Giants & Stone-Giants of Middle Earth | Tolkien Explained

The existence of giants may be debatable in Middle-earth, but Tolkien's use of them in his early legendarium is very real. Today, we explore the appearances and references of giants (and stone-giants) in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and also dive into Tolkien's abandoned writings.
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Giants - Angus McBride
Giant - BFME2
Bargrisar - War in the North
Giant - The White Council
Tarlang - Ralph Damiani
Cave Troll - John Howe
dwarf king - artigas
Giant - BFME2
Giant - BFME2
Forest edge - Felix Englund
Into the Lone-lands - Alan Lee
Riddles In The Dark - John Howe
A Thunderstorm in the Mountains - Matěj Čadil
Nearing the Secret Door - Alan Lee
Hobbit & horse - Catherine Karina Chmiel
Giant 4 - BFME2
Forest Creek - Felix Englund
An Unexpected Party - Alan Lee
Bilbo closeup - Kinko White
Bilbo - Kinko White
Misty Mountains - Steve Airola
Misty Mountains - Painted Dragon
Dark valley - Felix Englund
Bilbo returning home - Daniel Dougherty
Bilbo- Elrodimus Flash
Bilbo at his desk - Abe Papakhian
Beorn's Hall - J.R.R. Tolkien
At Beorns Hall - Ted Nasmith
gandalf - John Howe
Beorn - Anke Eißmann
Gandalf - Skullb*st*rd
Giant 6 - BFME2
Giant 5 - BFME2
Riddles in the Dark - Alan Lee
Riddles in the Dark - Daniel Govar
I am Gandalf - Abe Papakhian
Hillmen and Wolfdogs - Jan Pospíšil
Giant 7 - BFME2
men at pool - Turner Mohan
Minas Tirith - Alan Lee
Mindolluin - Alan Lee
Minas Tirith - Aronja Art
Minas Tirith - Kinko White
mountainside lake - Felix Englund
Beren and Luthien - Ralph Damiani
thingol and luthien - steamey
Luthien - Sara M. Morello
Lúthien Tinúviel - Alan Lee
Luthien Dancing in the Moonlight - Anna Kulisz
The Choice of Luthien - Jenny Dolfen
Luthien - Jenny Dolfen
Luthien Tinuviel - Jenny Dolfen
Luthien Tinuviel - Janka Latečková
Lúthien Reveals Herself to Celegorm - Ted Nasmith
Luthien Tinuviel - Antti Autio
Luthien Tinuviel - Šárka Škorpíková
Luthien Tinuviel - Daniel Dougherty
Luthien of Doriath - Marya Filatova
Lúthien at Tol Galen - Ted Nasmith
Lúthien prepares her escape from Hírilorn - Anke Eißmann
Lúthien Escapes Upon Huan - Ted Nasmith
Bilbo and trolls - Elrodimus Flash
Forest farm - Felix Englund
Troll - JG Jones
Fantasy landscape - Felix Englund
snow trolls - Turner Mohan
Misty Mountains - Felix Englund
Gandalf - Jenny Dolfen
#lordoftherings #giants #tolkien

[@Holammer]

Sweden is littered with large boulders or 'Glacial erratics' left by the Ice Age and they are known as "jättekast" (lit: giant throw). In folklore, people believed Giants got annoyed by the piercing sound of church bells so they threw boulders in an attempt to silence them.

[@SvengelskaBlondie]

A local folk tale from my parts of Sweden talk about the GIant "Visst" and how he created the island known as Visingsö. He wanted to cross the lake Vättern and meet up with his love interest. There's a wooden statue of him that's next to one of the roads that go through Huskvarna, the Ica Maxi in Jönköping also have some artwork in their entrance of the giant Visst.

[@TheLordOfFireAndBlood]

Dosen’t it come from the old tales of norse mythology with the jötnar

[@k-la-k6828]

Grendel?

[@mokarokas-1727]

@@TheLordOfFireAndBlood Yes, giants have been around in Nordic myth and folklore since the Vikings and most likely before.

