Giants: Difference between revisions

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==History==
==History==
Giants are beings shrouded in mystery. [[Gandalf|Gandalf the Grey]] was known for telling stories about [[dragons]] and [[Orcs|goblins]] and giants<ref>{{H|Party}}</ref> and [[Bilbo Baggins|Bilbo]] had heard of giants in tales,<ref>{{H|Riddles}}</ref> but none of these tales survive and the origin and history of the giants is obscure. Presumably, not all giants were evil, as Gandalf seems to have convinced a more or less decent giant to block the entrance to [[Goblin-town]] at the top of the [[High Pass]] in the [[Misty Mountains]].<ref>{{H|6}}</ref><ref name="Giants">{{HH|IV}}, "(iii): The Giants", pp. 143-5</ref>
Giants are beings shrouded in mystery. [[Gandalf|Gandalf the Grey]] was known for telling stories about [[dragons]] and [[Orcs|goblins]] and giants<ref>{{H|Party}}</ref> and [[Bilbo Baggins|Bilbo]] had heard of giants in tales,<ref>{{H|Riddles}}</ref> but none of these tales survive and the origin and history of the giants is obscure. Presumably, not all giants were evil, as Gandalf hoped to convince a more or less decent giant to block the [[Front Portch]] to [[Goblin-town]] at the top of the [[High Pass]] in the [[Misty Mountains]].<ref>{{H|6}}</ref><ref name="Giants">{{HH|IV}}, "(iii): The Giants", pp. 143-5</ref>


However, what is known is that ''stone-giants'' lived in the Misty Mountains during the late [[Third Age]]. Upon coming, they drove out the majority of the [[bears]] that lived there.<ref>{{H|Queer}}</ref> They found a sport in throwing rocks at each other, and then into the depths below them to hear them shatter among the trees.<ref>{{H|Hill}}</ref>
However, what is known is that ''stone-giants'' lived in the Misty Mountains during the late [[Third Age]]. Upon coming, they drove out the majority of the [[bears]] that lived there.<ref>{{H|Queer}}</ref> They found a sport in throwing rocks at each other, and then into the depths below them to hear them shatter among the trees.<ref>{{H|Hill}}</ref>

Revision as of 15:18, 19 December 2014

Angus McBride - Giants

Giants were one of the mysterious races of Middle-earth, mentioned only fleetingly.

History

Giants are beings shrouded in mystery. Gandalf the Grey was known for telling stories about dragons and goblins and giants[1] and Bilbo had heard of giants in tales,[2] but none of these tales survive and the origin and history of the giants is obscure. Presumably, not all giants were evil, as Gandalf hoped to convince a more or less decent giant to block the Front Portch to Goblin-town at the top of the High Pass in the Misty Mountains.[3][4]

However, what is known is that stone-giants lived in the Misty Mountains during the late Third Age. Upon coming, they drove out the majority of the bears that lived there.[5] They found a sport in throwing rocks at each other, and then into the depths below them to hear them shatter among the trees.[6]

A local legend among the indigenous people of Gondor told of giants making the White Mountains, to keep Men out of their lands by the Sea. One of them, Tarlang, tripped, and broke his neck. The other giants did not clean up his body, which became incorporated in the land instead. The giant's neck became Tarlang's Neck, his head Dol Tarlang, and the stones he was carrying Cûl Veleg and Cûl Bîn.[7]

Fandom

Giants are notable for being definitely mentioned in The Hobbit as actual creatures of the mythological setting, yet appearing nowhere else among the creatures and races of Arda, nor participating in any of the wars. The Valaquenta doesn't mention them, nor do they appear in the wars of the Quenta Silmarillion, nor Sauron uses them in the War of the Ring.

This led some Tolkienists to assume that giants are maybe a fleeting idea of Tolkien that perhaps should not be considered canonical. Robert Foster comments that the stone-giants "may be no more serious than Golfimbul".[8]

Other theories attempt to include the giants among the known races of Arda. For example they might be a large race of Men (like Hobbits are a small race of Men), or Trolls, or simply "nature spirits" more or less like Tom Bombadil.[9]

Other versions of the legendarium

Before The Hobbit

Giants originally had a larger part in the legendarium. In one early manuscript, the giants are counted among the Úvanimor, servants of Melko.[10] In another manuscript, the giants are counted among the Earthlings, and are divided between the "wood-giants" (Qenya ulbandi) and "mountainous-giants" (Qenya taulir).[11] And in other early writings, two giants are named: Nan and Gilim.[12][13] Gilim is Gnomish for "winter", and Nan was said to be like an Elm-tree.

