Tolkien's Animals: An (Almost) Complete Guide

Today, I talk about all the animals and beasts of Middle Earth! From Beren and Luthien to Tom Bombadil, we are going on quite the journey today

Citations are available upon request!

Article on Beorn and Tom Bombadil:
Article on the role of the eagles and Chaucer:

00:00 Intro
00:28 Cats
8:46 Dogs & Wolves
13:40 Beorn
16:40 Birds
21:40 Horses
23:49 Spiders
26:21 Conclusion

[indigohalf]

I believe Huan's designation of "wolfhound" means he's a breed like the Irish Wolfhound, a dog bred to combat wolves, making werewolves a very natural enemy for him. Depictions of Huan as simply a wolf-like dog have become a pet peeve of mine because it's such a missed opportunity! Irish wolfhounds are cool (and huge!) and the professor would likely have been familiar with them specifically, being a breed with strong British pastoral ties.

[gmansard]

"Gnome" was an early name for the Elves that would eventually be called the Noldor. The word is based on the Greek word "gnosis" referring to knowledge.

[gerbenhoutman]

I think my favorite animal in the trilogy was the fox that ran across the escaping hobbits in the shire. The fox thought that something very queer was going on, but never found out what it was :)

[karmavirus]

Just realized "Tevildo" is an anagram for "Evil Dot" The Eye of Sauron is similarly bright and red, and reflective of a cat's eye. Tolkien predicted lasers long before they were invented, and the cat's eternal struggle to hunt the red dot of evil.

[MavenTheFae]

Bill the pony is the true hero of middle earth

[bsaacp]

Cats are mentioned twice in LOTR. Aragorn mentions Queen Beruthiel and her cats as they pass through Moria. The second reference takes place in Shelob's Lair where Tolkien mentions that Sauron regarded Shelob as his 'cat'.

[Empswasabaddad]

"Bill the pony and Shadofax were just really good horses."

Sometimes thats enough!

[griffinfirestudios]

My dad always wanted a puppy so when he finally got one he named it Huan. It's a great Pyrenees and will therefore be very big...

[davidvernon]

I have two black kittens, and i do not see them as purveyors of evil. But they are objectively purveyors of chaos. This is precisely why i love them so much.

[gabrielblanchard]

The discussion about the Eagles and why they didn't fly them to Mordor (aside from the Eagles being sentient beings and not a taxi service) has of course been had to death; but I'd just like to say one thing about it. As we know, the Nazgul were mounted on the fell-beasts when they returned to Mordor after Frodo's narrow escape at the Ford of Bruinen, so, by the time the Fellowship left Rivendell, they presumably had their gross pterosaurs going on. Additionally, Sauron resides at the top of Barad-dur, which is tall. Speaking of tallness, a single error in carrying the Ring-bearer would result in his falling a very tall distance (deadly to him as a short person), through air (which is famously poor at concealing things). In other words: the "take the Eagles to Mordor" plan is, in a little more detail, the "bring the Ring up to Sauron's eyeline and keep it there for many weeks while the newly-airborne Nazgul zero in on it" plan. To me, as an alternative to what they went with, this sounds Bad Actually.

[grubslekcin]

One of my favorite little things in the lotr is the fox that comes across frodo, Sam, and pippin while still in the shire. I feel like it shows a brief window onto Tolkiens humor.

[allisongliot]

One thing I love about the biblical symbolism behind animals is that even those that are usually portrayed as bad (such as wolves & snakes) are reconciled with the rest of the animals (& people) at the coming of the Savior. Isaiah 11:6 is one of my favorites: “the wolf shall be the guest of the lamb.” 🥰

[KatopianResonance]

The reason "they didn't just fly in on the eagles" is that the only reason they could get there is that sauron underestimated them. If eagles had been involved, he would have dealt with them.

[mjlamey]

My personal fave is Roac the Raven. I know he was kind of a small part, but I've always loved corvids in general and kinda wished Tolkien had maybe leaned a little more into the Odin-inspiration for Gandalf more and gave him some raven friends to counter Saruman's crows.

[colehamilton]

I felt like the Hobbit movies did a disservice to Beorn's character. He's supposed to have a regal bearing.

[markalleneaton]

The horses ridden by the Nazgul serve as a tragic counterpoint to the "good" horses of Middle-Earth, and underscore the point that horses are a reflection of their caretakers. (e.g., again, Bill the Pony flourished under Sam's care once he was free of Bill Ferny.)

[Pandaemoni]

I am surprised the intelligent fox from Fellowship of the Ring didn't get a mention. I am always left puzzled by that fox, who comes across Frodo, Sam and Merry headed for Buckland and sleeping the woods. The fox thinks to itself, "Hobbits! Well, what's next? I have heard of strange doings in this land, but I have seldom heard of a hobbit sleeping out of doors under a tree. Three of them! There's something might queer behind this." It suggests all of his animals could have a full and articulate internal monologue. And then, separately, there are also the "were-worms" in the Last Desert in the East of East that are mentioned by Bilbo...always wondered what they were.

[dlxmarks]

Included in _The Adventures of Tom Bombadil_ is "Cat" which is a traditional Shire poem possibly revised a bit by Sam Gamgee.

[bootstrapbill]

every time you mention your rats, it makes me smile, i had a pair of rats, and they're honestly the most wonderful wee beasties and surprisingly cuddly once they get to know you

[dustinclayton]

Great video! Just found your channel last week. What a tremendous amount of work and wisdom you put into these.
I was bummed the fox in Shortcut to Mushrooms didn't get a mention. I love that there's just this sentient fox "passing by on business of his own" who wonders briefly about hobbits acting strangely. It's one of my favorite scenes in Fellowship, if for no other reason than it implies there are other stories, just as strange and meaningful to their participants as ours are to us, going on around us all the time.