# Did Tolkien Ever Draw an  Ent or Huron?



## 1stvermont (Feb 12, 2020)

I was just wondering if he ever drew a picture or sketch of how he visualized the ents.


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## Elthir (Feb 12, 2020)

I don't recall Tolkien ever drawing an Ent.

I vaguely recall a response from JRRT _about_ drawing an Ent -- I think it was in response to a request from the then Princess of Denmark. I can almost recall the wording, but since I can't know it would be exact, I won't try. Basically JRRT answered that when moving, Ents were very difficult to catch, and when standing still, look just like trees. I wish I could find the actual quote, but I think it ends with -just like trees- (when standing). I know I put it on line somewhere. It hails from a television special (certainly not in Letters), and I remember listening to it a number of times to get the exact wording down on paper.

But that was years ago.

And that said, I think we must allow for brevity here, as it seems (to me) to be clear from the texts, that Ents -- considering those Ents that are in the same "mode" (not really the word I want here) as Treebeard, as opposed to Ents who have grown more tree-ish, for example -- do not simply look just like trees.

In any event, that's just a quote I half-recall; and I'd rely more on the descriptions in The Two Towers compared to a letter.

*Edit: 19 August 2021!*

Back in 2014 I wrote:



> For a TV special (the one with Dame Judi Dench) the Tolkien family lawyer Dick Williamson read aloud JRRT's response to a letter from 7 year old Leslie Underwood, who had asked if he could draw an ent and the flag of Numenor. There's a bit more to the letter and the response, but here's the part I've now got written down (guessing at the punctuation).



The quote:



> _"I'm afraid I'm not very good at drawing and I do not feel able to produce an ent, or the flag or Numenor. An ent, in any case, when moving is very difficult to catch, and when not moving looks just like a tree."_ JRRT




But also, on 18 August 2021 I watched a version of this show on Youtube . . .

. . . and this part wasn't there!

So. Huh?


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## Squint-eyed Southerner (Feb 12, 2020)

I know of no drawing or painting by him, unfortunately.

Here's another question: Tolkien Gateway states flatly that ents are "14 feet tall". I assume this comes from TT, which describes Treebeard as "at least fourteen foot high". However, individual ents resembled the trees they shepherded, so wouldn't they also likely vary in height?


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## Elthir (Feb 12, 2020)

I would say so SeS. My interpretation of the book descriptions is that the "fir-related" Ents were the tallest. Also, in _The Road to Isengard_ we meet herdsman: "As tall as trolls they were, twelve feet or more in height; their strong bodies, stout as young trees . . ."

While Ents are no doubt "giants", we are well short of the heights of full grown oaks, pine, beech however.


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## Squint-eyed Southerner (Feb 12, 2020)

Right, thanks for reminding me of that quote.


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## Elthir (Feb 12, 2020)

🍁 Heheh.

Actually I just checked the "fir" related quote, and it says (parenthetically) that the Ents reminding of the fir were the tallest Ents.

In other words, I'm not sure how else I could have "interpreted" this


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## Squint-eyed Southerner (Feb 12, 2020)

Elthir said:


> While Ents are no doubt "giants", we are well short of the heights of full grown oaks, pine, beech however.


Hmm. . .now I have a question about _you. . ._


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## 1stvermont (Feb 12, 2020)

Elthir said:


> I don't recall Tolkien ever drawing an Ent.
> 
> I vaguely recall a response from JRRT _about_ drawing an Ent -- I think it was in response to a request from the then Princess of Denmark. I can almost recall the wording, but since I can't know it would be exact, I won't try. Basically JRRT answered that when moving, Ents were very difficult to catch, and when standing still, look just like trees. I wish I could find the actual quote, but I think it ends with -just like trees- (when standing). I know I put it on line somewhere. It hails from a television special (certainly not in Letters), and I remember listening to it a number of times to get the exact wording down on paper.
> 
> ...




Great stuff i am assuming it is in the letters of Tolkien. I might try and di throw it. Thanks.


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## 1stvermont (Feb 12, 2020)

Squint-eyed Southerner said:


> I know of no drawing or painting by him, unfortunately.
> 
> Here's another question: Tolkien Gateway states flatly that ents are "14 feet tall". I assume this comes from TT, which describes Treebeard as "at least fourteen foot high". However, individual ents resembled the trees they shepherded, so wouldn't they also likely vary in height?




Yes indeed. I think maybe average they are 14 foot but some [I think it was ents not hurons] were said to be 12 but that they all varied a great deal.


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## Elthir (Feb 12, 2020)

1stvermont said:


> Great stuff i am assuming it is in the letters of Tolkien. I might try and di throw it. Thanks.



It's not in Letters though. You must have missed this part: "I know I put it on line somewhere. It hails from a television special (certainly not in Letters), and I remember listening to it a number of times to get the exact wording down on paper."

I was nearly certain that it was in the show with Judi Dench. I checked on Youtube and found a part concerning the Queen of Denmark, but it wasn't there . . . unless it's in another part of the same show? I didn't watch the whole thing over.


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## Erestor Arcamen (Feb 12, 2020)

Ted Nasmith is an amazing artist. His images have always been close to what I imagined when reading the books. There are a lot of images of The Two Towers on this page with Ents in them.


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## 1stvermont (Feb 12, 2020)

Elthir said:


> It's not in Letters though. You must have missed this part: "I know I put it on line somewhere. It hails from a television special (certainly not in Letters), and I remember listening to it a number of times to get the exact wording down on paper."
> 
> I was nearly certain that it was in the show with Judi Dench. I checked on Youtube and found a part concerning the Queen of Denmark, but it wasn't there . . . unless it's in another part of the same show? I didn't watch the whole thing over.



I see. Thanks.


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