[@TheLordOfFireAndBlood]

@@mokarokas-1727 yes but do churches believe in giants

[@juanchoguerrero9143]

This isn’t a thunderstorm it’s a thunder battle

[@Hi-fd4cw]

Has real “that’s no moon” energy to it

[@clancyjames585]

It's a special thunder operation...

[@bifrostbeberast3246]

Galadriel in some fan-fic crap TV show: "There is a tempest in me!"

[@ArawnsFire]

Like Vampires and Werewolves, giants were part of Arda’s ancient past. Giants while rare by the Third Age were indeed part of Middle-Earth.

[@cojanemanuel8319]

Vampires and werewolves are present in middle earth?😮😮

[@fant2sy]

@@cojanemanuel8319 both created by sauron in the yt and 1st ages

[@RobbyBurney]

The art he used for the giants is (mostly) from battle from middle earth game series. One of the better RTS games

[@themole4369]

I hate the giants in that game. Their range and destructiveness as pieces of siege equipment is insane. I've lost so many battles against AI goblins simply because of the giants.

[@AdDewaard-hu3xk]

Cart before the horse.

[@marcekessen8003]

I loved that game

[@SvengelskaBlondie]

Here in Sweden, some of our church bells used to have rune inscriptions on them. One of the reasons was that it was meant to "chase away witches and giants" when the church bells rang. Sadly, allot of church bells where lost when some of our kings chose to repurpose them into cannons, I think there's a few still left that are several hundreds of years old (some are quite big, the biggest weighing in at a few tons). From a quick check, the oldest church bells we have where found outside of Uppsala in a field that was being plowed, it came from the 12th century. That church bell is on display at the Swedish History Museum. The oldest in current use is found at Ödskölts kyrka i Dalsland, it also came from the 12th century (roughly the middle of the 12th century). The oldest one with rune inscriptions came from the 13th century, it was found at Saleby kyrka i Saleby, This church bell was made in 1228.

[@TheLordOfFireAndBlood]

Im, a swede and iv’e yet to notice them are they written in ancient norse runes or in early swedish?

[@SvengelskaBlondie]

@@TheLordOfFireAndBlood Norse runes, at least the older one's are.

[@TheLordOfFireAndBlood]

@@SvengelskaBlondie are they on catholic or orthodox churches

[@SvengelskaBlondie]

@@TheLordOfFireAndBlood just do an internet search for "kyrkklockor runor" and you will get quite a few answers. "Åtta medeltida kyrkklockor berättar spännande historier. En del är fyllda med teckningar av sedelärande fabler, andra med skyddande runor, en tredje med ryska kyrilliska tecken - ett krigsbyte från Ryssland. Klangen från kyrkklockorna blev det tydligaste utrycket för skiftet mellan asatro och kristendomen."

[@SvengelskaBlondie]

@@TheLordOfFireAndBlood if you look for "kyrkklockor runor", will give you lots of answers.

[@WooogaTooga]

It's worth mentioning too that Treebeard was originally "Treebeard the Giant" before Tolkien settled on the Ents. So it would seem that giants are predecessors to Ents in some way in Tolkien's imagination.

[@peterjay3257]

Enta is Anglo-Saxon for giant.

[@WooogaTooga]

@@peterjay3257 exactly

[@FlorentPlacide]

This is quite pertinent ! When one describes what giants can and could do Ents come to mind as they can do it all (and the did)

[@TijmenHatesads]

>In that case a stone giant made out of stone isn't that far off a wood giant made out of wood. >??? >The Hobbit is canon?

[@WooogaTooga]

@TijmenHatesads The stone giants are only made of stone in the Jackson film. Tolkien doesn't describe the giants outside of them being large

[@perskarva123]

Please for the love of the Valar make a LOTR audio book! I love your voice acting fr.

[@LozPlaya]

He can't. that would violate copyright laws, unless he gets a license.

[@michaelwilliams949]

He may have been a professor but he remained as a boy at heart. He loved filling stories with dragons, but he clearly knew that a mythology simply wouldn't be complete without giants.

