Treebeard's Magic?

[Sagan369]

"Treebeard lifted two great vessels and stood them on the table. They seemed to be filled with water; but he held his hands over them, and immediately they began to glow, one with a golden and the other with a rich green light..."

And later when he got upset talking about Saruman:

"Treebeard raised himself from his bed with a jerk, stood up, and thumped his hand on the table. The vessels trembled and sent up two jets of flame..."

Also:

"He strode to the archway and stood for some time under the falling rain of the spring. Then he laughed and shook himself, and wherever the drops of water fell glittering from him to the ground they glinted like red and green sparks..."

I'm curious if anyone knows what is going on here?

 

[Thorondor_]

Well, our options range between two extremes: let loose the cannons of symbolism, or accept Tolkien's statement in the letters that Tom is an intended enigma.

 

[Starbrow]

Well, yes Tom is an enigma, but what about the ents. It seems that the ents have their own kind of magic. It seems similiar to elvish magic in that it's not usually dramatic. It's tied into the nature of the object.

 

[Aglarband]

I think two of your examples fit, but I think the one with the glittering water falling off his branches is just water sparkling in the sun. Treebeard is clearly a special ent, and being one of the first awoken, it is possible the elves taught him a few things after awaking him.

 

[Barliman Butterbur]

'm curious if anyone knows what is going on here?

It's Mirkwood Bromo Seltzer.

Barley

 

[Sagan369]

Thats another thing, who woke up the Ents? The Elves or Yavanna and Manwe back when she learned about the Dwarves?

 

[YayGollum]

Why would you write Yavannah and Manwe? Did Manwe have anything to do with Ents? oh well. It looks as if those nasssty elveses woke the Ents up. Specifically, the Nandor, my favorite type of elf. Even though that seems to be the case, it doesn't make much sense to myself. Yavannah wished to make the Ents because she was jealous that Aule got to make a race all by himself, as well as, she knew that the Dwarves would be large fans of killing the sorts of things that she mostly enjoyed. Why she didn't worry about that while thinking about elves or humans, I wouldn't know. oh well. Why would she make a race of trees that couldn't walk or talk until they met some elves with the crazy idea to wake them up? Well, mayhaps they were scheduled to wake up at some later date, but the elves didn't know that.

 

[Barliman Butterbur]

Thats another thing, who woke up the Ents? The Elves or Yavanna and Manwe back when she learned about the Dwarves?

It wasn't a case of being literally woken up as in the sense of pounding on the door. The "awakening" took place as the elves taught the trees to speak.

Barley

 

[Ithrynluin]

It wasn't a case of being literally woken up as in the sense of pounding on the door. The "awakening" took place as the elves taught the trees to speak.

Barley

I actually think that it was Yavanna who caused some trees to wake, literally, and the elves, being ever considerate of the world around them, later taught them to speak. But I don't think there's any proof either way, so it's all up to interpretation. And that's the beauty of it!

As for the quotes describing Treebeard, the simplest thing to do is to chalk it up to being Treebeard's "magic", much like the mirror (and other devices of the elves) is Galadriel's magic. It's just something that ordinary mortal men couldn't do and understand, so they ascribed it to being magic, even when it might have been an innate ability of that person or race.

 

[Eledhwen]

YayGollum said it.

Yavanna was disturbed that Aule's D.I.Y. project, the Dwarves, were let loose on the world. They were axemen and smiths, and would look to the trees for fuel. Yavanna protested, and so guardians of the forest were given to protect against any excess of enthusiasm from the dwarves.

It seems to me that the magic of the Ents (who were almost certainly the guardians) has the hallmark of the magic of Yavanna herself. We are not told what Treebeard's vessels are made from, but I suspect fallen wood, perhaps shaped by his forest magic. Light coming from wood/trees was, after all, a speciality of Yavanna.

 

[Barliman Butterbur]

"Treebeard lifted two great vessels and stood them on the table. They seemed to be filled with water; but he held his hands over them, and immediately they began to glow, one with a golden and the other with a rich green light..."

And later when he got upset talking about Saruman:

"Treebeard raised himself from his bed with a jerk, stood up, and thumped his hand on the table. The vessels trembled and sent up two jets of flame..."

Also:

"He strode to the archway and stood for some time under the falling rain of the spring. Then he laughed and shook himself, and wherever the drops of water fell glittering from him to the ground they glinted like red and green sparks..."

I'm curious if anyone knows what is going on here?

1st quote: he was warming up his food.
2nd: He was excited, and his food, being of a magical nature, got excited as well — it may have been carbonated, certainly volatile!
3rd: He was taking a shower under an enchanted waterfall.

Of course this is only speculation...

Barley

 

[Durin's Bane]

The elves taught trees how to speak? Or ents taught elves how to speak to trees?