J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...
’s
fictional universe
A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may ...
of
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is t ...
, the Old Forest was a daunting and
ancient woodland
In the United Kingdom, an ancient woodland is a woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 16 ...
just beyond the eastern borders of
the Shire
The Shire is a region of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, described in ''The Lord of the Rings'' and other works. The Shire is an inland area settled exclusively by hobbits, the Shire-folk, largely sheltered from the goings-on in the ...
. Its first and main appearance in print was in ''
The Fellowship of the Ring
''The Fellowship of the Ring'' is the first of three volumes of the epic novel ''The Lord of the Rings'' by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It is followed by ''The Two Towers'' and ''The Return of the King''. It takes place in the fiction ...
'', especially in the eponymous chapter 6., book 1, ch. 6 "The Old Forest"
Fictional role
Overview
The Old Forest lay near the centre of
Eriador
The geography of Middle-earth encompasses the physical, political, and moral geography of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, strictly a continent on the planet of Arda but widely taken to mean the physical world, and '' Eä'', all ...
, a large region of north-west Middle-earth. It was one of the few survivors of the primordial forests which had covered much of Eriador before the
Second Age
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional unive ...
. Indeed, it had once been but the northern edge of one immense forest which reached all the way to
Fangorn
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.", b ...
forest, hundreds of miles to the south-east.
The vicinity of the Old Forest was the domain of three nature-spirits:
Tom Bombadil
Tom Bombadil is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Tolkien's legendarium, legendarium. He first appeared in print in a 1934 poem called "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil", which also included ''The Lord of the Rings'' characters Goldberry (Tom's wi ...
,
Goldberry
Goldberry is a character from the works of the author J. R. R. Tolkien. She first appeared in print in a 1934 poem, ''The Adventures of Tom Bombadil'', where she appears as the wife of Tom Bombadil. Also known as the "River-woman's daughter", s ...
, and
Old Man Willow
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy ''The Lord of the Rings'', Old Man Willow is a malign tree-spirit of great age in Tom Bombadil's Old Forest, appearing physically as a large willow tree beside the River Withywindle, but spreading his influence throug ...
. The powers of these beings doubtless contributed to its survival when other forests were destroyed.
Old Man Willow, along with the Barrow-wight and Tom Bombadil himself, first appeared in Tolkien's narrative poem ''The Adventures of Tom Bombadil'', where Old Man Willow trapped Bombadil himself briefly.''The Adventures of Tom Bombadil'', ''
The Oxford Magazine
''The Oxford Magazine'' is a review magazine and newspaper published in Oxford, England.''The Oxford Magazi ...
'', 15 February 1934 Willow is portrayed as a sentient and evil willow tree with various powers including
hypnosis
Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...
and the ability to move his roots and trunk. Some characters of the story speculate that he may have been related to the
Ent
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 ...
s, or possibly the
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 o ...
s. However, unlike Ents or Huorns, he is portrayed more like a tree, with roots in the ground, and without the ability to move from place to place.
Tom Bombadil
Tom Bombadil is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Tolkien's legendarium, legendarium. He first appeared in print in a 1934 poem called "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil", which also included ''The Lord of the Rings'' characters Goldberry (Tom's wi ...
had power over Old Man Willow, and checked the evil as much as he could, or was willing.
According to Tom Bombadil, at the dawn of time, long before even the
Awakening of the Elves
In J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, Elves are the first fictional race to appear in Middle-earth. Unlike Men and Dwarves, Elves are immortal. They feature in ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. Their history is described in detail in ''T ...
, trees were the only inhabitants of vast stretches of the world. Because the Elves awoke far in the East, it was still a considerable time before any other beings spread into the vast primeval forests of western Middle-earth. A handful of trees survived from this time until the present day, who are angered at the encroachment of Elves and Men and their dominion over the earth; trees who bitterly remember a time long ago when they were as Lords of vast regions of the world. Bombadil relates that of the corrupted trees of the Old Forest, "none were more dangerous than the Great Willow; his heart was rotten, but his strength was green; and he was cunning, and a master of winds, and his song and thought ran through the woods on both sides of the river. His grey thirsty spirit drew power out of the earth and spread like fine root-threads in the ground, and invisible twig-fingers in the air, till it had under its dominion nearly all the trees of the Forest from the Hedge to the Downs."
In the
First Age
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional univer ...
,
Tom Bombadil
Tom Bombadil is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Tolkien's legendarium, legendarium. He first appeared in print in a 1934 poem called "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil", which also included ''The Lord of the Rings'' characters Goldberry (Tom's wi ...
