Giants & Stone-Giants of Middle Earth | Tolkien Explained

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  • čas přidán 26. 04. 2024
  • 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
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Komentáře • 294

  • @juanchoguerrero9143
    @juanchoguerrero9143 Před 13 dny +190

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

    • @Hi-fd4cw
      @Hi-fd4cw Před 13 dny +7

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

    • @clancyjames585
      @clancyjames585 Před 12 dny +2

      It's a special thunder operation...

  • @Holammer
    @Holammer Před 13 dny +135

    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
      @SvengelskaBlondie Před 13 dny +17

      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
      @TheLordOfFireAndBlood Před 13 dny +6

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

    • @k-la-k6828
      @k-la-k6828 Před 12 dny

      Grendel?

    • @mokarokas-1727
      @mokarokas-1727 Před 12 dny +5

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

    • @TheLordOfFireAndBlood
      @TheLordOfFireAndBlood Před 12 dny +1

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

  • @ArawnsFire
    @ArawnsFire Před 13 dny +52

    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.

  • @RobbyBurney
    @RobbyBurney Před 13 dny +88

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

    • @themole4369
      @themole4369 Před 13 dny +7

      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
      @AdDewaard-hu3xk Před 12 dny +1

      Cart before the horse.

    • @marcekessen8003
      @marcekessen8003 Před 7 dny

      I loved that game

  • @SvengelskaBlondie
    @SvengelskaBlondie Před 13 dny +26

    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
      @TheLordOfFireAndBlood Před 13 dny +3

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

    • @SvengelskaBlondie
      @SvengelskaBlondie Před 12 dny +1

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

    • @TheLordOfFireAndBlood
      @TheLordOfFireAndBlood Před 12 dny +1

      @@SvengelskaBlondie are they on catholic or orthodox churches

    • @SvengelskaBlondie
      @SvengelskaBlondie Před 12 dny

      @@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
      @SvengelskaBlondie Před 12 dny

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

  • @WooogaTooga
    @WooogaTooga Před 13 dny +50

    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
      @peterjay3257 Před 13 dny +16

      Enta is Anglo-Saxon for giant.

    • @WooogaTooga
      @WooogaTooga Před 12 dny +7

      @@peterjay3257 exactly

    • @FlorentPlacide
      @FlorentPlacide Před 12 dny +4

      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
      @TijmenHatesads Před 9 dny

      >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
      @WooogaTooga Před 9 dny +1

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

  • @newworldastrology1102
    @newworldastrology1102 Před 12 dny +9

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

  • @perskarva123
    @perskarva123 Před 13 dny +14

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

    • @LozPlaya
      @LozPlaya Před 10 dny

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

  • @justindurfee9375
    @justindurfee9375 Před 13 dny +16

    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
      @valentinkambushev4968 Před 13 dny +4

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

    • @justindurfee9375
      @justindurfee9375 Před 13 dny +2

      @@valentinkambushev4968 Very true.

    • @rcrawford42
      @rcrawford42 Před 11 dny +2

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

  • @gabrielshoebrigde6399
    @gabrielshoebrigde6399 Před 13 dny +12

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

  • @michaelwilliams949
    @michaelwilliams949 Před 12 dny +4

    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.

  • @DrForrester87
    @DrForrester87 Před 13 dny +23

    Aw yeah, more Nerd of the Rings!

  • @CartoonHero1986
    @CartoonHero1986 Před 13 dny +63

    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
      @daarom3472 Před 13 dny +8

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

    • @Cyballistic
      @Cyballistic Před 13 dny +4

      Giants makes more sense

    • @FinrodFelagundTheFair
      @FinrodFelagundTheFair Před 13 dny +1

      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
      @JenMaxon Před 12 dny +1

      @@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
      @FinrodFelagundTheFair Před 12 dny +4

      @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
    @3mmdm32 Před 12 dny +17

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

  • @jsimeoneafc2370
    @jsimeoneafc2370 Před 13 dny +23

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

    • @ScooterDoge
      @ScooterDoge Před 13 dny +1

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

    • @gondorianslayer4250
      @gondorianslayer4250 Před 12 dny +1

      It's not that simple, he gets corrupted.

