I learnt the other day that the white horse has been kept white since the day it was created, through invasion, plague and war, an unbroken lineage of people rechalking its shape and body. How about that? Incredible.
Apart from being a brilliant story, Tolkien's greatest achievement, in my opinion, is his focus on language. No matter how many times I read these stories I continue to be enthralled by the depth of integrated language work Tolkien does. It is really brilliant and shows what an erudite individual he was. It seems to me that his true calling was Philology and he simply used stories as a way to work in his love for language. Great article John. You are really bringing to life some of the lesser-understood aspects of Tolkien's legacy.
Such interesting connections, thank you, John. . I particularly enjoy the relationship between Pippin, Merry and Treebeard. The hobbits ‘grow’ in so many ways, spending time with him and Treebeard gets spryer in their company.
I really enjoyed seeing the White Horse of Uffington in the opening, not to mention all the great background on Tolkien as a philogist and how that found its way into the linguistic interplay among the Rohirrim, Hobbits, and Ents. John, your essays are really highlighting for me how much specific place is embedded in not only the language of the Ents but also in the references Tolkien brings in from his own Midlands landscape. A sense of place is so crucial to good writing of all kinds; it's something I'm always hammering into journalism students. But with "The Lord of the Rings," descriptions of place are so much a part of how the tale is told. Now the way you underscore Ent naming and language as deeply rooted in their ever-growing forest story takes me farther still — into how much the worlds we imagine take on life when they're detailed through the naming of specific "lists."
Tolkien was ahead of his time perhaps. I wonder what he would do with the more recent knowledge about how trees “communicate” through mycelium networks in the soil. This network has been called the wood-wide-web. Peter Wohlleben’s book _The Hidden Life of Trees_ gives a great (heavily anthropomorphised) introduction to this. It seems plants do indeed communicate and operate in communities. They just do so very slowly. Sound familiar?
Tolkien was apparently unbearable to go on a walk with because he would stop and scrutinise every plant to the nth degree 😂 what I find incredible, though, is the very recent scientific discoveries (or hypotheses) that trees talk to each other through fungal networks in the ground. They can even recognise their own offspring and prioritise sharing their resources with them over other trees in the forest, though they all look after each other to some extent for the overall health of the immediate environment. Amazing… yet, I think, on some level, Tolkien understood this. Maybe he didn’t ‘know’ it in a scientific sense but he understood trees so well that he’d worked out they could communicate with and look after each other.
I also think this is a fabulous metaphor for everything Tolkien writes about in LOTR - nature over machines, love over war and the survival of ancient ways of life in the face of irresponsible technological advancement. He really was the most insightful person.
Yes, Richard Powers’s recent novel *The Overstory* treats this new science of trees in a literary context. It seems that JRRT was already thinking in that direction.
I’ve also been fascinated by the white horse carved into the hillside not far from Oxford, but I had never thought of its relationship to Tolkien and LOTR.
I love this piece! I’ve always liked the Ents. I’m not a philologist but a historian of humans. This helped me understand better the relationship between the two. It also helped me understand why I’ve always been so attracted to the Ents. Thanks for opening up a whole new understanding for me!
My deep thought about ents (I have a Treebeard action figure in my office, btw) is that I have a rather ent-ish personality in that it takes a lot to get me mad, but when I get mad...
I learnt the other day that the white horse has been kept white since the day it was created, through invasion, plague and war, an unbroken lineage of people rechalking its shape and body. How about that? Incredible.
It really is astonishing: 3000 years.
Astonishing.
Apart from being a brilliant story, Tolkien's greatest achievement, in my opinion, is his focus on language. No matter how many times I read these stories I continue to be enthralled by the depth of integrated language work Tolkien does. It is really brilliant and shows what an erudite individual he was. It seems to me that his true calling was Philology and he simply used stories as a way to work in his love for language. Great article John. You are really bringing to life some of the lesser-understood aspects of Tolkien's legacy.
Thanks, Mathew!
Agreed
Such interesting connections, thank you, John. . I particularly enjoy the relationship between Pippin, Merry and Treebeard. The hobbits ‘grow’ in so many ways, spending time with him and Treebeard gets spryer in their company.
Yes, it’s a delightful part of the book.
I really enjoyed seeing the White Horse of Uffington in the opening, not to mention all the great background on Tolkien as a philogist and how that found its way into the linguistic interplay among the Rohirrim, Hobbits, and Ents. John, your essays are really highlighting for me how much specific place is embedded in not only the language of the Ents but also in the references Tolkien brings in from his own Midlands landscape. A sense of place is so crucial to good writing of all kinds; it's something I'm always hammering into journalism students. But with "The Lord of the Rings," descriptions of place are so much a part of how the tale is told. Now the way you underscore Ent naming and language as deeply rooted in their ever-growing forest story takes me farther still — into how much the worlds we imagine take on life when they're detailed through the naming of specific "lists."
Yes, it seems that Treebeard is a taxonomist like Aristotle as well as a philologist!
Tolkien was ahead of his time perhaps. I wonder what he would do with the more recent knowledge about how trees “communicate” through mycelium networks in the soil. This network has been called the wood-wide-web. Peter Wohlleben’s book _The Hidden Life of Trees_ gives a great (heavily anthropomorphised) introduction to this. It seems plants do indeed communicate and operate in communities. They just do so very slowly. Sound familiar?
Yes, indeed! As I commented above, Richard Powers’s novel *The Overstory* makes interesting use of this new science of trees.
Tolkien was apparently unbearable to go on a walk with because he would stop and scrutinise every plant to the nth degree 😂 what I find incredible, though, is the very recent scientific discoveries (or hypotheses) that trees talk to each other through fungal networks in the ground. They can even recognise their own offspring and prioritise sharing their resources with them over other trees in the forest, though they all look after each other to some extent for the overall health of the immediate environment. Amazing… yet, I think, on some level, Tolkien understood this. Maybe he didn’t ‘know’ it in a scientific sense but he understood trees so well that he’d worked out they could communicate with and look after each other.
I also think this is a fabulous metaphor for everything Tolkien writes about in LOTR - nature over machines, love over war and the survival of ancient ways of life in the face of irresponsible technological advancement. He really was the most insightful person.
Yes, Richard Powers’s recent novel *The Overstory* treats this new science of trees in a literary context. It seems that JRRT was already thinking in that direction.
Ooh great recommendation
Off to check this out. Thank you.
These essays are fascinating. Thank you.
You’re welcome, and thanks for reading!
I’ve also been fascinated by the white horse carved into the hillside not far from Oxford, but I had never thought of its relationship to Tolkien and LOTR.
I love this piece! I’ve always liked the Ents. I’m not a philologist but a historian of humans. This helped me understand better the relationship between the two. It also helped me understand why I’ve always been so attracted to the Ents. Thanks for opening up a whole new understanding for me!
Glad you enjoyed it!
This has been a delight. Thank you.
Happy you enjoyed it!
I now feel like I need to RE-READ Robert Graves The White Goddess after reading this post.
This is an insightful and wonderful article.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
My deep thought about ents (I have a Treebeard action figure in my office, btw) is that I have a rather ent-ish personality in that it takes a lot to get me mad, but when I get mad...
Noted!
Thank you for a wonderful and fascinating article.
Brilliant, isn’t it?