Few creatures in Middle-Earth were as foreboding as the Mighty Troll, a crucial unit within
the forces of evil.
And yet, despite their fearsome reputation, there are many unanswered questions and mysteries
surrounding the Troll Race.
Hello friends, it's Karl here, and in today's episode we're going to delve into the history
and characteristics of the Trolls of Middle-Earth.
So trolls first appeared in the "twilight of the Eldar Days" which is generally accepted
to be towards the end of the First Age.
In the world of Middle-Earth, evil could not create life, it could only corrupt that which
already existed, and so their origins at the hand of Morgoth, the first dark lord, is quite
an interesting subject.
One popular theory is that Trolls were once Ents that Morgoth corrupted, since Treebeard
says that "Trolls are only counterfeits, made by the Enemy in the Great Darkness, in
mockery of Ents"… however I think this interpretation is wrong, as I understand it
to mean that Ents merely served as an inspiration for the creation of Trolls, an imitation so
to speak.
In one of Tolkien's letters, letter 153, he says "Treebeard does not say that the
Dark Lord 'created' Trolls and Orcs.
He says he 'made' them in counterfeit of certain creatures pre-existing".
So if Trolls were not corrupted Ents… where did they come from?
Perhaps an answer to this lies in their weakness to sunlight, for Trolls must take shelter
before the first light of dawn as Tolkien says that otherwise "they would go back
to the stuff of the mountains they are made of"…back to stone.
This would suggest that Morgoth somehow animated or corrupted some creature related to the
mountains or a part of the mountains themselves… and since they were transformed in "Great
Darkness"… perhaps light would revert this spell.
And yet it seems that not all Trolls originated this way, for once again in letter 153, Tolkien
says "But there are other sorts of Trolls besides these rather ridiculous, if brutal,
Stone-trolls, for which other origins are suggested."
In the book Morgoth's Ring, we're told "It seems clearly implied in the Lord of
the Rings that trolls existed in their own right, but were 'tinkered' with by Melkor"
and this fits in with a quote from Tolkien "When you make Trolls speak you are giving
a power, which in our world (probably) connotes the possession of a 'soul'."
All of this seems to suggest that trolls were originally normal creatures with a soul, and
they were corrupted and twisted to serve Morgoth's will… and there's a darker layer to all
of this, that perhaps they were related to humans.
Evidence for this can be seen in Morgoth's Ring were we're told that "The Elves would
have classed the creatures called 'trolls' as Orcs – in character and origin- but they
were larger and slower.
It would seem evident that they were corruptions of primitive human types."
These various origins seem very hard to piece and co-exist together, however I've come
up with a theory that I'd like to share with you though as always, just to be clear
this is simply my own speculation.
So my theory was that perhaps there were two types of trolls, the pre-existing creatures
that Morgoth corrupted, and the stone trolls that were magically animated from the mountains.
This would fit with the quote "but there are other sorts of Trolls besides these rather
ridiculous, if brutal, Stone-Trolls, for which other origins are suggested."
Regarding the Stone trolls, I find it hard to imagine how Morgoth animated the Mountains.
Though since Tolkien describes them as 'Stuff of the Mountain' I wonder if perhaps they
could have been some sort of Stone Golem related to the mountains that could not survive in
Sunlight, and Morgoth found them and corrupted them turning them into Trolls.
This would allow them to be living creatures and stay true to the concept of evil being
unable to creative life.
Once again I really want to emphasis that these are just some thoughts I had and purely
speculation, as it's likely that the different origins for Trolls were simply due to Tolkien
changing his mind as the years passed, and so we can never be certain how they came to
be, and the best we can do is try to fit them into the World of Middle-Earth.
However I'd like to hear your own thoughts and theories in the comments below!
So now we'll discuss their history.
So our first encounter with Trolls, takes place in the Battle of Unnumbered Tears in
the year 472 of the First Age.
This battle was one of the most brutal in Middle-Earth's history, resulting in a devastating
loss for the Forces of the West.
Morgoth's host included Trolls, and some even served as bodyguards to Gothmog, the
Lord of the Balrogs.
Though they're not mentioned again in the Silmarillion, it's logical to assume that
Trolls were present in the wars and skirmishes that took place after this battle.
They were also present in the War of Wrath, the final battle of the First Age, which ended
with Morgoth's defeat… and many Trolls were slain…though some survived and fled
eastward.
