The Old Forest was a large woodland on the eastern border of Buckland, located close to the Shire.
It was bordered in the east by the Barrowdowns and in the west by The High Hay, a large hedge which the Hobbits of Buckland grew to protect their eastern border.
Description
Map of the Old Forest in The Lord of the Rings Online
The Old Forest, like Fangorn, was described to be dark and tangled, though both were less so than the Taur-im-Duinath of Beleriand.[1]
Aside from the trees, a valley lay at its center and the Withywindle river flowed through it. The Withywindle, as told in Hobbit folklore, was the center of queerness in the vast queerness of the forest. At the south-eastern edge of the forest, on the bank of the river Withywindle, stood the house of Tom Bombadil - the only constructed dwelling in the forest. The home of Bombadil rested in a glade near the Withywindle--a sunny spot with green grass and bright trees. The pathway through the Old Forest known by the Hobbits was near the bonfire grove, although when the company arrived there, it appeared to have shifted.
The southern edge of the forest consisted primarily of oak and ash, being much more dense than the pine and fir-filled north.
History
Before the Third Age
Old Forest Road, by Ben Zweifel. ©Fantasy Flight Games and ©Middle-earth Enterprises
The Old Forest, along with Fangorn Forest, was all that remained of a vast and ancient primordial forest that once spanned nearly all of Eriador before the Second Age, and is one of the few forests that the Elves decided to wake and teach to speak. Beginning in the middle of the Second Age, the forest came under threat by the felling of trees by the Men of Middle-earth and of Númenor. Later, when Sauron declared war on the Elves, the havoc and destruction he and his troops created resulted in the near destruction of Eriador and the burning of much of the forest.
Third Age
By the Third Age, the forest had become wild and dangerous and those that lived near it had to take precautions, particularly the Bucklanders, who built the High Hay to keep out wild creatures. Before the War of the Ring, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin passed through the Old Forest on their way to Bree and were rescued by Tom Bombadil, after being trapped by Old Man Willow.[2]
Lore
The Hobbits believed the trees of the Old Forest were in some manner "awake". They sway when there is no wind, whisper at night, and mislead and waylay travelers. In a notable incident, trees from the Old Forest moved right next to the protective hedge; the Hobbits in turn cut down and burned them in an enormous bonfire. Ever since then, the trees were more hostile --the Huorns. In any event, despite being an ancient and "awake" forest, no Ents tend to this woodland, and it seems to be avoided by Elves as well.
Portrayal in adaptations
Video games
Old Forest at night (in The Lord of the Rings Online)
- The Old Forest is depicted in the video games The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game) and The Lord of the Rings Online.
Translations around the World
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Ou Bos |
| Albanian | Vjetër Pyll |
| Amharic | የድሮ ደን |
| Arabic | الغابات القديمة |
| Armenian | հին անտառային |
| Azerbaijani | Qoca Meşə |
| Basque | Baso Zaharrak |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | стары лес |
| Bengali | প্রাচীন বন |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Старата гора |
| Burmese | အဟောငျးသစ်တော |
| Cambodian | ព្រៃឈើចាស់ |
| Catalan | Bosc Vell |
| Cebuano | Daang lasang |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 老林 |
| Corsican | Anticu Foresta |
| Croatian | Stare šume |
| Czech | Starý Les |
| Danish | Gammel Skov |
| Dutch | Oude Bos |