It is quite possible that their appearance in The Hobbit is a relic from this early phase of the legendarium. John D. Rateliff has argued that they might have become "free agents"; not wicked, but simply not aware of their surroundings.[4]

Giants and Ents

Giants were the wicked precursors of Ents. The elm-like features of the Giant Nan, and that in early versions of The Lord of the Rings it was the Giant Treebeard who held Gandalf captive, not Saruman,[14] makes the connection between Giants and Ents within J.R.R. Tolkien's imagination clear.[4] "Ent" comes from an Old English word for "giant",[15] seen at various points in Beowulf, for example line 2717, enta geweorc, "the work of giants".[16]

Inspiration

In the Return of the King it is noted that Minas Tirith "seemed to have been not builded but carven by giants out of the bones of the earth".[17] Hammond and Scull have suggested that this notion derives from Old English mythology, in which giants were often portrayed as builders of ancient structures.[18]

Other fiction

A giant troubles Farmer Giles' land, who chases him off with his blunderbuss.[19]

Etymology

An early root for "giant" is given as NOROTH. This yields Quenya norsa,[20] and Noroth (likely supposed to be a Noldorin word[21]). A discarded Quenya word was hanako, from a root KHAN-AK.[22]

Portrayal in adaptations

Giants in adaptations
Thunder's Companion by Nicholas Jainschigg for MECCG  

Films

2012: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey:

Stone-giants are seen throwing rocks and crashing into each other as Thorin and Company travel over the Misty Mountains. In the film, they are interpreted as literally being colossal stone entities.

Games

1982: Middle-earth Role Playing:

Several divisions and races of giants are described and given statistics, such as Stone Giants[23], Ice Giants[24], Giants of the Southern Misty Mountains[25], and Red Giants[26].

1995: Middle-earth Collectible Card Game:

Giants, called Thunder's Companions, are one of the Hazard Creatures.

2003: The Hobbit (2003 video game):

Stone-giants are golem-like creatures that appear in the fourth level, hurling rocks at Bilbo as he tries to travel along a mountain path. They are completely made of stone, and their stones are dangerous.[27]

2006: The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II:

"Mountain Giants" are large and powerful beings in the Goblin faction, with brown scaly skin. They can hurl stones at great distance, and serve as the faction's artillery units.

2007: The Lord of the Rings Online:

Several tribes of giants appear in the game, including Stone-giants, Ogres (also called Jorthkyn or Earth-kin), and Ice-giants. While some are enemy creatures, others remain neutral and can be befriended by the player.

2011: The Lord of the Rings: War in the North:

A renegade Stone-Giant named Bargrisar appears in the game, serving as a boss character. He is the leader of a small army of Orcs and Trolls. Similar to the portrayal in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, he is a being composed entirely of stone.

Other

1989: The Hobbit (comic book):

Giants are displayed as bearded gigantic men with regular leather attire.

See also

External links

References

  1. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "An Unexpected Party"
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "Riddles in the Dark"
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "Out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire"
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, John D. Rateliff (ed.), The History of The Hobbit, Mr. Baggins, The Second Phase, "Goblins", "(iii): The Giants", pp. 143-5
  5. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "Queer Lodgings"
  6. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "Over Hill and Under Hill"
  7. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings" in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, pp. 536-7
  8. Robert Foster, The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, p. 366
  9. Steuard Jensen, "What were the giants?", Tolkien meta-FAQ (accessed 19 March 2024)
  10. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "X. Gilfanon's Tale: The Travail of the Noldoli and the Coming of Mankind"
  11. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Early Qenya and The Valmaric Script", in Parma Eldalamberon XIV (edited by Carl F. Hostetter, Christopher Gilson, Arden R. Smith, Patrick H. Wynne, and Bill Welden), p. 9
  12. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lays of Beleriand, "III. The Lay of Leithian: Canto V (Lúthien's captivity in Doriath)" (verse 1497)
  13. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, "I. The Tale of Tinúviel"
  14. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Return of the Shadow, "The Third Phase (3): XXI. To Weathertop and Rivendell"
  15. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Return of the Shadow, "The First Phase: XI. From Weathertop to the Ford, Note on the Entish Lands"
  16. Howell D. Chickering, Jr., "Beowulf: A Dual Language Edition", pp. 212-3
  17. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "Minas Tirith"
  18. Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 514
  19. J.R.R. Tolkien, Farmer Giles of Ham
  20. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies" (cf. Root NOROTH)
  21. Roman Rausch, "Essekenta Endamarwa - Names from The Return of the Shadow, The Treason of Isengard and The War of the Ring" dated 23 December 2006, Sindanórie (accessed 8 October 2011)
  22. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies — Part One" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter and Patrick H. Wynne), in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 45, November 2003, p. 21
  23. Carl Willner (1985), Goblin-gate and Eagle's Eyrie (#8070)
  24. Randy Maxwell (1997), The Northern Waste (#2025)
  25. Randell E. Doty (1987), Dunland and the Southern Misty Mountains (#3600)
  26. Ruth Sochard Pitt, Jeff O'Hare, Peter C. Fenlon, Jr. (1994), Creatures of Middle-earth (2nd edition) (#2012)
  27. The Hobbit (2003 video game), "Over Hill and Under Hill"
Legendary races of Arda
 Animals:  Dumbledors · Gorcrows · Hummerhorns · Pards · Swans of Gorbelgod · Turtle-fish
Dragon-kind:  Sea-serpents · Spark-dragons · Were-worms
Evil Races:  Ettens · Giants · Half-trolls · Hobgoblins · Ogres · Snow-trolls · Two-headed Trolls
Other:  Badger-folk · Great beasts · Lintips · Mewlips · Nameless things · Spectres
Individuals:  Talking Gurthang · Talking purse · The Hunter · Lady of the Sun · Lonely Troll · Man in the Moon · The Rider · River-woman · Tarlang · Tim · Tom · White cow