![]() The Tolkien Society’s journal, Mallorn, is named after the Mallorn trees. In after years, as it grew in grace and beauty, it was known far and wide and people would come long journeys to see it: the only mallorn west of the Mountains and east of the Sea, and one of the finest in the world. It was indeed a mallorn, and it was the wonder of the neighbourhood. In the Party Field a beautiful young sapling leaped up: it had silver bark and long leaves and burst into golden flowers in April. ![]() After the end of the War of the Ring, a new Party Tree grew in Hobbiton: The trees were so strong and magnificent that they built their city, Caras Galadhon, in and around the Mellyrn of Lothlórien. They grey-barked trees had leaves that turned gold in the autumn for which Lothlórien was called the “Golden Wood” – the trees grew to fantastic heights and elves stayed in ‘flets’ high up above the ground. Seeds from the great Mallorn trees of Tol Eressëa passed to the elves of Middle-earth via the Númenóreans. Jealous and vengeful, the trees were later destroyed by Melkor (Morgoth) and the giant spider Ungoliant but the last fruit of Laurelin and the last flower of Telperion were used to create the Sun and Moon. The trees were regarded as pure and beautiful and their light was venerated, being captured in Fëanor’s Silmarils. Laurelin shed the world in golden light whilst Telperion was silver they shone for 7 hours each as part of a 12-hour day, with a one-hour overlap of ‘dawn’ and ‘dusk’. The Two Trees of Valinor were sung into being by Yavanna as a new source of light for the world following the destruction of the Two Lamps. Descended from a seedling brought by Isildur to Middle-earth from Númenor, the White Tree of Gondor lies in the Court of the Fountain in Minas Tirith and is a potent symbol of the majesty of Gondor and the strength of the Kings: by the time Denethor II was Steward the tree had died, but Aragorn (King Elessar) – with Gandalf’s help – found a new sapling on Mount Mindolluin. The original White Tree of Númenor, Nimloth, was a gift from the Elves to the Númenóreans but was later destroyed at Sauron’s behest. What brought they from the foundered land The hobbits were saved, of course, by Tom Bombadil who came bounding and singing to the rescue. When Frodo and Sam began to realise what was happening to them, Old Man Willow had already captured Merry and Pippin in its big roots. Old Man WillowĪ cantankerous tree of the Old Forest, Old Man Willow ensnared the four hobbits by making them drowsy and putting them under a spell by singing about sleep. They didn’t do anything with it: the log just lay there. ![]() It belonged to a butcher on the Stratford Road, I think. One incident in particular remained in his memory: ‘There was a willow hanging from over the mill-pool and I learned to climb it. It saddened him to discover that not everyone shared his feelings towards them. He would climb them, lean against them, even talk to them. Tolkien: A Biography:Īnd though he liked drawing trees he liked most of all to be with trees. This quote from Sam is reminiscent of a passage from Humphrey Carpenter’s J.R.R. As if this was the last straw Sam burst into tears. It was lying lopped and dead in the field. ‘They’ve cut down the Party Tree!’ He pointed to where the tree had stood under which Bilbo had made his Farewell Speech. But when the four hobbits returned to the Shire at the end of their Journey, they discovered what Sharkey and his men have done to Hobbiton: The tree was clearly held in high regard by Bilbo as the pavilion erected for his 111th Birthday was big enough to encompass the whole tree. The Party Tree proudly stands in the middle of the Party Field to the south of Bagshot Row. Following the news of the sad demise of one of Tolkien’s favoured trees, the pinus nigra in the Oxford Botanic Gardens, I have compiled a list of the the nine best trees in Tolkien’s works. Some months ago The Huffington Post produced a list of the 9 Best Trees in Literature in which they foolishly listed Ents. Posted by The Tolkien Society at 19:39 on 3 August 2014
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