth}}

[[File:Gondor sketch map.svg|thumb|upright=2|Sketch map of part of Middle-earth in the Third Age. [[Fangorn]] forest (top) is at the southern end of the Misty Mountains and west of the River Anduin.]]

The Forest of Fangorn was 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 [[Saruman]]'s stronghold of [[Isengard]] near the southwestern corner of the forest. To the east and south of Fangorn was the land of [[Rohan (Middle-earth)|Rohan]], and [[Lothlórien]] lay to the north and slightly east. Fangorn Forest stretched for many miles and held many paths.<ref name="Map" group=T>''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' Map: "The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age"</ref><ref name="Treebeard" group=T/>

Two 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. 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 through Rohan to the great river, the Anduin. The valley of Derndingle was to the south-west. There was a path where the Entwash passed into a region called Wellinghall with one of Treebeard's homes.<ref name="Map" group=T/><ref name="Treebeard" group=T/>

Fangorn Forest was said to be humid, and trunks and branches of many kinds of tree grew thick, allowing little light to penetrate. '''Huorns''' also lived deep within the forest, like [[Ent]]s but more discreet. The Ents and Huorns drank from the river Entwash, and from it the Ents brewed their legendary drink, the Ent-draughts.<ref name="Treebeard" group=T/>

== Fictional biography ==

{{further|Ents}}

Ents were created in the Elder Days to be the "Shepherds of the Trees" and protect trees from the anticipated destruction that [[Dwarf (Middle-earth)|Dwarves]] would cause.<!--{{sfn|Tolkien|1977}}--> In ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', Treebeard recounts to the hobbits [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]] and [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]] how the Ents were "awakened" and taught to speak by the [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elves]]. He says that only three Ents remain from the Elder Days: himself, Leaflock and Skinbark. He recalls when he could walk through the woods of [[Middle-earth]] for days. He sings a song about roaming the woods of Middle-earth, naming regions of [[Beleriand]] which were destroyed in the war with [[Morgoth]] and now lie "beneath the waves." He says there are valleys in Fangorn forest where the Great Darkness, the period of Morgoth's rule before the arising of the Moon and Sun, never lifted, and the trees are older than he.<ref name="Treebeard" group=T/>

Treebeard is described in some detail:

{{quote|"They found they were looking at a most extraordinary face. It belonged to a large man-like, almost [[Troll (Middle-earth)|Troll]]-like, figure, at least fourteen foot high, very sturdy, with a tall head, and hardly any neck. Whether it was clad in stuff like green and grey bark, or whether that was its hide, was difficult to say. At any rate the arms, at a short distance from the trunk, were not wrinkled, but covered with a brown smooth skin. The large feet had seven toes each. The lower part of the long face was covered with a sweeping grey beard, bushy, almost twiggy at the roots, thin and mossy at the ends. But at the moment the hobbits noted little but the eyes. These deep eyes were now surveying them, slow and solemn, but very penetrating. They were brown, shot with a green light."<ref name="Treebeard" group=T/>}}

Treebeard learns that the hobbits think that [[Gandalf]] is dead, though apparently he knows otherwise.{{sfn|Lobdell|1975|p=84}} He takes them to a place called Wellinghall, where the hobbits tell him their adventures and of [[Saruman]]'s treachery.{{sfn|Lobdell|1975|p=84}} Treebeard replies that there is "something very big going on, that I can see", and comments that the hobbits "seem to be caught up in a great storm."<ref name="Treebeard" group=T/>

Treebeard muses, "I must do something, I suppose." He recalls although he told Saruman many things, Saruman never told him anything. He realizes that Saruman is plotting to be "a Power", and wonders what evil he is really doing: why has Saruman taken up with Orcs, why there are so many Orcs in his woods, and why these Orcs are able to bear sunlight. He is angered by trees being felled "to feed the fires of [[Orthanc]]".<ref name="Treebeard" group=T/> He overcomes his anger and then, thinking aloud, begins to make plans for the next day, and tells Merry and Pippin about the [[Entwives]].<ref name="Treebeard" group=T/> 