  • @FinrodFelagundTheFair
    @FinrodFelagundTheFair Před 13 dny +6

    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
    @OnlyGhostMusic Před 11 dny +1

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

  • @soniaromero11
    @soniaromero11 Před 13 dny +22

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

  • @DagorBragollach
    @DagorBragollach Před 13 dny +6

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

  • @VGGPTA
    @VGGPTA Před 13 dny +3

    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

  • @captivatednightshade1432
    @captivatednightshade1432 Před 13 dny +3

    Great video, Matt! ❤

  • @LongThom422
    @LongThom422 Před 12 dny +1

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

  • @unclerojelio6320
    @unclerojelio6320 Před 12 dny +3

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

  • @kylelavelle8082
    @kylelavelle8082 Před 13 dny +3

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

  • @bdonaghu
    @bdonaghu Před 13 dny +7

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

  • @colinbaldwin313
    @colinbaldwin313 Před 13 dny +14

    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
      @danielloewen2857 Před 12 dny +4

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

    • @colinbaldwin313
      @colinbaldwin313 Před 12 dny

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

    • @The_Tradie_Trainer
      @The_Tradie_Trainer Před 12 dny +4

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

    • @colinbaldwin313
      @colinbaldwin313 Před 12 dny +1

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

    • @The_Tradie_Trainer
      @The_Tradie_Trainer Před 12 dny +3

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

  • @andrewthielmann5342
    @andrewthielmann5342 Před 11 dny

    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.

  • @Ben-eo4fu
    @Ben-eo4fu Před 12 dny

    YESSS FINALLY IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR FOREVER

  • @EinsteinInTraining938
    @EinsteinInTraining938 Před 13 dny +5

    Has frodo ever worn wigs

    • @MerkhVision
      @MerkhVision Před 5 dny

      What kind of question is that lmao

  • @vogel1776
    @vogel1776 Před 13 dny +8

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

    • @t.kersten7695
      @t.kersten7695 Před 13 dny +2

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

    • @bighand1530
      @bighand1530 Před 9 dny

      Same.

  • @lilgrublet
    @lilgrublet Před 11 dny

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

  • @Beryllahawk
    @Beryllahawk Před 12 dny +1

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

  • @TheHoneyBadger-yh5vj
    @TheHoneyBadger-yh5vj Před 13 dny +12

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

  • @user-uh8ph6yy5j
    @user-uh8ph6yy5j Před 12 dny

    Keep up the good work I looove lotr lore videos

  • @annaroselarsen4218
    @annaroselarsen4218 Před 12 dny +6

    Yes I love this!

  • @davepowder4020
    @davepowder4020 Před 12 dny +1

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

  • @MrRjhyt
    @MrRjhyt Před 12 dny +2

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

  • @jonahblood-et8wv
    @jonahblood-et8wv Před 13 dny +3

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

  • @ManthonyHiggs
    @ManthonyHiggs Před 12 dny +1

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

  • @Bill-uf1sj
    @Bill-uf1sj Před 17 hodinami

    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!

  • @aaronmillam9838
    @aaronmillam9838 Před 6 dny

    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 🤌

  • @ASu-yw3tf
    @ASu-yw3tf Před 10 dny

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

  • @theshadowstrike6
    @theshadowstrike6 Před 13 dny +5

    Awesome!

  • @adpirtle
    @adpirtle Před 13 dny +6

    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.

  • @Kappa....
    @Kappa.... Před 12 dny

    Good vid ;D

  • @kristenrosales2919
    @kristenrosales2919 Před 13 dny +3

    Bless my soul! The legends are true!

  • @mattpburgess
    @mattpburgess Před 3 dny

    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).

  • @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

  • @jasonsinn9237
    @jasonsinn9237 Před 9 dny

    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.

  • @Arturoperezp
    @Arturoperezp Před 13 dny +4

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

  • @michaelcandello8678
    @michaelcandello8678 Před 12 dny +4

    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!

