He Shall Be Like a Tree Planted By the Rivers of Water - Page 2
© Michael Martinez
One can easily infer that the Ents got around Beleriand during the First Age, but one must also ask how or when. Doriath was supposedly impassable, although the Sindar could pass freely in and out. Perhaps Melian, knowing who and what the Ents were, allowed them to pass through her girdle freely. But the old Ent's song may not really depict a pattern or route that he followed through all the centuries. It certainly seems doubtful that any Ents would have wandered up into Dorthonion after the Dagor Bragollach, when Sauron led an army from Angband into the region.
In all likelihood, the Ents must have retreated to Ossiriand. There, allied with the Green-Elves and perhaps some of the Feanorians, they would have helped to keep the region free of Morgoth's power. The Ents were thus available to help destroy the army of Nogrod as it returned from Doriath, although the story of Doriath's destruction was never fully developed for [I]The Silmarillion[/I]. Why should the Ents help to destroy a Dwarven army? Tolkien gives no reason, though it may be supposed that in the sack of Doriath many trees would have been destroyed, awakening the anger of the Ents.
Ossiriand would have become crowded early in the Second Age, however. Not only did the Green-elves live there, but also many Sindar and Noldor, and for a while even some of the Edain dwelt in the region. The Ents must have retreated east over the mountains to Eriador just to find some peace of mind. Of course, they would have have a few Sindar had preceded them, but there were already many Nandorin Elves and Men, too.
Fangorn speaks of a time when a huge forest extended from the Misty Mountains to the Mountains of the Lune (the Ered Luin): "Those were the broad days! Time was when I could walk and sing all day and hear no more than the echo of my own voice in the hollow hills. The woods were like the woods of Lothlorien. only thicker stronger, younger. And the smell of the air! I used to spend a week just breathing."
The Ents seem to have liked their privacy, their quiet time in the woods. So they naturally avoided the clutter of civilization. Even the Elves were great builder of cities, and Cirdan's mariners were tree-hewers who needed wood for their ships. Most likely the Ents weren't too happy with the Falathrim or any Elves who made extensive use of wood.
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