Shape Shifters refer to the
creatures within
Middle Earth that change their physical form at will. According to some folklore, they may shift into an animal or another guise through divine intervention or inherently superhuman ability.
The Lord of the Rings and
The Silmarillion illustrate some of these supernatural abilities that are often dismissed due to the lack of comprehensive explanation.
Who Are The Popular Shape Shifters?
Sauron
The Lord of
the Ring series does not include the character of
Sauron, but The Silmarillion portrays him as the Lord of Werewolves that can transform into a form of a werewolf or serpent. He shifts into the appearance of a werewolf when he fights with
Huan.
As written in The Silmarillion:
“Therefore, he took upon himself the form of a werewolf and made himself the mightiest that had yet walked the world.”
“Then Sauron shifted shape from wolf to serpent, and from monster to his accustomed form, but he could not elude the grip of Huan without forsaking his body entirely.”
It does not restrict Sauron from shifting to only one form.
The Valar
The
Valar are not limited to only one form. They can shift from one shape to another. They can be invisible or may dress themselves to make appearances of male or female beings. But most frequently, they prefer to shift into forms like the children of Illuvatar.
As stated on The Silmarillion:
Ainulindale:
“Their shape comes of the knowledge of the visible world, rather than of the world itself; and they need it not, save only as we use raiment. Therefore, the Valar may walk, if they will, unclad, and then even the Eldar cannot perceive them, though they may be present. But when they desire to clothe themselves the Valar take upon them forms some as of male and some as female.”
Maiar
There are speculations that
Maiar, who is the less powerful version of The Valar, has the same ability to shift their form. No facts point out that Maiar is different creatures from The Valar.
On The Silmarillion:
“With the Valar came other
spirits whose being also began before the World, of the same order of the Valar but less degree.” Maiar and Sauron are delicate forms of The Valar. It explains why they have the power to transform their appearances.
Beorn
Beorn the shape-shifter. is a very mysterious character in
Gandalf’s, The
Hobbit. He lives solitary in his house near Carrock. Gandalf described him as a very great person who can change his skin at will. This skin-changing ability allows him to transform from being a man to a bear, and vice versa. In the novel The Hobbit, he plays as a great strong black-haired man during the day and a vast black bear at night. They provide insufficient facts about his origins, but the author recounts him in The Hobbit: Queer Lodgings as: “Some say he is a bear descended from the great and ancient bears of the
mountains that lived there before the
giants came. Others say that he is a man descended from the first
men who lived before
Smaug and the other
dragons came into this part of the world, and before the
goblins came into the
hills out of the North. I cannot say, though I fancy the last is the true tale. He is not the person to ask questions of.” Beorn lives with intelligent
animals such as
horses and
dogs. He also nurtures bees to grow bigger than hornets. These animals understand his language. The dogs can walk through their hind legs and lift
objects using their front paws. It is not clear if these animals can skin-change as well, but they are eccentric kinds of animals.
Gandalf The Grey
Gandalf changes his appearance as a human or
elf. He can also disguise himself as one elf or becomes invisible. They do not fully define his abilities, but there are some cues that his power carries some undefined limitations. In The Silmarillion,
Tolkien says, “For though he loved the
Elves, he walked among them unseen, or in a form as one of them.”
How Shape-Shifters Appear In Adaptations
In Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit, Beorn is one of the shape-shifters that occupies the
Misty Mountains before the
orcs conquer them.
Azog tortures and holds them captive for fun. Only Beorn escapes as a lone survivor.
What Is the Misconception About Shape Shifters?
These are the shape-shifters who live within the Middle Earth. Most of them have the power to transform their appearances into the form of animals or another creature. The misconception about shape-shifters is that werewolves in
Arda are not one of them because it limits them to their natural forms. Different in some non-Lord of the Rings legends where werewolves can change into men.
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