[@newworldastrology1102]

C S Lewis friend of Tolkien, also had stone-throwing giants, in The Silver Chair, part of the Chronicles of Narnia/

[@justindurfee9375]

The poem about Luthien's hair sounds like a stylization of the story of Rapunzel altered to fit in the tales and histories of Middle-earth. No doubt Tolkien would have taken as much inspiration from such children's stories as he did from Norse, Greek and Old Englinsh mythologies.

[@valentinkambushev4968]

There are also seven houses of dwarves, just like Snow White has seven dwarves. That's too much of a coincidence.

[@justindurfee9375]

@@valentinkambushev4968 Very true.

[@rcrawford42]

Seven pops up in lots of legends; one of the "mystic" numbers.

[@CartoonHero1986]

Don't forget Tolkien was writing these stories and legends of Middle Earth pre Plate Tectonics. So a lot of even Developed and Educated Cultures still had folklore as to how geological structures like Mountains and rift valleys formed. He was likely just borrowing something that existed in old local folklore that was already obscure but would hold preconceived lore from other sources in the Anglo Saxon/Celtic/Welsh/Pict/Manx etc history of the Islands.

[@daarom3472]

not pre, but there was scientific debate about it during his lifetime that stopped in the 60ies after it was definitively settled.

[@Cyballistic]

Giants makes more sense

[@FinrodFelagundTheFair]

And you are completely right, mellon nin. People tend to forget that Prof. Tolkien was a linguist well before he wrote anything resembling the Legendarium. They also forget that he is the reason we even have Beowulf or the Saga of Kurumo(?) From Icelandic myths. In those sagas, the heroes or lack thereof in Kuromo's case(as he was a huge inspiration for the Children of Hurin. Particularly Turin himself.) Face off against giants. And Beowulf did so twice. So, it isn't too farfetched to believe that at some point that Prof. Tolkien wanted the giants in his Legendarium. And just like in the sagas, the giants are there, but in the times of the heroes and the reader, it is but speculation. I hope that spreads some light on the issue of giants in the Legendarium. Ultimately I believe that Tolkien took inspiration from the sagas he translated and left them as something that was debated in his universe as well.

[@JenMaxon]

@@FinrodFelagundTheFair Except Beowolf was first translated some time in the 18th century, I think - and there have been a good number of translations since then. Or is that not what you meant?

[@FinrodFelagundTheFair]

@JenMaxon Pardon me, I meant that as far as Beowulf, it was his translation that made widespread distribution, and Prof. Tolkien was the first to translate the Icelandic sagas. I apologize for the lack of clarity on my part and the use of a blanket statement due to laziness. Kemeble first translated the Epic in 1837. But, he fumbled the translation. Changing too much, thus changing the context of the poem overall. Tolkien's version stays closer to the details and rhythm of the original and extremely close to the original sense of the poem, which has been attributed to Tolkien's scholarly knowledge of Old English, whereas Heaney, on the other hand, succeeded in producing a translation better suited for the modern reader. I appreciate you calling me out on my own laziness mellon nin. Due to that, I was given the opportunity to clean it up and clarify the information I had given. I faer nîn linna nan glass, mellon nin.

[@3mmdm32]

I believe Gandalf said He would need to find a friendly Giant to block the tunnel.

[@w.martin2108]

He mentions that in the video

[@DagorBragollach]

fun to think that even to those in Middle Earth, there was some mysterious creatures partially shrouded in legend.

[@jsimeoneafc2370]

Have you thought of making a theory video if Boromir claimed the One Ring?

[@ScooterDoge]

He goes invis, takes it to Gondor, saurons forces invade Gondor, game over. There, I saved you some time.

[@gondorianslayer4250]

It's not that simple, he gets corrupted.

[@gabrielshoebrigde6399]

Giants are one of my favourte races in middle earth and fantasy at that matter, im glad someone finally mentioned them

[@bifrostbeberast3246]

There is a new Giant game that you would love. You play a giant and have to stomp hordes of humans that try to capture you. It's pretty fun.