The next day, Treebeard announces that he has been busy, and they will drink and then go to the Entmoot, a gathering of Ents. He carries them there; the gathering lasts three days. It ends with all the Ents shouting, and then singing a marching song and striding to [[Isengard]] with Treebeard in the lead: "the last march of the Ents", as Treebeard calls it. [[Huorn]]s follow, marching, as they later discover, to the [[Battle of Helm's Deep]].<ref name="Treebeard" group=T/>

The Ents arrive at Isengard as Saruman's army is leaving, and they wait until it has gone. Treebeard bangs on the gates and shouts for Saruman to come forth. Saruman refuses, and the Ents attack. They reduce the outer walls to rubble and destroy much of what is inside. Treebeard gets the Ents to divert the river Isen, drowning the ruined fortress and its underground furnaces and workshops. Saruman is left in the impregnable tower, surrounded by water and watchful Ents.<ref name="Flotsam and Jetsam" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954|loc=book 3, ch. 9 "Flotsam and Jetsam"}}</ref>

A delegation led by Gandalf arrives at Isengard and, except for Gandalf, are amazed that it has been destroyed. Treebeard promises that Saruman will remain in the tower.<ref name="The Road to Isengard" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954|loc=book 3, ch. 8 "The Road to Isengard"}}</ref>

Treebeard is still at Isengard, now renamed the Treegarth of Orthanc, when a group led by Aragorn, King of [[Gondor]], arrives after the victory over [[Sauron]], made possible partly because the Ents had helped to destroy Saruman's forces. Treebeard admits that he had let Saruman go. Gandalf gently chastises him, saying that Saruman might have persuaded Treebeard to let him go by "the poison of his voice." Treebeard delivers the keys of Orthanc to the King, who gives the valley of Orthanc to Treebeard and his ents.<ref name="Many Partings" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955|loc=book 6, ch. 6 "Many Partings"}}</ref>

== In-fiction origins ==

In [[Sindarin]], one of Tolkien's [[Elvish language]]s, "Fangorn" is a compound of ''fanga'', "beard", and ''orne'', "tree", so it is the equivalent of the English "Treebeard". The [[Rohan (Middle-earth)#People|Riders of Rohan]] called Fangorn Forest the "Entwood", the wood of the [[Ent]]s. Treebeard gave it various names in [[Quenya]], another Elvish language: ''"Ambaróna"'' means "uprising, sunrise, orient" from ''amba'', "upwards" and ''róna'', "east". ''"Aldalómë"'' means "tree twilight" from ''alda'', "tree" and ''lómë'', "dusk, twilight".<ref name="The Silmarillion Ety" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|loc=Appendix: "Elements in Quenya and Sindarin Names"}}</ref> ''"Tauremorna"'' means "gloomy forest" from ''taur'', "forest", and ''morna'', "gloomy".<ref name="The Silmarillion Ety" group=T/> ''"Tauremornalómë"'' means "gloomy twilight forest".<ref name="The History of Middle-earth Ety" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1987}}</ref> 

== Analysis ==

=== Medieval echoes ===

{{further|Tolkien and the medieval}}

The word "Ent" was taken from the [[Old English]] ''[[wikt:ent|ent]]'' or ''eoten'', meaning "giant". Tolkien borrowed the word from a phrase in the Anglo-Saxon poems ''[[The Ruin]]'' and ''[[Maxims II]]'', ''orþanc enta geweorc'' ("cunning work of giants"),<ref>{{cite book |first=Tom |last=Shippey |author-link=Tom Shippey |title=[[J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century]] |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|Houghton Mifflin]] |year=2001 |page=88 |isbn=978-0-618-12764-1}}</ref> which describes [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] ruins in Britain.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=#163 to [[W. H. Auden]], 7 June 1955}}</ref>{{sfn|Shippey|2005|p=149}}

The philologist and Tolkien scholar [[Tom Shippey]] notes that Treebeard says farewell to the elf-rulers Celeborn and Galadriel "with great reverence" and the words "It is long, long since we met by stock or by stone",<ref name="Many Partings" group=T/> in words which echo a line in the [[Middle English]] poem ''[[Pearl (poem)|Pearl]]'': "''We meten so selden by stok other stone''". Where in ''Pearl'' the mention of stock and stone means in earthy reality, Shippey writes, the phrase fits the Fangorn context well, since Treebeard's "sense of ultimate loss naturally centres on felled trees and barren ground."{{sfn|Shippey|2005|page=205}}

