Tree-men

"Tree-men" was a term used by some Hobbits of the Shire for unidentified foreign "Outsiders",, , Book One, Ch. II: "The Shadow of the Past", pgs. 58-9 and much earlier was used in relation to some people or creatures that Eärendil encountered during his many voyages., Vol. II: , V: "The Tale of Eärendel", pgs. 254, 261
== History ==
In the late First Age, Eärendil set sail in Vingilot and had many voyages in his quest to reach Valinor. During one of these voyages, Vingilot was driven south by the wind into dark regions and fire-mountains where he encountered Tree-men alongside Sun-dwellers, pygmies, and Sarqindi.
On April 12 of TA 3018, Samwise Gamgee told Ted Sandyman in the Green Dragon Inn about rumors regarding sightings of giant Tree-men beyond the North Moors. When Ted questioned Sam's credibility, Sam stated that his cousin Halfast Gamgee actually saw one of these giants which apparently "was as big as an elm tree, and walking - walking seven yards to a stride". Ted still questioned the credibility of the rumor.
== In other versions ==
In the first iteration of the conversation at the Green Dragon Inn, Samwise never names the creature, and only used the word "giants", describing them as being "as big as a tower or leastways a tree"., Vol. VI: , The Second Phase, XV: "Ancient History", pg. 254 Tolkien changed this phrase soon afterwards, adding the term "Tree-Men" and briefly dropping "or leastways a tree" from the sentence. In the second draft of the conversation, Tolkien revised the spelling to Tree-men,, Vol. VI: , The Third Phase, XIX: The Third Phase (1): "The Journey to Bree", Chapter II: Ancient History, pg. 319 yet in a later draft, Tolkien spelled the term as Treemen., Vol. VI: , The Third Phase, XXII: "New Uncertainties and New Projections", pg. 386 Sometime later, Tolkien changed the term back to Tree-men and the comparison from a tower to an elm tree.
On February 28 in 1964, Tolkien stated in a letter to James Heaf that he did "not think it was an Entwife which Hal saw on the North Moors" and suggested that the Tree-man may have been "a troll" of some kind.TCG Letter #544 on the Tolkien Collector Guide While trolls were never said to be capable of "walking seven yards to a stride", it is possible that some details of the sighting may have been exaggerated by Halfast.
== In adaptations ==
=== The Lord of the Rings Online ===
In the video game , there is a type of troll called Wood-trolls that are often mistaken for Ents and Giants. There is also a quest in the Shire wherein a Hobbit requests that the player investigate sightings of a walking tree in the North Moors. The Walking Tree in question turns out to be a Huorn that is trapped by Spiders.
== References ==
Category:Characters of unspecified race
Category:Living things
Category:Mystery
Category:Trolls