[@gabrielshoebrigde6399]

Whats it called

[@bifrostbeberast3246]

@@gabrielshoebrigde6399 Giants Uprising

[@bifrostbeberast3246]

@@gabrielshoebrigde6399 Giants Uprising

[@unclerojelio6320]

Now I need a breakdown on the similarities and differences of giants, ogres, and trolls.

[@VGGPTA]

Weirdest thing is that yesterday I looked for a video on the stone giant couldn’t find a single one but then today you come out with one crazy coincidence

[@DrForrester87]

Aw yeah, more Nerd of the Rings!

[@bdonaghu]

You have not fully watched the video until you hear the "...and Debbie"

[@FinrodFelagundTheFair]

People tend to forget that Prof. Tolkien was a linguist well before he wrote anything resembling the Legendarium. They also forget that he is the reason we even have Beowulf or the Saga of Kurumo(?) From Icelandic myths. In those sagas, the heroes or lack thereof in Kuromo's case(as he was a huge inspiration for the Children of Hurin. Particularly Turin himself.) Face off against giants. And Beowulf did so twice. So, it isn't too farfetched to believe that at some point that Prof. Tolkien wanted the giants in his Legendarium. And just like in the sagas, the giants are there, but in the times of the heroes and the reader, it is but speculation. I hope that spreads some light on the issue of giants in the Legendarium. Ultimately I believe that Tolkien took inspiration from the sagas he translated and left them as something that was debated in his universe as well. Note: Copy and pasted from my reply to another comment.

[@OnlyGhostMusic]

The Luthien poem is so beautiful. Didn't expect to have shivers in a video about giants.

[@valentinkambushev4968]

When haters realize the stone giants weren't just made-up for the Hobbit trilogy.

[@TheGeneralGrievous19]

Didn't You read The Hobbit?

[@valentinkambushev4968]

@@TheGeneralGrievous19 Yes, I have. I am just talking about the people who haven't.

[@madjimjaspers7603]

When you have lotta big rocks in your backyard. 🪨

[@KororaPenguin]

And I wonder if that scene in the _Hobbit_ book would have given Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole flashbacks to the earlier of their own two close calls with giants. (I know, different Inkling)

[@VGGPTA]

He meant for the movies

[@soniaromero11]

Yes giants are ancient , I like this post, thank you.

[@colinbaldwin313]

If giants were simply overgrown Men, shouldn't they have created cities and kingdoms as grand as Gondor and Minas Tirith - grander, in fact, because they'd have to be built to scale for these enormous people? I guess they seem more akin to trolls because they appear to fulfill a similar role: living in wild and dangerous places, popping up on one's adventures. If they were really Men, one would expect them to leave a greater impact on the world of Middle-Earth.

[@danielloewen2857]

I guess they were so big they didn't feel the need for proper shelter? Idk man they throw rocks for fun

[@colinbaldwin313]

@@danielloewen2857 Again, that doesn't sound very Mannish to me.

[@The_Tradie_Trainer]

There are still men to this day that live without cities or kingdoms, having done so 1000s of years.

[@colinbaldwin313]

@@The_Tradie_Trainer Should we then assume that the Giants are essentially enormous Wild Men, equivalent to the Dunlendings and Druedain?

[@The_Tradie_Trainer]

@@colinbaldwin313 idk about you but I’m not assuming anything of the sort.

[@saintskutt]

It's worth noting that Torin also mentions the giants in "The Hobbit" during the thunderstorm in the mountains: "This won’t do at all!” said Thorin. “If we don’t get blown off, or drowned, or struck by lightning, we shall be picked up by some giant and kicked sky-high for a football.” “Well, if you know of anywhere better, take us there!” said Gandalf, who was feeling very grumpy, and was far from happy about the giants himself." Love your videos.

[@adpirtle]

I think it's interesting how he slowly moved away from the concept, until you get to TLotR, when they are eventually replaced entirely,. Personally, I think Ents feel better suited to this world.

[@jaroslavpesek6642]

Ents are wood giants. The name ent even means giant.

