Huorns were large and wild tree-like creatures which could move and make sound, whom the Ents cared for and tended to in the Second and Third Ages. They were a transitionary and half "awoken" race, being more sapient than normal trees but not fully sentient as with true Ents.
In Middle-earth, they were known to dwell in the Old Forest and in Fangorn Forest.
History & origin[]
Among the most ancient of the Olvar that lived within Arda were the trees of the Great Forests that came from the seeds that Yavanna devised during the Years of the Trees. For many ages they grew peacefully, but in Middle-earth at the beginning of the Ages of the Stars there came among the trees great spirits later known as Ents. These protectors appeared because many other races in that time came into the world and Yavanna feared that the forests would be destroyed. So through the Ages of the Stars and Sun, the Ents walked the forests, and in time it is said some Ents became more tree-like and the ancient trees became more Ent-like and limb-lithe. Like Ents, they learned the Art of Speech, and could communicate with their tree shepherds. Whether tree or Ent in the beginning, by the Third Age of the Sun they were a race apart, referred to as Huorns.
The Huorns mostly stood as tall dark trees in the deepest forests, gnarled and unmoving, yet watchful. When aroused in wrath they moved swiftly as if wrapped in shadows, falling on foes with deadly and merciless strength. Without direction from the Ents, the Huorns acted queer and became a threat to even the Free Peoples of the World.
The tale of the War of the Ring tells of how, with the Ents, the Huorns marched on Isengard like a great forest, and how, under the direction of the Ents, they exterminated the entire Orc army in the Battle of the Hornburg.
Huorns were ancient and long-brooding, and some were said to be black-hearted and rotten. At least one such talking tree spirit inhabited the Old Forest by the banks of the Withywindle River, who was called Old Man Willow. As the Old Forest and Fangorn were the last remnants of the most ancient forests in Middle-earth, Old Man Willow wished to prevent further inroads into his realm. He held all the Old Forest in an enchantment by the power of his song and led all travellers to him, where with his limb-lithe roots and branches he consumed them.
In The Two Towers, the Huorns march to Isengard with the Ents. After Isengard was harrowed of its Orcs, the Huorns proceeded to Helm's Deep, exterminating the fleeing Orcs at the Battle of the Hornburg. The Huorns then gathered all the Orc carcasses and buried them in the Death Down. After this brief appearance, the Huorns went back into the forests. The tactics used by the Huorns were quite effective, as they only attacked when all the enemy Orcs would be in their midst, denying the Orcs chance of escape. It is notable that Huorns seemed to have the ability to cloak themselves in shadows, becoming almost undetectable at night.[citation needed]
In adaptations[]
The Huorns are only seen in the Extended Edition of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and are never mentioned by their name. In the first of their two scenes, they are seen moving just before Treebeard with Merry and Pippin, and the rest of the Ents march on Isengard. In the second scene, the Uruk-hai fleeing the Battle of the Hornburg, retreat into a newly appeared forest, which then starts to move, killing them all.
Translations[]
Foreign Language | Translated name |
Amharic | ሑኦርን |
Arabic | حوورن |
Armenian | Հուորն |
Belarusian Cyrillic | Hуорн |
Bengali | হুওর্ন |
Bulgarian Cyrillic | Хуорн |
Catalan | Ucornos |
Chinese | 胡恩 |
Finnish | Huornit |
Georgian | ჰუორნები |
Greek | Χούορν |
Gujarati | હુઓર્ન |
Hebrew | הואורנים |
Hindi | हुउर्न |
Italian | Ucorni |
Japanese | フオルン |
Kannada | ಹುಒರ್ನ |
Kazakh | Һұорн (Cyrillic) Huorn (Latin) |
Korean | 후오른 |
Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Hуорн |
Laotian | ຮຸໂຣນ |
Macedonian Cyrillic | Хуорн |
Marathi | हुअर्न |
Mongolian Cyrillic | Hуорн |
Nepalese | हुओर्न |
Persian | هورن |
Polish | Huornowie |
Punjabi | ਹੁਓਰ੍ਨ |
Russian | Хуорны |
Sanskrit | हुओर्न् |
Serbian | Хуорн (Cyrillic) Huorn (Latin) |
Sinhalese | හුඔර්න් |
Spanish | Ucornos |
Tajik Cyrillic | Ҳуорн |
Tamil | ஹுஒர்ந் |
Telugu | హుఒర్న |
Thai | ฮูรอน |
Ukrainian Cyrillic | Хуорни |
Urdu | ہوورن |
Uzbek | Ҳуорн (Cyrillic) Huorn (Latin) |
Yiddish | הואָרן |
Races of Arda
Ainur | Dwarves | Elves | Ents | Great Eagles | Hobbits | Huorns | Men | Petty-dwarves | Skin-changers (Beornings) Servants of the Shadow:
Barrow-wights | Ettens | Dragons (Fire-drakes and Cold-drakes) | Ogres | Orcs | Spiders | Trolls | Úmaiar | Úvanimor | Vampires | Wargs | Werewolves |