The Two Towers
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The Two Towers
''The Two Towers'' is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. It is preceded by ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' and followed by ''The Return of the King''. Title and publication ''The Lord of the Rings'' is composed of six "books", aside from an introduction, a prologue and six appendices. However, the novel was originally published as three separate volumes, due to post-World War II paper shortages and size and price considerations. ''The Two Towers'' covers Books Three and Four. Tolkien wrote: "''The Two Towers'' gets as near as possible to finding a title to cover the widely divergent Books Three and Four; and can be left ambiguous." At this stage he planned to title the individual books. The proposed title for Book Three was ''The Treason of Isengard''. Book Four was titled ''The Journey of the Ringbearers'' or ''The Ring Goes East''. The titles ''The Treason of Isengard'' and ''The Ring Goes East'' were used in the ''Millennium ...
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The Lord Of The Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'', but eventually developed into a much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, ''The Lord of the Rings'' is one of the best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold. The title refers to the story's main antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron, who, in an earlier age, created the One Ring to rule the other Rings of Power given to Men, Dwarves, and Elves, in his campaign to conquer all of Middle-earth. From homely beginnings in the Shire, a hobbit land reminiscent of the English countryside, the story ranges across Middle-earth, following the quest to destroy the One Ring mainly through the eyes of the hobbits Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin. Although often called a trilogy, the work was intende ...
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Éomer
Éomer is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. He appears in ''The Lord of the Rings'' as a leader of the Riders of Rohan who serve as cavalry to the army of Gondor, fighting against Mordor. The name Éomer, meaning "Horse-famous" in Old English, is from ''Beowulf'', a work that Tolkien had studied extensively. Despite the evident Old English connection, Tolkien denied that Éomer and the Riders of Rohan directly represented the Anglo-Saxons. Scholars have noted that while in a book the imagery remains ambiguous, and can combine suggestions of Gothic as well as Anglo-Saxon origins, film such as Peter Jackson's ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy inevitably has to choose. When Éomer appears in a helmet recalling the Sutton Hoo helmet, he is plainly Anglo-Saxon. Fictional account Éomer is the son of Théodwyn and Éomund. After their parents' death Éomer and his sister Éowyn were adopted by their uncle Théoden, king of the Rohirrim. He is the leader of the ...
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Black Gate (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Mordor (pronounced ; from Sindarin ''Black Land'' and Quenya ''Land of Shadow'') is the realm and base of the evil Sauron. It lay to the east of Gondor and the great river Anduin, and to the south of Mirkwood. Mount Doom, a volcano in Mordor, was the goal of the Fellowship of the Ring in the quest to destroy the One Ring. Mordor was surrounded by three mountain ranges, to the north, the west, and the south. These both protected the land from invasion and kept those living in Mordor from escaping. Commentators have noted that Mordor was influenced by Tolkien's own experiences in the industrial Black Country of the English Midlands, and by his time fighting in the trenches of the Western Front in the First World War. Another forerunner that Tolkien was very familiar with is the account of the monster Grendel's unearthly landscapes in the Old English poem ''Beowulf''. Others have observed that Tolkien depicts Mordor as spec ...
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Dead Marshes
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Mordor (pronounced ; from Sindarin ''Black Land'' and Quenya ''Land of Shadow'') is the realm and base of the evil Sauron. It lay to the east of Gondor and the great river Anduin, and to the south of Mirkwood. Mount Doom, a volcano in Mordor, was the goal of the Fellowship of the Ring in the quest to destroy the One Ring. Mordor was surrounded by three mountain ranges, to the north, the west, and the south. These both protected the land from invasion and kept those living in Mordor from escaping. Commentators have noted that Mordor was influenced by Tolkien's own experiences in the industrial Black Country of the English Midlands, and by his time fighting in the trenches of the Western Front in the First World War. Another forerunner that Tolkien was very familiar with is the account of the monster Grendel's unearthly landscapes in the Old English poem ''Beowulf''. Others have observed that Tolkien depicts Mordor as spec ...
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Emyn Muil
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. The third volume of ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the King'', is largely concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring and with the restoration of the realm afterward. The history of the kingdom is outlined in the appendices of the book. Gondor was founded by the brothers Isildur and Anárion, exiles from the downfallen island kingdom of Númenor. Along with Arnor in the north, Gondor, the South-kingdom, served as a last stronghold of the Men of the West. After an early period of growth, Gondor gradually declined as the Third Age progressed, being continually weakened by internal strife and conflict with the allies of the Dark Lord Sauron. By the time of the War of the Ring, the throne of Gondor is empty, though its principalities and fiefdoms still pay deference to the absent king by showin ...