  • @Darkgeran7
    @Darkgeran7 Před 13 dny

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

  • @istari0
    @istari0 Před 12 dny +1

    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
      @Enerdhil Před 12 dny

      Maybe giants were the inspiration for the Argonath.🤔

  • @mikegardner107
    @mikegardner107 Před 13 dny +3

    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
      @NerdoftheRings  Před 13 dny +6

      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
      @gandalf4751 Před 13 dny +2

      😍✅

    • @mikegardner107
      @mikegardner107 Před 13 dny

      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.

  • @Shirebaggins.
    @Shirebaggins. Před 13 dny +7

    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
      @samsmith2635 Před 13 dny +5

      Then why does Gandalf speak about it literally?

    • @Shirebaggins.
      @Shirebaggins. Před 13 dny

      ​@@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
      @gandalf4751 Před 13 dny

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

    • @Shirebaggins.
      @Shirebaggins. Před 13 dny +1

      ​@@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
      @gandalf4751 Před 13 dny +1

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

  • @jack1235ify
    @jack1235ify Před 12 dny +1

    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

  • @devinreese1397
    @devinreese1397 Před 12 dny +2

    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
      @MrEmiosk Před 11 dny

      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.

  • @gandalf4751
    @gandalf4751 Před 13 dny +3

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

    • @Enerdhil
      @Enerdhil Před 12 dny

      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.

  • @Fanelan053
    @Fanelan053 Před 13 dny +2

    Pretty cool

  • @smelisi
    @smelisi Před 9 hodinami

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

  • @TarMody
    @TarMody Před 7 dny

    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.

  • @pamelah6431
    @pamelah6431 Před 12 dny

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

  • @xix94
    @xix94 Před 12 dny +1

    do a video on Beorn

  • @shanexhall
    @shanexhall Před 12 dny

    Finally!!!

  • @starscreamjan6155
    @starscreamjan6155 Před 9 dny

    You shoukd do lotr readings i love Listening to you

  • @witext
    @witext Před 9 dny

    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
      @bighand1530 Před 9 dny

      I prefer Middle Earth over Norse Mythology.

  • @valentinkambushev4968
    @valentinkambushev4968 Před 13 dny +236

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

    • @TheGeneralGrievous19
      @TheGeneralGrievous19 Před 13 dny +9

      Didn't You read The Hobbit?

    • @valentinkambushev4968
      @valentinkambushev4968 Před 13 dny +29

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

    • @madjimjaspers7603
      @madjimjaspers7603 Před 13 dny +9

      When you have lotta big rocks in your backyard. 🪨

    • @KororaPenguin
      @KororaPenguin Před 13 dny +8

      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
      @VGGPTA Před 13 dny +3

      He meant for the movies

  • @michaeljebbett160
    @michaeljebbett160 Před 12 dny +1

    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
      @rcrawford42 Před 11 dny

      "The phone is circular metal banding!"

  • @t.kersten7695
    @t.kersten7695 Před 13 dny +3

    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
      @Enerdhil Před 12 dny

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

  • @paulsarnik8506
    @paulsarnik8506 Před 13 dny +5

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

    • @shokmusic_AC
      @shokmusic_AC Před 13 dny

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

    • @Enerdhil
      @Enerdhil Před 12 dny +1

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

    • @shokmusic_AC
      @shokmusic_AC Před 12 dny +2

      @@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
      @Enerdhil Před 12 dny +1

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

    • @shokmusic_AC
      @shokmusic_AC Před 12 dny +1

      @@Enerdhil True 🙂

  • @shaggycan
    @shaggycan Před 13 dny +2

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

    • @Enerdhil
      @Enerdhil Před 12 dny

      Too much money wasted on CGI.😞

  • @erikbender1967
    @erikbender1967 Před 11 dny

    Til next Saturday!

  • @TheLordOfFireAndBlood
    @TheLordOfFireAndBlood Před 13 dny

    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.

  • @superhaven3647
    @superhaven3647 Před 12 dny

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

  • @null-4699
    @null-4699 Před 12 dny

    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?

  • @TreborPaulson
    @TreborPaulson Před 13 dny +1

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

  • @robertsimpson7424
    @robertsimpson7424 Před 11 dny

    Always loved giant lore, even better from Tolkien.