"was here before the river and the trees"., book 1, ch. 7 "In the House of Tom Bombadil" In the Spring of Arda, plants emerge,, ch. 1 "Of the Beginning of Days" possibly including Old Man Willow. In the
Years of the Trees
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional univ ...
,
Elves
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...
skirted the forest on their primeval migration to
Beleriand
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work ''The Silmarillion'', which tells the story of the early ages of Middle-e ...
and
the West
West is a cardinal direction or compass point.
West or The West may also refer to:
Geography and locations
Global context
* The Western world
* Western culture and Western civilization in general
* The Western Bloc, countries allied with NATO ...
; they were observed by Bombadil.Dwarves constructed the Great East Road around the north of the forest.
By the time Sauron had been defeated and driven from Eriador, most of its old forests had already been destroyed,, part 2, ch 4. Appendix D leaving remnants such as the Old Forest. (Other vestiges included Woody End in the Shire, Chetwood in Bree-land, and Eryn Vorn in Minhiriath.) The Old Forest was now "hostile to two legged creatures because of the memory of many injuries.", #339 to the editor of ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'', 30 June 1972
Geography, flora and fauna
The Old Forest was about 1,000 square miles in area (some 2,600 km²).Based on the fold-out map of "The West of Middle-earth" in the 1st edition of ''
Unfinished Tales
''Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth'' is a collection of stories and essays by J. R. R. Tolkien that were never completed during his lifetime, but were edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and published in 1980. Many of the tale ...
'' (hardback). This map has a larger scale than the equivalent map in ''
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 boo ...
''. It was bordered on the east by the Barrow-downs, a hilly area dotted with ancient
burial mounds
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a ...
. In the north it reached towards the Great East Road, and in the west and south it approached the
Brandywine Brandywine may refer to:
Food and drink
*Brandy, a spirit produced by distilling wine
*Brandywine tomato, a variety of heirloom tomato
Geographic locations Canada
* Brandywine Falls Provincial Park, British Columbia
* Brandywine Mountain, British ...
river. The Withywindle, a tributary of the Brandywine, ran through the heart of the forest, which covered most of the Withywindle's
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
.
This was also a 'catchment area' in another sense. The landscape, trees and bushes were aligned so that if any strangers attempted to traverse the forest, then they were funnelled towards the Withywindle, and into the clutches of Old Man Willow in particular. The valley of the Withywindle within the Old Forest was known as the Dingle., Preface
The Old Forest was a type of woodland nowadays described as
temperate broadleaf and mixed forest
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions.
These for ...
. The west and south of the forest was dominated by " oaks and ashes and other strange trees", which were generally replaced by
pines
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
Beeches
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
, poem 2 verse 1 and alders, poem 2 verse 5 were found here and there in the forest, and
willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
s were dominant along the Withywindle.
Many of the trees were covered "with
moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
and slimy, shaggy growths". The
understorey
In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abov ...
was congested with bushes and other undergrowth, including
brambles
A bramble is any rough, tangled, prickly shrub, usually in the genus ''Rubus'', which grows blackberries, raspberries, or dewberries. "Bramble" is also used to describe other prickly shrubs, such as roses (''Rosa'' species). The fruits inclu ...
thistles
Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. ...
.
Hobbits and the Old Forest
In one of his letters, Tolkien explained that "the Old Forest was hostile to two-legged creatures because of the memory of many injuries." Among these two-legged creatures were
Hobbit
Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, ...
s.
When Gorhendad Oldbuck and his clan of Hobbits settled Buckland, they began to encroach upon the Old Forest, thus re-awakening its hostility to two-legged creatures that had first been aroused back in the
Second Age
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional unive ...
. The settlers soon found themselves under threat from the forest. They felt that the trees of the Old Forest were in some manner 'awake', and were hostile. The trees swayed when there was no wind and whispered at night, and they daunted intruding hobbits by tripping them, dropping branches, and driving them deeper into the forest. Deep within the Old Forest was the
Withywindle
In J. R. R. Tolkien’s fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Old Forest was a daunting and ancient woodland just beyond the eastern borders of the Shire. Its first and main appearance in print was in ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', especia ...
Valley, which was the root of all the terrors of the forest; it could be a dark, evil and malevolent place.
