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This article is about the ent of Fangorn Forest. For the chapter, see Treebeard (chapter).


"Things will go as they will; and there is no need to hurry to meet them."
Treebeard

Treebeard, also known as Fangorn, was the oldest of the Ents left in Middle-earth, an ancient tree-like being who was a "shepherd of trees". He had a very tall and stiff-limbed appearance, with bark-like skin and leafy hair.

In Chapter Five of The Two Towers, Gandalf calls Treebeard "...the oldest living thing that still walks beneath the Sun upon this Middle-earth." Later, Celeborn would address him as "Eldest."[1]

History[]

Treebeard, Soni A-Hender

Treebeard, by Soni Alcorn-Hender

"Hrum, now, well, I am an Ent, or that's what they call me. Yes, Ent is the word. The Ent, I am, you might say, in your manner of speaking. Fangorn is my name according to some, Treebeard others make it. Treebeard will do."
The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Book III, Chapter IV: "Treebeard"

Before the Third Age[]

Treebeard was believed to be the oldest Ent who ever lived. He was so old that he remembered the time of Elves teaching the trees to speak, recalling how they wanted to talk to everything. In the time when Middle-earth was merely a giant forest, Treebeard roamed the land, presumably with his love, Fimbrethil. But after the loss of the Entwives, he and the remaining Ents dwelt in the Forest of Fangorn, isolating themselves from the outside world.

Treebeard, Cavini

Treebeard (right) finding Merry and Pippin, by Ivan Cavini

Third Age and War of the Ring[]

"I do not like worrying about the future. I am not altogether on anybody's side, because nobody is altogether on my side, if you understand me: nobody cares for the woods as I care for them, not even Elves nowadays."
Treebeard in The Two Towers

With the arrival of the Istari in the year TA 1000 of the Third Age, Saruman came to Fangorn and befriended Treebeard, and would often visit him. The two would talk, discussing various subjects, with Saruman gathering information about the forest itself, and in particular its intertwining paths.[2]

Treebeard, R V

Treebeard finding Merry and Pippin, by Raoul Vitale

As the years passed and with no Entings, due to the loss of the Entwives, the number of Ents decreased. Some in their old age became still and silent, almost tree-like as they slumbered. Treebeard, Finglas, Fladrif, Quickbeam, and around fifty others remained, of varying ages. When Sauron's shadow began to spread across the land again, Treebeard and the Ents remained in Fangorn, continuing to tend the trees, and taking no part in the affairs of Men, Elves and Wizards. However, they were brought into the war when Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took escaped from Saruman's Orcs, became lost in Fangorn Forest and befriended Treebeard. Upon learning that Saruman was cutting down the forest to power his war effort, an angry Treebeard called all the Ents together for an Entmoot. After three days of deliberation, they decided to attack Isengard, in an event known as the Last March of the Ents.[2]

Leading the attack, Treebeard helped to bring down Isengard's walls and utterly destroy them, save the tower of Orthanc and Saruman himself who sat in his tower. The Ents also broke the dam wall which had starved the once green and beautiful Wizards Vale of all its water, flooding Saruman's pits, mines, and machines of war.[3] Once Isengard was cleansed, Treebeard remained to guard Saruman, but was ultimately unable to keep him, due to the power of Saruman's voice and the fact that Treebeard could not bear to imprison any living thing.[4]

After the War of the Ring[]

Treebeard grabs Pippin

Treebeard grabs Pippin

After Aragorn was crowned king, he promised Treebeard that the Ents could prosper again and spread to new lands with the threat of Mordor gone, and renew their search for the Entwives.  However, Treebeard lamented that forests may spread once more, but the Ents would not, predicting that the few remaining Ents would remain in Fangorn Forest until they slowly dwindled in number.  However, he still held some hope for finding the Entwives, as he asked Merry and Pippin to watch for them near the Shire, and to bring word if they were to find them.[4]

Treebeard's ultimate fate is not known. While he aged very slowly and was extremely long-lived, he was not immortal.[citation needed]He most likely underwent the same fate of all the Ents: eventually settling down in one place, growing roots and leaves, and essentially becoming a tree himself, ceasing conscious thought.

In her final words to Treebeard during their parting at Isengard, Galadriel said she would "Not [see him] in Middle-earth, nor until the lands that lie under the wave are lifted up again. Then in the willow-meads of Nan-tathren we may meet in the spring. Farewell!" This suggests that in the future, perhaps after the Dagor Dagorath, when the lands of Beleriand will be recovered again, Treebeard and, possibly all the other Ents, will awaken again and that he will meet her again in Nan-Tathren.[4]

Portrayal in adaptations[]

Ralph Bakshi Treebeard

Treebeard (1978)

Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings[]

John Westbrook voiced Treebeard in Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings (1978 film).

Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy[]

"Side? I am on no one's side, because no one is on my side."
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 animatronic model and a CGI construct; his voice is performed by John Rhys-Davies, who also plays Gimli.

Treebeard2

Treebeard in the live-action films

In the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), the Ents at the Entmoot initially decline Merry and Pippin's request for help. Treebeard is carrying the hobbits through the forest, when Pippin gets an idea. He asks Treebeard to carry them towards Isengard, because that is the last place Saruman would look for them. When Treebeard gets close to the forest's edge, he sees the devastation wrought by Saruman's Orcs. The trees have all been chopped down to serve as fuel for Saruman's war machine. This saddens Treebeard, as many of these trees had been his friends. Treebeard then makes a momentous decision, and calls for the other Ents.