[@TheHoneyBadger-yh5vj]

May God bless you and your work sir 💙💙💙 deep respect for your work and passionate narration from Croatia Europe 😇😇😇

[@aaronmillam9838]

You're in depth search through Tolkiens notes is always incredible and helps me learn so much 🎉 If I had could make a small suggestion: maybe cut some of Luthiens poem as most of the latter half doesn't cover giants? I loved your reading of it, though. Got the cadence just right 🤌

[@kylelavelle8082]

Interesting!! Thanks again Nerds of the Rings for the Incredible productions. 💥💥💪😎⚔️💥💥

[@captivatednightshade1432]

Great video, Matt! ❤

[@maxpower6658]

This is the examplecof a brilliant mind. A great wrighter of story or song does not give everthing away.

[@davepowder4020]

And now I know where the names in Western Gondor in LOTRO come from. I didn't expect that! Tarlang indeed! 😃

[@Beryllahawk]

I love the sly little puns in there. Tall Tales indeed!

[@ManthonyHiggs]

throwing a big rock around and smashing trees has got to be pretty fun

[@LongThom422]

Yesssss! This is what we've been waiting for!!

[@andrewthielmann5342]

One of my favorite aspects of War in the North (which is a criminally underrated game, despite it's flaws) was that one of the boss battles is a Stone Giant.

[@lilgrublet]

Thank you for this video. One of my favorite of the more obscure parts of the Professor's Legendarium.

[@Bill-uf1sj]

In this video,the author discusses how when 2 Thunderstorms meet. 1 summer when my kids were alot younger,we went on vacation in Maine.We knew some people that rented a cottage.Being on a lake it was great,1 night there were 2t-storms at the other end of the lake,what a display!We weren’t getting any rain but the lightning and thunder from the storms echoed to our end of the lake.I had never seen anything like that before,I sat on the short dock,maybe 15 feet long in a chair and watched in fascination as the lightning battled and thunder boomed!

[@Arturoperezp]

maybe they really liked longbottom leaf and meant to call them stoned giants

[@jonahblood-et8wv]

Just want to comment so I'm reminded of this later. I love your videos and you're a great storyteller.

[@madjimjaspers7603]

“You have my sword”🗡️

[@TheLordOfFireAndBlood]

”And you have my bow”🏹

[@madjimjaspers7603]

@@TheLordOfFireAndBlood yessssss it’s happening, yussssss.

[@henkman00]

Megatron: “This Middle-Earth will make a fine addition to the Decepticon empire” Optimus Prime: “This land shall not fall before your dark designs, Megatron!” Bilbo: “By my cozy garden! These giants are more than meets…” Gandalf: “Don't even say it…"

[@Ben-eo4fu]

YESSS FINALLY IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR FOREVER

[@ASu-yw3tf]

I’m a big fan of “The Lord of the Rings” books and I LOVE your videos. I’ve learned a lot from them.

[@vogel1776]

I am glad they added the stone giants to the Hobbit film trilogy. Good stuff.

[@t.kersten7695]

but a bit pointless because it didn´t lead to anything. but at least it had some great visuals.

[@bighand1530]

Same.

[@michaelcandello8678]

Ya know NotR, I have appreciated your content so much over the last year since I discovered your channel. Your research, thoughtful explanations, and presentation of possibilities is very entertaining and thought provoking. You recent award is well deserved! As a matter of fact, your channel is one of only two that I watch the ads all the way through IOT help your channel out. Keep up the good work!

[@MrRjhyt]

Such a fleeting and oblique reference in the book. Transformed into such a concrete and real scene in the film. Such a shame...

[@SeanCSHConsulting]

Exactly.

[@mattpburgess]

I love the idea that a fantasy world might have it's own fanciful myths and legends; that maybe giants don't exist, but they are referred to as if they do (in a similar way to which people refer to Big Foot and the Loch Ness Monster).

[@user-uh8ph6yy5j]

Keep up the good work I looove lotr lore videos

[@MaxFleye]

I love the Hobbit movies. I have the extended blu-ray 3D versions. I watch them a couple times a year, and the stone giant part is so much fun! 😎😎

[@annaroselarsen4218]

Yes I love this!