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Palantír
A palantír (; in-universe ) is one of several indestructible crystal balls from J. R. R. Tolkien's epic-fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. The word comes from Quenya ''palan'' 'far', and ''tir'' 'watch over'. ''The Lost Road and Other Writings'', part 3, "Etymologies" s.v. PAL, TIR. Tar-Palantir was also the name of the 24th ruler of Númenor, so named for being 'far-sighted'. The palantírs were used for communication and to see events in other parts of Arda, or in the past. The palantíri were made by the Elves of Valinor in the First Age, as told in ''The Silmarillion''. By the time of ''The Lord of the Rings'' at the end of the Third Age, a few palantíri remained in existence. They are used in some climactic scenes by major characters: Sauron, Saruman, Denethor the Steward of Gondor, and two members of the Fellowship of the Ring, Aragorn and Pippin. A major theme of palantír usage is that while the stones show real objects or events, those using the stones had ...
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Huorn
Ents are a species of beings in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world Middle-earth who closely resemble trees; their leader is Treebeard of Fangorn forest. Their name is derived from an Old English word for giant. The Ents appear in ''The Lord of the Rings'' as ancient shepherds of the forest and allies of the free peoples of Middle-earth during the War of the Ring. The Ent who figures most prominently in the book is Treebeard, who is called the oldest creature in Middle-earth (a description also given to Tom Bombadil). At the time of the War of the Ring, there are no young Ents (Entings) because the Entwives (female Ents) were lost. Akin to Ents are Huorns, whom Treebeard describes as a transitional form of trees which become animated or, conversely, as Ents who grow more "treelike" over time. Inspired by Tolkien and similar traditions, animated or anthropomorphic tree creatures appear in a variety of media and works of fantasy. Etymology The word "Ent" was taken from the Old En ...
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Orthanc
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Isengard () is a large fortress in Nan Curunír, the Wizard's Vale, in the western part of Middle-earth. In the fantasy world, the name of the fortress is described as a translation of Angrenost, a word in the elvish language, Sindarin, that Tolkien invented. (In fact it is an Old English word meaning "iron enclosure".) In ''The Lord of the Rings'', Orthanc, a tower at the centre of Isengard, is the home of the Wizard Saruman. He had been ensnared by the Dark Lord Sauron through the tower's '' palantír'', a far-seeing crystal ball able to communicate with others like it. Saruman had bred Orcs in Isengard, in imitation of Sauron's forces, to be ready for war with Rohan. The Orcs cut down many trees in the forest of the Ents, who retaliated by destroying Isengard while the army of Orcs was away attacking Rohan at Helm's Deep. However, the Ents were unable to harm the tower of Orthanc. Saruman, isolated in the tower, was visited by some ...
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Isengard
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Isengard () is a large fortress in Nan Curunír, the Wizard's Vale, in the western part of Middle-earth. In the fantasy world, the name of the fortress is described as a translation of Angrenost, a word in the elvish language, Sindarin, that Tolkien invented. (In fact it is an Old English word meaning "iron enclosure".) In ''The Lord of the Rings'', Orthanc, a tower at the centre of Isengard, is the home of the Wizard Saruman. He had been ensnared by the Dark Lord Sauron through the tower's '' palantír'', a far-seeing crystal ball able to communicate with others like it. Saruman had bred Orcs in Isengard, in imitation of Sauron's forces, to be ready for war with Rohan. The Orcs cut down many trees in the forest of the Ents, who retaliated by destroying Isengard while the army of Orcs was away attacking Rohan at Helm's Deep. However, the Ents were unable to harm the tower of Orthanc. Saruman, isolated in the tower, was visited by some ...
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Helm's Deep
The Battle of Helm's Deep, also called the Battle of the Hornburg, is a fictional battle in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'' that saw the total destruction of the forces of the Wizard Saruman by the army of Rohan, assisted by a forest of tree-like Huorns. Helm's Deep was a valley in the north-western White Mountains of Middle-earth. Helm's Deep, with its fortress the Hornburg, becomes the refuge of some of the army of Rohan, the Rohirrim, under King Théoden, from assault by the forces of Saruman. Although Théoden says that "the Hornburg has never fallen to assault," in the battle a massive army of Uruk-hai and Dunlendings sent by Saruman almost overwhelms the defences. Saruman's Orcs breach the fortress wall that blocks the valley by setting off an explosion in a culvert; Aragorn names it "Saruman's devilry" and "the fire of Orthanc"; the critic Tom Shippey calls it "a kind of gunpowder". The defenders hold out in the fortress until dawn, when Théoden and Arag ...
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Gríma Wormtongue
Gríma, called (the) Wormtongue, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. He serves as the secondary antagonist of ''The Two Towers'' and a minor antagonist in ''The Return of the King'', and his role is expanded in ''Unfinished Tales''. He is introduced in ''The Two Towers'' as the chief advisor to King Théoden of Rohan (Middle-earth), Rohan and henchman of Saruman. To some psychologists, Wormtongue serves as an archetype, archetypal sycophant. Tolkien scholars note that Tolkien based Wormtongue on the untrustworthy character Unferth in ''Beowulf''. He is presumptive, behaving as if he already rules Rohan, and exemplifies lechery, as correctly guessed by Gandalf; he hopes to become rich, and to take Éowyn as the woman he desires. The name ''wikt:grima#Old English, Gríma'' derives from the Old English language, Old English or Icelandic language, Icelandic word meaning "mask", "helmet" or "spectre". Appearances ''The Two Towers'' Gríma, ...
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