"Come, my friends. The Ents are going to war. It is likely that we go to our doom. The last march of the Ents."
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

They attack Isengard and manage to flood it. In the book, Treebeard and the Ents decide to attack Saruman without any such coercion. They were already most likely aware of this situation.  When Gandalf arrives at Isengard in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Treebeard refers to Gandalf as "young master Gandalf".

Video games[]

  • In The Lord of the Rings Online, Treebeard's encounter with Merry and Pippin, the Entmoot, and the Breaking of Isengard are told in a series of flashbacks, narrated either by Gandalf, the Hobbits, or Treebeard himself. The player themselves does not meet Treebeard until after the confrontation between Gandalf and Saruman. Afterwards, Treebeard remains at the Ring of Isengard to watch over the Wizard.

Gallery[]


Voice dubbing actors[]

Foreign Language Voice dubbing artist
Spanish (Latin America) Maynardo Zavala
Spanish (Spain) José Antequera
Portuguese (Brazil) (Television/DVD) Guilherme Lopes
German Wolfgang Hess
French (France) Vincent Grass
Czech Jiří Zavřel
Slovak Emanuel Romančík
Italian (Italy) Carlo Baccarini

Trivia[]

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles.
  • It's believed that many of Treebeard's mannerisms were based on Tolkien's friend C.S. Lewis, a loud, bombastic man known for his powerful stride and overwhelming presence.
  • The Top Trumps card game lists Treebeard as being 17,051 years old.
  • in both adaptions , both of Treebeard's voices are named John.
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Appearances[]

Books[]

Adaptations[]

Translations[]

Foreign Language Translated name
Afrikaans Boombaard
Albanian Pemëmjekër
Arabic لحية الشجرة
Armenian Ծառմորուս
Azerbaijani Ağac saqqal
Belarusian Cyrillic Древобород
Bengali ট্রিবিয়ার্ড (Treebeard)

ফ্যানগর্ন (Fangorn)

Bosnian Drvobradi
Breton Barvgwez ?
Bulgarian Cyrillic Дървобрад (Treebeard)

Фангорн (Fangorn)

Cambodian ពុកចង្កាដើមឈើ ?
Catalan Barbarbrat (Treebeard)

Fàngorn (Fangorn)

Cebuano Kahoy bungot
Chichewa Mtengondevu
Chinese (Hong Kong) 樹鬍
Corsican Arburu barba
Croatian Drvobradaš
Czech Stromovous
Danish Træskæg
Dutch Boombaard
Esperanto Arbobarbon
Estonian Puuhabe
Finnish Puuparta
French Sylvebarbe / Barbebois (New translation)
Frisian Beamburd (Western)
Galician Bárbore
Georgian თრეებეარდ
German Baumbart
Greek Δεντρογένης
Gujarati વૃક્ષ દાઢી
Hebrew (Treebeard) זקן עץ

(Fangorn) פאנגורן

Hindi ट्री दाढ़ी
Hungarian Szilszakáll
Icelandic Tréskegg
Indonesian Jenggot pohon
Irish Gaelic Féasógcrann
Italian Barbalbero
Japanese 木の髭 (Treebeard)

ファンゴルン (Fangorn)

Javanese Wit jenggot
Kannada ಟ್ರೀ ಗಡ್ಡ
Kazakh Ағаш сақал (Cyrillic) Ağaş saqal (Latin)
Korean 나무수염 (Treebeard)

판고른 (Fangorn)

Kurdish Darrî (Kurmanji Kurdish)
Kyrgyz Cyrillic Дарак сакал
Laotian ເປັນໄມ້ຢືນຕົ້ນຈັບຫນວດ
Latin Arborbarbam
Latvian Koksbārda
Lithuanian Medisbarzda
Malaysian Pokokjanggut
Marathi वृक्ष दाढी
Macedonian Cyrillic дрвобрада
Manx Faasaagbilley ?
Mongolian Cyrillic мод сахал
Nepalese वृक्ष दाढी
Norwegian Treskjegg
Persian چوب ریش
Polish Drzewiec
Portuguese Barbárvore (Brazil)

Barba de Árvore (Portugal)

Punjabi ਟ੍ਰੀਿ ਬੀਅਰਡ
Romanian Arborebărbos
Russian Древень (Treebeard)

Фангорн (Fangorn)

Scottish Gaelic Feusagcraobh ?
Serbian Дрвобради (Cyrillic) Drvobradi (Latin)
Sinhalese රුක් රැවුල
Slovak Stromobrad
Slovenian Drevobrada
Somali Geedgadhka
Spanish (Spain and Latin America) Bárbol
Sundanese Tangkal Janggot
Swahili Mtindevu
Swedish Lavskägge
Tamil மரம் தாடி
Telugu చెట్టు గడ్డం
Thai ทรีเบียร์ด (Treebeard)

ฟังกอร์น (Fangorn)

Turkish Ağaçsakal
Ukrainian Cyrillic Дре́влен (Treebeard)

Фанґорн (Fangorn)

Uzbek Дарахт соқол (Cyrillic) Daraxt soqol (Latin)
Vietnamese Câyrâu
Xhosa Umthi ndevu
Yiddish טרעעבעאַרד


Ents
Beechbone | Bregalad (Quickbeam) | Fangorn (Treebeard) | Fimbrethil (Wandlimb) | Finglas (Leaflock) | Fladrif (Skinbark)


References[]

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