| Estonian | Vana mets |
| Faroese | Gamla Skógur |
| French | Vieille Forêt |
| Filipino | Lumang Gubat |
| Finnish | Vanha Metsä |
| Galician | Bosque Vella |
| Georgian | ძველი ტყე |
| German | Der alte Wald |
| Greek | Παλιό δάσος |
| Gujarati | જૂના જંગલોમાં |
| Haitian Creole | Vye Forè |
| Hausa | Tsohon Gandun daji |
| Hawaiian | Kahiko Nahele |
| Hindi | पुराने जंगल |
| Hungarian | Öregerdő |
| Icelandic | Gamall Skógur |
| Indonesian | Hutan Lama |
| Irish Gaelic | Sean-Foraoise |
| Italian | Vecchia Foresta |
| Japanese | オールドフォレスト |
| Javanese | Alas Lawas |
| Kannada | ಹಳೆಯ ಅರಣ್ಯ |
| Kazakh | Көне Орман (Cyrillic) Köne Orman (Latin) |
| Korean | 오래된 숲 |
| Kurdish | Daristanê Kevn (Kurmanji Kurdish) |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | эски токой |
| Laotian | ປ່າໄມ້ເກົ່າ |
| Latin | Silva Vetus |
| Latvian | Vecs Mežs |
| Lithuanian | Senas miškas |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Cтара шума |
| Malagasy | Ala Taloha |
| Malay | Tua Hutan |
| Malayalam | പഴയ ഫോറസ്റ്റ് |
| Maltese | Foresti ta ' l-Qadima |
| Maori | Ngahere Tawhito |
| Marathi | जुन्या वन |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | хуучин Ойн |
| Nahuatl | Huehcāuh Cuauhtlah |
| Navajo | Sání Tsintah ? |
| Nepalese | पुरानो वन |
| Northern Sami | Boares vuovdi |
| Norwegian | Gamleskogen Gammelskogen |
| Old English | Weald gereord |
| Pashto | زاړه د ځنګل |
| Persian | جنگل قدیمی |
| Polish | Stary Las |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | Floresta Velha |
| Portuguese (Portugal) | Velha Floresta or Floresta Velha |
| Punjabi | ਪੁਰਾਣਾ ਜੰਗਲਾਤ |
| Scottish Gaelic | Seann Coille |
| Sesotho | Meru ea khale |
| Shona | Yekare Dondo |
| Sindhi | قديم ٻيلو |
| Spanish (Spain and Latin America) | Bosque Viejo |
| Swedish | Gammal Skog |
| Romanian | Pădurea Bătrână |
| Romansh | Vegl Guaud |
| Russian | Старый лес |
| Samoan | Vaomatua Tuai |
| Serbian | Стара Шума (Cyrillic) Stari Šuma (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | පරණ වන |
| Slovak | Starý les |
| Somalian | Duq ah Duur |
| Swahili | Msitu cha Kale |
| Swedish | Gamla Skogen |
| Tagalog | Lumang Gubat |
| Tahitian | Uru raau Tahito |
| Tajik Cyrillic | сола ҷангал |
| Tamil | பழைய வன |
| Thai | ป่าดึกดำบรรพ์ |
| Turkish | Yaşlı Orman |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Старий ліс |
| Urdu | پرانے جنگل |
| Uzbek | Ески Ўрмон (Cyrillic) Eski O'rmon (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Rừng Cũ |
| Welsh | Hen Goedwig |
| Xhosa | Ihlathi Elidala |
| Yiddish | אַלט וואַלד |
| Yoruba | Atijọ Aginju |
|
Places of Middle-earth and Arda
Middle-earth Locations:
Provinces/Regions: Arnor | Dunland | Ettenmoors | Forochel | Forodwaith | Gondor | Harad | Ithilien | Khand | Lindon | Minhiriath | Mordor | Rhovanion | Rhûn | Rivendell | Rohan | The Shire Forests & Mountains: Amon Dîn | Amon Hen | Amon Lhaw | Caradhras | Emyn Muil | Erebor | Fangorn Forest | High Pass | Iron Hills | Lórien | Mirkwood | Mount Doom | Mount Gundabad | Old Forest | Orod-na-Thôn | Tower Hills | Weathertop Hill City/Fortifications: Angband | Barad-dûr | Bree | Caras Galadhon | Dol Guldur | Fornost Erain | Hornburg | Isengard | Minas Morgul | Minas Tirith | Last Homely House | Tower of Amon Sûl | Tower of Orthanc | Osgiliath | Umbar | Utumno Miscellaneous: Argonath | Astulat | Buckland | Cair Andros | Dagorlad | Dead Marshes | Enedwaith | Fords of Isen | Gap of Rohan | Grey Havens The rest of Arda:
Aman | Burnt Land of the Sun | Dark Land | Empty Lands | Neldoreth | New lands | Númenor | Tol Eressëa |
References
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, Thematic Maps, "Vegetation"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, Chapter VI: "The Old Forest"