[@theshadowstrike6]

Awesome!

[@bighand1530]

Yes!

[@zacharycampbell5626]

In my headcanon the relation between trolls and giants always seemed very similar to that of the huorns and ents - the idea of them balancing out always appealed to me

[@stormstrider1990]

In the game Battle for Middle Earth 2, the mountain giants are giant siege monsters of the Goblin faction, similar to the Mumakil of the Mordor faction, matching Tolkien's initial idea of the giants as servants of Morgoth. To me personally, the way the Hobbit describes the giants as a force of nature, and the stories of men and hobbits you described, gives me the impression they were ancient creatures of Arda's past. They might have been numerous once, but dwindled overtime, until only a small number remained in the mountains of Middle Earth. They're nether good not evil. They answer to no Dark Lord, nor do they answer the call of aid of anyone else.

[@Firenutz]

“I want to hear more about Debbie, dad. Why didn't they put in more of her talk, dad? That's what I like, it makes me laugh. And Nerd wouldn't have got far without Debbie, would he, dad?"'

[@robertsimpson7424]

Always loved giant lore, even better from Tolkien.

[@bighand1530]

Genesis 6 talks about giants too.

[@devinreese1397]

There were no giants included in the Silmarillion except for the Ents which means Giant in old english. They were written in the Hobbit.

[@MrEmiosk]

Tolkien did intend to rewrite the hobbit to match the tone of lotr. With the silmarillion focusing nearly all on the elves themselves, not the world of men. The silmarillion and all works after are c.r.j.tolkiens work (the silmarillion finished by him) many things can be said but C.R.J is not his father and all the work he's done should not be taken as true as Tolkien imagined it.

[@jasonsinn9237]

Hey Matt, have you considered doing a video about the Drúedain? I'm reading Unfinished Tales for the first time and was really surprised to discover how interesting they were despite having very little officially written about them. I would also be interested in hearing some of your theories about them.

[@Kappa....]

Good vid ;D

[@EinsteinInTraining938]

Has frodo ever worn wigs

[@MerkhVision]

What kind of question is that lmao

[@smelisi]

Another terrific video -- but I'm curious, where does the story of Tarlang appear???

[@jack1235ify]

I can only imagine if Sauron had charmed a few giants to his side during the ear of the ring..and how the story may have changed

[@The_Tradie_Trainer]

I wonder if that’s where JK Rowling got the idea from? Lol

[@gandalf4751]

Stone giants truly exist in Middle Earth because it is clearly written in the hobbit book

[@Enerdhil]

True, but the reason they exist in The Hobbit is because Tolkien needed something exciting and cool to tell his kids for their bedtime story.

[@TarMody]

I believe the stone giants of the Misty Mountains may be related to Melkor. As is known from lore, these mountains are a geographical feature raised by Melkor in order to stop the advance of Vala Oromë. A reflection of Melkor's will spread over Arda. Beings incarnated from this will can be described as giants. This theory also explains their malevolent characteristic. Although they do not have a physical existence, this will may also be the cause of the hallucination in Bilbo's mind.

[@mikegardner107]

Thank you for this study of some of the more obscure characters. Can you, or have you, done a study on yet another of Tolkien’s characters, indeed a race, that Peter Jackson left out - Ghan Buri Ghan and the Pukel men who guided the Rohirrim along the old and hidden road to safely arrive at the Pellenor fields in time for the battle. And apparently destroyed the Orc host sent to waylay and destroy the Rohirrim, for nothing was ever heard of those orcs again. I think in honor of their fealty in preserving the Rohirrim King Elessar ceded the territory along the mountains to the Pukel mean and forbade men to ever travel there.

[@NerdoftheRings]

Great question! I'm actually planning to do one on them soon. Working on commissioning some artwork as there isn't a whole lot existing for them. Coming soon!!