And yet these survivors would soon find a new master to follow, for Sauron summoned
them to his service and he made use of them teaching them what little they could learn.
These Trolls had no language of their own, and from the Orcs they learnt a simple form
of Common Speech as much as their dull wits would permit.
Since they were part of Sauron's forces, they most likely fought in the wars of the
Second Age between the forces of the West and Sauron including the Battle of the Last
Alliance.
However it seems that history was destined to repeat itself, for their new master was
defeated, and they had no choice but to flee once again... awaiting his return.
A thousand years later, Sauron reappeared in Middle-Earth and started to gather his
forces in Dol Guldur, and in the year 1300 of the Third Age the Witch-King established
the realm of Angmar.
He summoned men, orcs and other evil creatures which most likely included Trolls to his service,
and for the next 700 years he would wage war on the Northern Kingdom of Arnor, until it
eventually fell to his might.
In the year 2480, Sauron sent out some of his forces such as orcs and Trolls to inhabit
the empty halls of Moria, which had been abandoned following the awakening of the Balrog.
This would allow him to extend his influence and simultaneously hinder the dwarves from
recovering their Lost Halls.
Trolls were also responsible for the death of Aragorn's grandfather, Arador, for in
the year 2930, Arador was captured and slain by a group of Hill-Trolls, while he was travelling
through the Coldfells, a region North of Rivendell.
After Thorin and Company set off on their quest to reclaim Erebor, they travelled through
the Trollshaws, a region that had once belonged to the Fallen Kingdom of Arnor, but now had
a reputation of being infested with Trolls.
Here they were captured by three trolls who had come down from the mountains and settled
in the wood nearby and were now discussing how best to eat the dwarves.
However the dwarves were saved, thanks to Gandalf's quick thinking, who distracted
the Trolls by imitating their voices.
Thus they failed to notice the approach of dawn, and so the moment light came over the
hill, the trolls fell silent for they had been turned into stone.
These Trolls had a cave nearby, which they would use for shelter when dawn approached,
and it was filled with loot that belonged to their victims.
It was in this cave that Thorin and company found the Elven blades Glamdring, Orcrist
and Sting.
How they came to be in the Trolls' possession is a mystery, for these swords had been made
in Gondolin and were lost after the city fell, though Elrond suggests that perhaps the Trolls
had plundered other plunderers or came across some forgotten stolen cache in some hole in
the mountains.
Towards the end of the third age, a new race of troll appeared.
They were known as the Olog-hai, and and Sauron bred them to be superior to other Trolls.
They were smarter, more cunning and were able to wield dreadful weapons.
They also became more active, being filled with the evil will of their master, and they
were even capable of enduring the sun, as long as the will of Sauron empowered them.
However unlike their Stone-Troll brethren they did not speak the Common Speech…for
the only language they knew was the Black Speech of Mordor.
The Olog-Hai first appeared in Southern Mirkwood, most likely having been unleashed from Sauron's
fortress of Dol Guldur, and in the mountains of Mordor.
When Aragorn was escorting the Hobbits to Rivendell, they journeyed through the Trollshaws
and they came across the three trolls from Bilbo's Adventure, still stuck in their
stony prison.
Unfortunately, soon after this experience, the Hobbits would face live trolls, for during
their expedition in Moria the fellowship were assailed after reaching Balin's Tomb.
As they shut the doors and prepared to make a stand, they spotted several cave trolls
among the enemy forces.
Later on, when the Fellowship reached the bridge of Khazad-Dum they were thrilled to
see that a great fiery chasm separated them from the Orcs of Moria, cutting them off from
their pursuers…yet their joy would be short lived, for two great trolls flung massive
slabs of stone across the fissure, to serve as gangways over the fire.
During the Siege of Minas Tirith, Trolls would play a vital role in Sauron's forces, and
some Trolls were responsible to man and wield Grond, the Battering Ram that would break
through the Great Gate of Gondor.
This was a true testament to their strength, for Grond was a hundred feet in length and
forged of black steel.
When the Haradrim arrived to the Pelennor Fields, some of their men were said to look
like half-trolls.
However I don't think that this should be taken in a literal sense, especially since
they were said to be 'like half-trolls' rather than called half-trolls directly.
After all they were described from the perspective of the Rohirrim, and so they must have looked
extremely foreign, and perhaps their large stature made them seem troll-ish.
Many trolls were also present during the Battle of the Black Gate, and some were even equipped
with round shields and heavy hammers.