The Bucklanders therefore planted and maintained a great Hedge (also known as the High Hay) all the way along Buckland's eastern border, which ran right along the edge of the forest. This had occurred "many generations" before the War of the Ring., book 1, ch. 5 "A Conspiracy Unmasked"
However at length (but still "long ago" before the War of the Ring), the Bucklanders found that the Hedge was under "attack" by the forest. Trees began to plant themselves against the Hedge and lean over it. To counter this attack, the hobbits cleared a narrow strip of land on the outside of the Hedge, felling and burning many trees. They also cleared a space some way inside the forest; this later became known as the Bonfire Glade.
The ruling family of Buckland, the Brandybucks (heirs of Gorhendad Oldbuck), owned a private gate in the Hedge, through which they occasionally dared the threshold of the Old Forest. Some of these visits seem to have been casual jaunts ("when the fit takes them"), to satisfy the Brandybucks' inclinations as Fallohides, who were "lovers of trees and of woodlands.", Prologue §1 But other Brandybuck expeditions must have been more practical, just plain hobbit-sense, to maintain the cleared strip. It was still in existence during the
War of the Ring
''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 boo ...
. At least one non-Brandybuck hobbit was reputed to visit the Old Forest: namely
Farmer Maggot
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), 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 c ...
.
The heir of the Brandybucks during the War of the Ring was
Merry Brandybuck
Meriadoc Brandybuck, usually called Merry, is a Hobbit, a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured throughout his most famous work, ''The Lord of the Rings''.
Merry is described as one of the closest friends ...
: a member of the Fellowship of the Ring. He had been into the Old Forest "several times", and he had a key to the gate. On Merry's advice,
Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, and one of the protagonists in ''The Lord of the Rings''. Frodo is a hobbit of the Shire who inherits the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins, described familiarly as "u ...
(the bearer of the
One Ring
The One Ring, also called the Ruling Ring and Isildur's Bane, is a central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'' (1954–55). It first appeared in the earlier story ''The Hobbit'' (1937) as a magic ring that grants the w ...
) decided to attempt a traversal of the dreadful forest in order to evade the pursuit of
Black Riders
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
: the forest was considered the lesser of two evils.
Old Man Willow
Old Man Willow
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy ''The Lord of the Rings'', Old Man Willow is a malign tree-spirit of great age in Tom Bombadil's Old Forest, appearing physically as a large willow tree beside the River Withywindle, but spreading his influence throug ...
is a malign tree-spirit of great age in
Tom Bombadil
Tom Bombadil is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Tolkien's legendarium, legendarium. He first appeared in print in a 1934 poem called "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil", which also included ''The Lord of the Rings'' characters Goldberry (Tom's wi ...
's Old Forest, appearing physically as a large willow tree beside the River Withywindle, but spreading his influence throughout the forest., book 1, ch. 6 "The Old Forest" He casts a spell on the
hobbit
Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, ...
s, trapping two of them; they are rescued by
Tom Bombadil
Tom Bombadil is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Tolkien's legendarium, legendarium. He first appeared in print in a 1934 poem called "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil", which also included ''The Lord of the Rings'' characters Goldberry (Tom's wi ...
. Bombadil explains that the tree was wholly evil, and had grown to control most of the Old Forest. Tolkien made a drawing of Old Man Willow, from an unpollarded tree by the river in Oxford, to support his writing. The evil tree has puzzled critics, as it does not fit with Tolkien's image as an
environmentalist
An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...
"tree-hugger"; others have noted that trees too are seen by Christians as affected by the Biblical
Fall of Man
The fall of man, the fall of Adam, or simply the Fall, is a term used in Christianity to describe the transition of the first man and woman from a state of innocent obedience to God in Christianity, God to a state of guilty disobedience.
*
*
*
* ...
.
Analysis
Turning to evil
The Tolkien scholar
Verlyn Flieger Verlyn Flieger (born 1933) is an author, editor, and Professor Emerita in the Department of English at the University of Maryland at College Park, where she taught courses in comparative mythology, medieval literature, and the works of J. R. R. Tol ...
has observed that the Old Forest contradicts Tolkien's protective stance for wild nature and his positive views of trees in particular. Indeed, although the
Hobbit
Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, ...
s in ''
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 boo ...
'' had close shaves with the
Black Riders
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
, the first real antagonist which they encountered directly is Old Man Willow. She writes also that the Bucklanders cutting and burning of hundreds of trees along the Hedge is not different from the destruction caused by
Saruman
Saruman, also called Saruman the White, is a fictional character of J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, t ...
's
orcs
An Orc (or Ork) is a fictional humanoid monster like a goblin. Orcs were brought into modern usage by the fantasy writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially ''The Lord of the Rings''. In Tolkien's works, Orcs are a brutish, aggressive, ugly, ...
in the woods around
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 ...