=== Environmentalism ===

{{further|Environmentalism in The Lord of the Rings}}

[[Matthew T. Dickerson]] and [[Jonathan Evans (scholar)|Jonathan Evans]] see Treebeard as vocalizing a vital part of [[Environmentalism in The Lord of the Rings|Tolkien's environmental ethic]], the need to preserve and look after every kind of wild place, especially forests.{{sfn|Dickerson|Evans|2006|pp=119–144}} Tolkien's biographer [[John Garth (author)|John Garth]] writes that "A deep feeling for trees is Tolkien's most distinctive response to the natural world."{{sfn|Garth|2020|pp=112–131}}

=== Professorial figure ===

Shippey, who like Tolkien had been a university professor, writes that Fangorn's explanations are "authoritative and indeed .. 'professorial'. They admit no denial."{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=150–151}} Tolkien's biographer, [[Humphrey Carpenter]], wrote that Treebeard's deep booming voice with his "hrum, hoom" mannerism was based on that of Tolkien's friend, fellow-[[Inklings|Inkling]], and professor of English at the [[University of Oxford]], [[C. S. Lewis]].{{sfn|Carpenter|1977|p=198}}

== Portrayal in adaptations ==

[[File:BakshiTreebeard.JPG|thumb|left|Treebeard, as portrayed in [[Ralph Bakshi]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings (1978 film)|The Lord of the Rings]]'']]

Treebeard has [[Illustrating Tolkien|inspired artists and illustrators]] such as [[Inger Edelfeldt]], [[John Howe (illustrator)|John Howe]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Howe |first=John |author-link=John Howe (illustrator) |url=http://www.john-howe.com/portfolio/gallery/details.php?image_id=108 |title=Treebeard |work=Illustrator John Howe |year=2002 |access-date=16 September 2012}}</ref> [[Ted Nasmith]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Nasmith |first=Ted |author-link=Ted Nasmith |url=http://www.tednasmith.com/lotr2/TN-Treebeard_and_the_Entmoot.html |title=Treebeard and the Entmoot |work=Ted Nasmith official website |access-date=16 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524094124/http://www.tednasmith.com/lotr2/TN-Treebeard_and_the_Entmoot.html |archive-date=24 May 2012 }}</ref> [[Anke Eißmann]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Eißmann |first=Anke |author-link=Anke Eißmann |url=http://anke.edoras-art.de/d_anke_tolkien_lotr3.html |title=Treebeard |work=Anke Eißmann official website |year=2000 |access-date=16 September 2012}}</ref> and [[Alan Lee (illustrator)|Alan Lee]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2007/10/04/trees_alan_lee_feature.shtml |title=Trees as art |first=Laura |last=Joint |date=5 October 2007 |publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=16 September 2012}}</ref> In [[Ralph Bakshi]]'s 1978 animated adaptation of ''[[The Lord of the Rings (1978 film)|The Lord of the Rings]]'', [[John Westbrook (actor)|John Westbrook]] provided the voice of Treebeard.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/animatedmoviegui0000beck |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/animatedmoviegui0000beck/page/154 154] |title=The Animated Movie Guide |last=Beck |first=Jerry |date=28 October 2005 |publisher=[[Chicago Review Press]] |isbn=978-1-56976-222-6}}</ref> [[Stephen Thorne]] voiced the character in [[BBC Radio]]'s 1981 [[The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)|serialization]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RI_ABAAAQBAJ&q=stephen+thorne+treebeard&pg=PT123 |title=A Brief Guide to C. S. Lewis: From Mere Christianity to Narnia |last=Simpson |first=Paul |year=2013 |publisher=[[Little, Brown Book Group]] |isbn=978-1-4721-0067-2 |page=part 123}}</ref>

[[File:Treebeard.jpg|thumb|upright|Treebeard (voiced by [[John Rhys-Davies]]) in [[Peter Jackson]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]'']]