    • @bighand1530
      @bighand1530 Před 9 dny +1

      Genesis 6 talks about giants too.

  • @flashkraft
    @flashkraft Před 11 dny

    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.

  • @GloriousRAT
    @GloriousRAT Před 12 dny

    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.

  • @barukkazhad8998
    @barukkazhad8998 Před 5 dny

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

  • @PerHummer
    @PerHummer Před 13 dny +1

    How about a video on dunlendings?

  • @kylepessell1350
    @kylepessell1350 Před 12 dny

    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.

  • @whiteknight257
    @whiteknight257 Před 12 dny +1

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

  • @Firenutz
    @Firenutz Před 10 dny

    “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?"'

  • @cofpaddy
    @cofpaddy Před 10 dny

    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.

  • @MalakaiSayer
    @MalakaiSayer Před 8 dny

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

  • @wweminehead5458
    @wweminehead5458 Před 13 dny +4

    The Dawn shall take you

  • @CounciloftheRings
    @CounciloftheRings Před 13 dny +5

    Damn didn't expect to be the second comment! Right on time then!

    • @Enerdhil
      @Enerdhil Před 12 dny

      Get back to work on a video!! 😅

  • @nerdwatch1017
    @nerdwatch1017 Před 12 dny +1

    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!!

  • @alexsmith7313
    @alexsmith7313 Před 12 dny

    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.

  • @wallypagayanan4555
    @wallypagayanan4555 Před 12 dny

    Bless me lad the legends are true-Orin

  • @robgeraghty6205
    @robgeraghty6205 Před 12 dny

    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.

  • @toncek9981
    @toncek9981 Před 11 dny

    Concerning the Hobbit - the whole story is a recollection written by Bilbo, no matter who says what, it can all be just a story embellishment by Bilbo himself... IMHO if they do exist, then it's bit weird that Sauron recruited armies from all over the place, but not giants.

  • @samuelbattershell3413
    @samuelbattershell3413 Před 12 dny

    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.

  • @josephfisher426
    @josephfisher426 Před 10 dny

    If the stone giants are truly named after their recreational boulder tossing, that seems like an in-joke on the local folklore more than anything else (much like the first giants in The Silver Chair).

  • @Shaden0040
    @Shaden0040 Před 13 dny

    I think Giants were Maya that weren't there to serve anybody other than Alway originally and after all Ollie's works were done he released them and they decided to be continuous as they were as Giants and rearranged the mountains as they wanted whether or not Melcor got a hold of them and corrupted their purpose is possible but not for all of them some of them well he may have gone on to his side and they may have become the weir worms that Hulken writes about Or is the rest of the Giants stayed above the surface and rearranged the mountains and brought down avalanches and hillsides rock falls and all that kind of stuff. it's just just my idea.

    • @Enerdhil
      @Enerdhil Před 12 dny

      Interesting idea. BTW, be aware of Google's predictive text changing your Tolkienian words to other words. Maya -> Maiar. Always -> Aulë. Ollie -> Aulë. Melcor -> Melkor. Hulken -> Tolkien. weir worms -> Were-worms.

  • @Revankies
    @Revankies Před 12 dny

    What about the Mountain Giants in Battle for Middle-Earth 2?

  • @berendnap596
    @berendnap596 Před 10 dny

    You would just think that with a book thats so well written as the hobbit with all the details made very clear that it wouldnt be that hard to just copy and paste it i mean besides of what they looked like every detail of what should be shown is made clear they just chose to ignore or change so much stuff in the movies

  • @MC-810
    @MC-810 Před 12 dny

    Yes, Bilbo has been known to embellish stories, but he has never been deemed an unreliable narrator.
    I think therefore you have to take at face value what Gandalf said in his comment about finding a halfway decent giant to block off that porch and his discussion with Beorn.
    Giants are real but we don’t know a lot more about them.

    • @Enerdhil
      @Enerdhil Před 12 dny

      Yes. Bilbo embellishes, but never misquotes Gandalf, so we can be sure the Stone Giants existed.

  • @unkownhistory7660
    @unkownhistory7660 Před 13 dny +1

    Bro there were good haradrim in the battle of the pelanor field