.
She notes further that Old Man Willow first appears as "a predatory tree" in the 1934 poem "
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
''The Adventures of Tom Bombadil'' is a 1962 collection of poetry by J. R. R. Tolkien. The book contains 16 poems, two of which feature Tom Bombadil, a character encountered by Frodo Baggins in ''The Lord of the Rings''. The rest of the poems ar ...
", and that the character is developed in ''The Lord of the Rings'', as documented in ''
The Return of the Shadow
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
''. In an early draft from 1938, she writes, the "Willow" tree and the "Old Man" character had not yet become a single "indivisible being". Instead, Tolkien writes of "how that grey thirsty earth-bound spirit had become imprisoned in the greatest Willow of the ldForest." Flieger writes that in this draft and in the 1943 "Manuscript B", Tolkien links "a tree and a spirit, a 'non-incarnate mind'" which is "imprisoned" in an individual tree. She comments that Tolkien solved the problem of how a spirit might become trapped in this way by turning them into a single being, at once a tree and a malevolent spirit. Old Man Willow is accompanied in the Old Forest, she writes, by "trees" that do what ordinary trees do – "dropping branches, sticking up roots", but which appear to be reacting to the presence of the hobbits, "giving an impression of motivation and intent that is enhanced by the ominous crowding that herds the hobbits 'eastwards and southwards, into the heart of the forest'", exactly where they do not wish to go.
Tolkien wrote that all inhabitants of Ea can be corrupted, and even "trees may 'go bad'"., #212 to Rhona Beare, unsent draft, 1958
Matthew Dickerson
Matthew T. Dickerson is an American academic working as a professor of computer science at Middlebury College in Vermont.J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia'' that Old Man Willow is a prime example.
Other symbolism
Tolkien's Old Forest has been compared to "Old England" in
John Buchan
John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation.
After a brief legal career ...
English Midlands
The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
around
Evesham
Evesham () is a market town and parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon. It lies within the Vale of Evesha ...
. The West Midlands were beloved by Tolkien because the maternal part of his family, the Suffields, were from this area.
Tom Shippey
Thomas Alan Shippey (born 9 September 1943) is a British medievalist, a retired scholar of Middle and Old English literature as well as of modern fantasy and science fiction. He is considered one of the world's leading academic experts on the ...
has proposed that the Old Forest contains a more fundamental symbolism.
Frodo
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, and one of the protagonists in ''The Lord of the Rings''. Frodo is a hobbit of the Shire who inherits the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins, described familiarly a ...
, the central protagonist of ''The Lord of the Rings'', describes the forest as "the shadowed land"; Shippey draws on the context to suggest that the forest could be an allusion to Death.
John Garth writes that the name "Old Forest" seems plain, but is "pregnant" with meaning: "Forest" derives from medieval Latin ''forestem silvam'', "the outside wood", in turn from Latin ''foris'', "out of doors". He glosses this as meaning unfenced woodland, noting that the Old Forest is "very emphatically fenced ''out'' by a strip of scorched earth and a high hedge, to deter the seemingly mobile trees from invading Buckland".
MMORPG
A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game.
As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...
''
Lord of the Rings Online
''The Lord of the Rings Online'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Microsoft Windows and OS X set in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, taking place during the time period of ''The Lord of the Rings''. Originally dev ...
'', a quest to gather lilies for
Goldberry
Goldberry is a character from the works of the author J. R. R. Tolkien. She first appeared in print in a 1934 poem, ''The Adventures of Tom Bombadil'', where she appears as the wife of Tom Bombadil. Also known as the "River-woman's daughter", s ...
at the foot of Old Man Willow is given to the player by Bombadil, who warns that the tree will "sing you right to sleep".
See also
*
Treebeard
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.", boo ...
, an inhabitant of Fangorn forest.
*
Lothlórien
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Lothlórien or Lórien is the fairest realm of the Elves remaining in Middle-earth during the Third Age. It is ruled by Galadriel and Celeborn from their city of tree-houses at Caras Galadhon. The wood-elves ...
, the forest of Galadriel and her elves
*
Mirkwood
Mirkwood is a name used for a great dark fictional forest in novels by Sir Walter Scott and William Morris in the 19th century, and by J. R. R. Tolkien in the 20th century. The critic Tom Shippey explains that the name evoked the excitement of t ...
, the forest of the giant spiders
References
Primary
::''This list identifies each item's location in Tolkien's writings.''