[@gandalf4751]

😍✅

[@mikegardner107]

And the Stone Guardians at the entrance to the Paths of the Dead who verbally warned Aragorn and the host of the Dunedin who rode with him and Legolas and Gimli that THE WAY IS CLOSED! Also, in LOTR when Sam enters the tower of Barad Dur(?) to rescue Frodo from the Orcs a pair of stone lions at the door have an invisible barrier between them that throws him back. He then uses Galadriel’s Light of Elbereth (?) to open the barrier - and a loud gong sounds. I’m not sure if there was any other action directly from the stone lions when Sam “Rang the front doorbell.” or not.

[@barukkazhad8998]

In England we have at least one story involving a giant dropping his shovel of earth making a hill

[@pamelah6431]

Reminds me of CS Lewis' giants tossing rocks in The Silver Chair (Narnia).

[@kristenrosales2919]

Bless my soul! The legends are true!

[@istari0]

The problem is that it is hard to reconcile Gandalf's statement to Beorn with Bilbo's account or the other mention of giants around Gondor, which really do sound like tall tales or myths and legends set within Middle-Earth itself. I'm inclined to say giants did exist but beyond that we really don't know anything about them.

[@Enerdhil]

Maybe giants were the inspiration for the Argonath.🤔

[@Fanelan053]

Pretty cool

[@bighand1530]

Agreed

[@starscreamjan6155]

You shoukd do lotr readings i love Listening to you

[@shanexhall]

Finally!!!

[@Darkgeran7]

Can you do a video on the variags please I’ve been curious about that race of men for some time

[@null-4699]

Interesting comments about Minas Tirith being carved by giants. It's worth remembering that many of the anglo saxons, who existed among the ruins of a far more advanced civilisation, the Romans, (exactly how later men existed among numenorean ruins) thought Roman ruins were the work of a race of giants. Enta Geweorc was the term for this (Ent or Ettin being an old english word for giant). Being a scholar of ancient languages and a lover of old english legends, maybe this inspired Tolkien?

[@whiteknight257]

Pretty sure the prow of Gondor, Is sold rock. And the city is built around it.

[@paulsarnik8506]

Um, it was a figment of Bilbo's imagination why did Thorin speak about "being kicked skyhigh for a football?" 😮🤓😎✌🏻

[@shokmusic_AC]

Good point! I did remember a dwarf mentioning this but forgot which one said it.

[@Enerdhil]

That is the movie. Nothing like that is in the book.

[@shokmusic_AC]

@@Enerdhil Chapter 4: Over Hill and Under Hill: "This won't do at all!" said Thorin. "If we don't get blown off or drowned, or struck by lightning, we shall be picked up by some giant and kicked sky-high for a football." "Well, if you know of anywhere better, take us there!" said Gandalf, who was feeling very grumpy, and was far from happy about the giants himself.

[@Enerdhil]

@@shokmusic_AC Oh. That was stupid of Tolkien.🧐 Football? Worse than golf.

[@shokmusic_AC]

@@Enerdhil True 🙂

[@shaggycan]

I did think the choice to just make them gargantuan earth elementals in the films was interesting.

[@Enerdhil]

Too much money wasted on CGI.😞

[@smthsmth]

Elves, Dwarves, Orcs... but noo, no stone giants!

[@TheLordOfFireAndBlood]

I would’ve liked if tolkien had written about the stone giants when the fellowship were passing the path of caradras and maybe he could write something like this: They walked long, through the dark tunnels and halls of moria, and ever over them rained rocks and mists of dust upon them,”it is of giants work,stone giants battleing amongst eachother”-Gandalf told them.

[@el_chico1313]

can u please upload a list of ost u use? especially the one for the war of wrath

[@superhaven3647]

I wonder if you’re gonna eventually talk about other mentioned things like mermaids, sprites, sylphs, fays, etc.

[@TreborPaulson]

5:55 “not builded but carven” Is that directly from the page?

[@okbkcq]

7:45-55 Who is the artist and name of the piece? Please?

[@michaeljebbett160]

I think a fascinating video topic would be how Tolkien influenced Dungeons and Dragons Some of its concepts are ripped straight outta LotR, and the Estate even sued the creators at one point

[@rcrawford42]

"The phone is circular metal banding!"