In [[Peter Jackson]]'s films ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]'' (2002) and ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'' (2003), Treebeard is a combination of a large [[Audio-Animatronics|animatronic model]] and a [[computer generated imagery|CGI]] construct; his voice is performed by [[John Rhys-Davies]], who also portrays [[Gimli (Middle-earth)|Gimli]].<ref name="Empire 2012">{{cite web |last=Nathan |first=Ian |title=The Making Of The Two Towers |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/two-towers/ |publisher=[[Empire Cinemas|Empire]] |access-date=28 March 2020 |date=23 October 2012 |orig-year=2002 <!--issue 163--> |quote=Treebeard will mainly be a CGI creation; this animatronic version is used for the close-ups with Hobbit actors Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan.}}</ref> [[Peter Jackson's interpretation of The Lord of the Rings|Jackson's interpretation]] of Treebeard makes him far more suspicious of the Hobbits (as possible Orcs) than Tolkien does,<ref name="Bratman 2005">{{cite book |last=Bratman |first=David |author-link=David Bratman |chapter=Summa Jacksonica: A Reply to Defenses of Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' films, after St. Thomas Aquinas |editor-last=Croft |editor-first=Janet Brennan |editor-link=Janet Brennan Croft |title=Tolkien on Film: Essays on Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' |title-link=Tolkien on Film |publisher=[[Mythopoeic Society|Mythopoeic Press]] |year=2005 |isbn=978-1887726092 |pages=27–62}}</ref> and far more reluctant to go to war with Saruman  until he sees the damage done to the forest.<ref name="Kollmann">{{cite book |last=Kollmann |first=Judith |chapter=Elisions and Ellipses: Counsel and Council in Tolkien's and Jackson's ''The Lord of the Rings'' |title=Tolkien on Film: Essays on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings |title-link=Tolkien on Film |editor-last=Croft |editor-first=Janet Brennan |editor-link=Janet Brennan Croft |publisher=[[Mythopoeic Society|Mythopoeic Press]] |date=2005 |isbn=1-887726-09-8 |page=159}}</ref>

A 6-metre-high sculpture of Treebeard by Tolkien's great-nephew Tim Tolkien received planning permission in [[Birmingham]], where Tolkien grew up.<!--It has not been built.--><ref>{{cite web |title=LOTR statue in safety debate |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4890000/newsid_4893200/4893274.stm |publisher=CBBC Newsround |date=9 April 2006 |access-date=6 November 2010}}</ref> On [[The Tolkien Ensemble]]'s album ''[[At Dawn in Rivendell]]'', Treebeard is voiced by [[Christopher Lee]].<ref name="TheOneRing.net">{{cite web |last=Cunningham |first=Michael ([[The Tolkien Society]]) |title='At Dawn in Rivendell' Review |website=The One Ring |url=http://archives.theonering.net/perl/newsview/8/1052880686 |access-date=2 October 2022 |date=13 May 2003}}</ref>
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== References ==

=== Primary ===

{{reflist|group=T|28em}}

=== Secondary ===

{{reflist|28em}}

== Sources ==

* {{ME-ref|Carpenter}} <!--biog., 1977-->
* {{ME-ref|Letters}}   <!--Carpenter 1981-->
* {{cite book |first1=Matthew T. |last1=Dickerson |author-link1=Matthew T. Dickerson |last2=Evans |first2=Jonathan |title=Ents, Elves, and Eriador: The Environmental Vision of J. R. R. Tolkien |publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]] |year=2006 |orig-year=2004 |isbn=0-8131-7159-8 <!--|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2jctx1-->}}
* {{cite book |last=Garth |first=John |author-link=John Garth (author) |chapter=Tree-woven Lands |title=The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Places that Inspired Middle-earth |publisher=[[Frances Lincoln Publishers]] |location=London |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-71124-127-5 |pages=112–131}}
* {{cite book |last=Lobdell |first=Jared |author-link=Jared Lobdell |title=A Tolkien Compass |year=1975 |publisher=Open Court |location=La Salle, Illinois |isbn=978-0-87548-316-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/tolkiencompass00jare}}
* {{ME-ref|ROAD}}      <!--Shippey 2005-->
* {{ME-ref|TT}}
* {{ME-ref|ROTK}}
* {{ME-ref|Silm}}
* {{ME-ref|LROW}}

{{Lord of the Rings}}

[[Category:Fictional characters with plant abilities]]
[[Category:Fictional giants]]
[[Category:Fictional trees]]
[[Category:Anthropomorphic trees]]
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[[Category:The Lord of the Rings characters]]
[[Category:Animated characters introduced in 1978]]
[[Category:Film characters introduced in 1978]]