Huorn
Encyclopedia
The Huorns are fictional characters from J. R. R. Tolkien
's Middle-earth legendarium. They are described as "trees" that can speak to Ent
s and are capable of locomotion.
describes both Ents that become tree-ish, and trees that become Entish. Meriadoc Brandybuck
believed Huorns to be the former, although Treebeard would not say much about them. Huorns can create darkness to conceal their movements and are capable of moving quickly and quietly. They still have voices and can speak to the Ents, but unlike Ents, they do not seem able to speak intelligibly to other races.
According to Treebeard, Huorns have become queer, wild and dangerous. They watch over the trees but are in turn looked over by Ents. Merry believes there are hundreds and hundreds of them in the darkest dales of Fangorn forest
. It is possible that some of the trees of the Old Forest
, especially Old Man Willow
, were Huorns as well. Both forests were once parts of the same primeval forest. A connection is implied by Treebeard's statement in response to Merry
's question as to whether the Old Forest was similar to the dark spots of Fangorn forest:
when the Ents appeared. They make their first appearance in The Two Towers
when they take part in the Last March of the Ents and participated in the Destruction of Isengard and the Battle of the Hornburg
, destroying all orcs
trying to escape the battles.
noun orn which means "tree". The meaning of the hu element is unknown, Tolkien himself seemed unsure. In the Huorn entry in a wordlist published in Parma Eldalamberon Tolkien gives the possible Sindarin roots hô, hyoba and hû. The description of hô could be interpreted "speak, show" which would correspond with the earlier names for Huorns in The War of the Ring which all meant "talking trees".
computer game The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
, huorns can be found in the Old Forest, Lone-Lands, Eregion
, and the Ettenmoors. They appear as twisted trees, with roughly eye-shaped crevasses in their trunks. Some of the huorns, particularly in Angmar
, are so motionless and tree-like as to resemble harmless scenery on higher graphics settings, a danger for the unwary player.
In the 2003 RTS game The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring, huorns are a special unit that can only be summoned from a Nature's Haven while you play as the Good side. They are normally a good counter to trolls in the game. The huorns in this game look like trees with two legs and two arms. Their tops are surrounded by flying leaves; the leaf color indicates the team to which the huorn belongs. They attack with their arms in swift strikes.
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's Middle-earth legendarium. They are described as "trees" that can speak to Ent
Ent
Ents are a race of beings in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world Middle-earth who closely resemble trees. They are similar to the talking trees in folklore around the world. Their name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for giant....
s and are capable of locomotion.
Description
Tolkien's character TreebeardTreebeard
Treebeard is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The eldest of the species of Ents, he is said to live in the ancient Forest of Fangorn and stands fourteen feet in height and is tree-like in appearance, with leafy hair and a rigid structure. Fangorn Forest...
describes both Ents that become tree-ish, and trees that become Entish. Meriadoc Brandybuck
Meriadoc Brandybuck
Meriadoc Brandybuck, usually referred to as Merry, is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured throughout his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings....
believed Huorns to be the former, although Treebeard would not say much about them. Huorns can create darkness to conceal their movements and are capable of moving quickly and quietly. They still have voices and can speak to the Ents, but unlike Ents, they do not seem able to speak intelligibly to other races.
According to Treebeard, Huorns have become queer, wild and dangerous. They watch over the trees but are in turn looked over by Ents. Merry believes there are hundreds and hundreds of them in the darkest dales of Fangorn forest
Fangorn forest
Fangorn in J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium, was a forest located in the fictional world of Middle-earth and was the home of the tree shepherds, the Ents. It was named after the oldest Ent, Treebeard or Treebeard after it. Tolkien did, however, state that there was confusion about the two...
. It is possible that some of the trees of the Old Forest
Old Forest
In J. R. R. Tolkien’s fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Old Forest is a small forested area which lies east of the Shire in Buckland....
, especially Old Man Willow
Old Man Willow
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Old Man Willow is a fictional character, appearing in The Lord of the Rings. He was a willow tree in the Old Forest from which much of the Forest's hatred of walking things came. He is portrayed in the story as a tree, though a sentient and evil one with various...
, were Huorns as well. Both forests were once parts of the same primeval forest. A connection is implied by Treebeard's statement in response to Merry
Meriadoc Brandybuck
Meriadoc Brandybuck, usually referred to as Merry, is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured throughout his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings....
's question as to whether the Old Forest was similar to the dark spots of Fangorn forest:
"Aye, aye, something like, but much worse. I do not doubt that there is some shadow of the Great Darkness lying there still away north; and bad memories are handed down. But there are some hollow dales in this land where the Darkness has never been lifted, but the trees are older than I am."
History
Huorns could have existed as far back as the First AgeFirst Age
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar is the heroic period in which most of Tolkien's early legends are set...
when the Ents appeared. They make their first appearance in The Two Towers
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:...
when they take part in the Last March of the Ents and participated in the Destruction of Isengard and the Battle of the Hornburg
Battle of the Hornburg
The Battle of the Hornburg is a fictional battle in J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings. The battle pitted the forces of the Wizard Saruman against the Rohirrim under King Théoden, who had taken refuge in the mountain fortress of the Hornburg at Helm's Deep...
, destroying all orcs
Orc (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman...
trying to escape the battles.
Etymology
Huorn is the name in the "short-language" of the Ents, given because the Huorns "still have voices". It includes the SindarinSindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
noun orn which means "tree". The meaning of the hu element is unknown, Tolkien himself seemed unsure. In the Huorn entry in a wordlist published in Parma Eldalamberon Tolkien gives the possible Sindarin roots hô, hyoba and hû. The description of hô could be interpreted "speak, show" which would correspond with the earlier names for Huorns in The War of the Ring which all meant "talking trees".
Adaptations
In the MMORPGMassively multiplayer online role-playing game
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
computer game The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game for Microsoft Windows set in a fantasy universe based upon J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings...
, huorns can be found in the Old Forest, Lone-Lands, Eregion
Eregion
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Eregion or Hollin was a kingdom of the Noldorin Elves in Eriador during the Second Age, located near the West Gate of Moria under the shadow of the Hithaeglir . Its capital was Ost-in-Edhil...
, and the Ettenmoors. They appear as twisted trees, with roughly eye-shaped crevasses in their trunks. Some of the huorns, particularly in Angmar
Angmar
Angmar is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's continent of Middle-earth.-Synopsis:Angmar was founded in in the far north of the Misty Mountains by the evil Lord of the Ringwraiths, who became known as the "Witch-king of Angmar"...
, are so motionless and tree-like as to resemble harmless scenery on higher graphics settings, a danger for the unwary player.
In the 2003 RTS game The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring, huorns are a special unit that can only be summoned from a Nature's Haven while you play as the Good side. They are normally a good counter to trolls in the game. The huorns in this game look like trees with two legs and two arms. Their tops are surrounded by flying leaves; the leaf color indicates the team to which the huorn belongs. They attack with their arms in swift strikes.