[@witext]

In old Norse mythology, the mountains came from giants dying & turning to stone, as people thought mountains looked like people lying down Because of this, in Norway, there’s a particularly mountainous region called “jøtunheim” or giantshome which is also the name of one of the places in midgård

[@bighand1530]

I prefer Middle Earth over Norse Mythology.

[@xix94]

do a video on Beorn

[@erikbender1967]

Til next Saturday!

[@bighand1530]

Currently May 1st 2024.

[@cofpaddy]

I think they're likely like Ents, rarely seen by men or even Elves anymore, few in number, clever and don't often engage in the wider affairs of Middle Earth.

[@wweminehead5458]

The Dawn shall take you

[@alexsmith7313]

Makes sense that a species obsessed with stone like the Dwarves living in mountain ranges would choose the far more difficult path of digging out and living under the mountains; they’re getting boulders thrown on them outside their holds.

[@kylepessell1350]

The idea of giants was probably lifted right out of Norse mythology like with elves and dwarves. Calling them 'full of cunning and wizardry' certainly brings to mind the greatest rivals of the Aesir.

[@GloriousRAT]

This is another aspect of our writing where we differ. I leave no doubt about races mentioned in my narratives. Yes I have Giants... Stone Giants (so named for the appearance of their skin, rough and gray) and Mountain Giants (named simply for their homeland, since they appear quite Human). The Mountain Giants are seen by the Company in book five.

[@nerdwatch1017]

Man could you plan for an awesome video idea I thought of for you. Say you become the Kevin Faigi type person over at Warner Brothers and you were given full rights to control the building of what I like to call the TCU Tolkien Cinematic Universe which already has the 2 trilogies and the rings of power series. What stories from all of Arda would you make in movie form or series. I’m asking because you are literally the Nerd of the Rings Bro!!

[@t.kersten7695]

who knows what other great stories Tolkien might have had created if he wanted so. he could´ve filled his world with even more lifes and wonders. and giants can be from different groups or even races with different abilities - some more stupid than others.

[@Enerdhil]

Lifespan was the only thing that was able to stop Tolkien from writing.

[@MalakaiSayer]

Please do a video about what if Gandalf instead of Saruman turned evil

[@Shirebaggins.]

I see the giants in the hobbit as an allegory for the thunder storm where the dwarves were, since they are nowhere else mentioned.

[@samsmith2635]

Then why does Gandalf speak about it literally?

[@Shirebaggins.]

​@@samsmith2635he was trying to impress beorn, so just like bilbo when he returned to the county, he exaggerated the story of the storm to seem more epic, Gandalf himself told bilbo, that he would have one or two stories when he returned to the county and he could choose embellish the stories, or in this case, polish them to make them better

[@gandalf4751]

Stone giants truly exist in Middle Earth because it is clearly written in the hobbit book

[@Shirebaggins.]

​@@gandalf4751which is precisely a book made for children and has a lot of things in it and for them and is not found in Tolkien's other books, so it should not be taken into account

[@gandalf4751]

@@Shirebaggins. Gandalf and Thorin speak very clearly about the stone giants in Beorn

[@flashkraft]

I like to think Giants were part of the original creation of Arda. Like Ents and Giant Eagles. But most were corrupted into a decrepit form by Morgoth which is where Trolls come from. Much like Orcs were originally elves but corrupted into a monstrous form and then later cross bred with men.

[@robgeraghty6205]

I don't think it's surprising that Tolkein would describe a thunderstorm as a battle when he was a scholar of Scandinavian history and mythology. His illustration of the mountain path showed lightning, but not giants. I think I imagined the stone giants as truly made of stone, like the trolls, only bigger. The description from Gondor sounds like a creation myth similar to many from the Australian Aborigines where characters from stories became parts of the landscape.

[@PerHummer]

How about a video on dunlendings?

[@Enerdhil]

😴

[@samuelbattershell3413]

I would say that Bilbo, as the in-universe author of The Hobbit, is not the most reliable of narrators, as proven in The Lord of The Rings, pre-released of the second edition of The Hobbit.

[@psilimit]

If we tell someone "It was raining cats and dogs!" they understand what we ment.