One of these trolls, a great troll-chieftain struck down Beregond a tower guard of Gondor,
and it then bent over him and reached out towards him, to bite his throat.
However Pippin saved him in time by stabbing upwards at the Troll, and his blade pierced
deep into its hide and slew it.
A cloud of despair would soon pass over these Trolls, for after the Ring's destruction
and the Fall of Barad-Dur, madness and confusion fell upon Sauron's forces and his creatures
ran away mindlessly.
Some even slew themselves, others cast themselves in pits, and what was left fled hiding in
dark holes and lightless places far from hope.
Now that we've covered their various appearances throughout the books, I'd like to discuss
their characteristics and other points of interest.
So the first thing I ought to mention is that there many different sub-types of Trolls and
their names seem to be linked to the environment that they lived in.
We know of Mountain Trolls such as the ones that wielded Grond, Cave Trolls like those
found in Moria and Hill Trolls whose kind were responsible for slaying Aragorn's Grandfather
and who were present at the Battle of the Black Gate.
We also hear about Snow Trolls, as Helm Hammerhand was compared to one, when during the long
winter he would sneak out of the Hornburg and stalk his enemies like a snow-troll before
slaying them with his bare hands.
I get the impression that Snow Trolls perhaps lived in the colder climates of Middle-Earth
such as Forochel and I imagine them to be white in colour providing camouflage since
we're told that they would stalk their prey.
I believe that these sub-types of trolls could both be the Primitive Stone Trolls and the
Olog-Hai, for they merely described the environment in which the troll lived in.
For example some of the Trolls during the Battle of the Black Gate were Hill trolls,
though they would also fall under the classification of Olog Hai.
Now Trolls had stony scales as skin, and the cave trolls of Moria were greenish in colour.
These scales provided an exceptional source of armour, for when Boromir tried to slice
off the arm of a cave troll, his sword bounced off and fell from his hands, and the blade
was notched.
Despite this Frodo manages to stab through them with sting, and I'm not certain whether
this was successful because of the blade's heritage, or if perhaps the Trolls' scales
were resistant to slash attacks but weak to stabs.
It's also interesting to note that their blood was black in colour and extremely corrosive,
for after Frodo stabbed one its blood dripped from the blade and smoked on the floor.
Similarly when Hurin slew the Troll Bodyguards of Gothmog, we're told that his axe smoked
in their black blood until it corroded away.
Though Trolls were undeniably large, we're never told how tall they were, though in the
books three ents are described as being as tall as trolls, and twelve feet or more in
height.
Considering this I think we can safely say that they were at least 12 feet tall, making
them around twice the size of a human being if not taller.
Despite their infamous reputation they weren't as strong as Ents, and their anatomy differered
from other humanoids, for we know that the Cave Troll in Moria had a toeless foot, and
the Hill Trolls at the Battle of the Black Gate had claws for hands.
We also know that Trolls did not build their own structures, though whether it's because
they chose not to or if they lacked the capacity to do so is uncertain.
Instead they chose to seek out natural shelter such as caves and mountains.
However it seems that some of them did have some rudimentary form of clothing, for the
trolls in the Hobbit wore trousers with pockets and stone boots.
They also seemed to have some degree of magical ability, for when Bilbo tries to pickpocket
one of the Trolls, its purse cries out exclaiming who are you?
And Tolkien says that 'Trolls' purses are the mischief, and this was no exception'.
However one must keep in mind that this could very well be an idea that Tolkien abandoned
after the Hobbit, since in the Lord of the Rings his portrayal of trolls became more
serious.
There are two more points that I'd like to discuss.
Firstly that in the Hobbit we get the impression that Trolls are not altogether evil for one
of the trolls named William wants to let Bilbo go rather than eat him and calls him a poor
little blighter.
However Tolkien states that the trolls did not show pity comparing it to a "beast lazily
patting a creature it could eat, but does not want to, since it is not hungry' and
so not a moral choice.
My last point is that it's interesting how Trolls still managed to participate during
the battles of the First Age, when they were still weak to sunlight.
I wonder whether they would find shelter during the day, or if Morgoth summoned some artificial
darkness to aid his forces, and prevent them from turning to stone.
Anyway friends I hope you enjoyed this video!
If you'd like to contact or follow me for more updates concerning this channel, check
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I hope to see you all in my next video, where together we will once again explore the magical
world, and lore of Middle-Earth.
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