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- "[Saruman's] spies slip through every net, and his birds of ill omen are abroad in the sky."
- —Éomer, The Two Towers, "The Riders of Rohan"
Crebain were a species of large black, crow-like birds native to both Dunland and Fangorn Forest in Middle-earth. They were used as spies by the Wizard Saruman, after he became an agent of the Dark Lord Sauron.
Characteristics[]
Crebain as depicted by an unknown artist
Crebain were known to fly in large flocks resembling a huge black cloud and a big shadow cast below them. They made a horrible croaking, squawking noise when in flight, making their presence known to anyone nearby. Éomer even described them as "birds of ill-omen".[1] Like ravens and ordinary crows, they seemed to possess at least some intelligence, though are not known to have spoken in familiar tongues.
History[]
- "[Saruman] gathered a great host of spies, and many of these were birds; for Radagast lent him his aid, divining naught of his treachery, and deeming that this was but part of the watch upon the Enemy."
- —The Silmarillion, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"
Hoping to find the One Ring and claim it for himself, the White Wizard began to gather spies to his service. Many of his agents were birds, possibly Crebain. Saruman had even deceived Radagast into helping him, claiming that it was part of the White Council's watch upon Sauron, who was still dwelling in Dol Guldur at the time.[2]
During the War of the Ring, flocks of Crebain were sent by Saruman to track down for the Fellowship and the Ring-bearer for his own ends. Later, as part of his campaign to conquer Rohan on Sauron's behalf, Saruman used the Crebain to spy the land; Éomer, Third Marshal of the Riddermark, observed that the birds were surveying the skies.[1] Following the Wizard's defeat, Théoden King denounced Saruman and his "dark master" for their atrocities and claimed that Rohan would have peace when Saruman hanged from a gibbet, "for the sport of [his] own crows".[3]
Etymology[]
Crebain, "crows", would be the regular plural of Sindarin craban, "crow," a word which (while unattested) seems to have been adopted by Tolkien from Indo-European languages, particularly a pre-Germanic form *krabn-, whence the proto-Germanic *hrabnaz, from which descended both Old High German hraban and English raven.-
In adaptations[]
In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring[]
Crebain "from Dunland" appear in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, as spies of Saruman. A few of these crow-like birds can be seen flying around Orthanc when Gandalf meets with Saruman. Later, a flock of Crebain appears when the Fellowship is in Hollin. Although initially mistaking them for a black cloud, Boromir notes that it moves against the wind and Legolas uses his keen Elvish sight to spot the Crebain. The company then hides as the birds swoop by. The flock of crow-like birds returns to the caverns of Isengard, where they report to Saruman.
In The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim[]
Crebain entry in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Official Visual Companion
Crebain will feature in the upcoming 2024 animated film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. Like the Crebain in the original films, they are birds of carrion from Dunland. They are said to have "developed a loose kinship" with the Wild Men, who use them as scouts.[4]
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name|- |
| Amharic | ክረባኢን |
| Arabic | كريباين |
| Armenian | Քրեբայն |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Кребаін |
| Bengali | করেবাইন |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Кребаин |
| Georgian | კრებენები |
| Greek | Κρεβαιν |
| Gujarati | ક્રેબેન |
| Hebrew | קרביין |
| Hindi | क्र्ऐब्ऐन |
| Japanese | クレバン |
| Kannada | ಕ್ರೆಬೇನ್ |
| Kazakh | Крэбаін (Cyrillic) Krébain (Latin) |
| Korean | 크레이 빈 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Крэбаин |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Кребаин |
| Marathi | क्रेबेन |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Кребайн |
| Nepalese | क्रेब्ऐन |
| Persian | کرپاین |
| Punjabi | ਕ੍ਰਬੇਨ |
| Russian | Кребайн |
| Serbian | Кребаин (Cyrillic) Krebain (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | ක්රෙබ්න් |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Кребаин |
| Tamil | க்ரெபைன் |
| Telugu | క్రేబైన్ |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Кребейн |
| Urdu | کربین |
| Uzbek | Кребаин (Cyrillic) Krebain (Latin) |
| Yiddish | קרעבאַין |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Two Towers, "The Riders of Rohan"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"
- ↑ The Two Towers, "The Voice of Saruman"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Official Visual Companion