The Entmoot

The Entmoot was the great council of the Ents, the tree-herds of Fangorn Forest, convened by Treebeard in the deep, bowl-shaped dingle of Derndingle. It was a gathering that had not occurred for many ages, and it marked a decisive turning point in the War of the Ring: the awakening of the oldest living things in Middle-earth to open war against the treachery of Saruman.

The Gathering at Derndingle

Treebeard summoned the Ents to meet at Derndingle, a wide, grass-clad bowl crowned at its rim by a high, dark evergreen hedge, with three tall silver-birches standing at its bottom. The Ents arrived from all directions, descending the three paths that led into the dingle. Merry and Pippin, who had been carried by Treebeard, were set down and allowed to stroll about while the Ents assembled. The hobbits were struck by the variety among the Ents: they were as different from one another as trees from trees—some recalled beech or oak, others chestnut, ash, fir, birch, rowan, or linden. All, however, shared the same slow, steady, thoughtful expression and the same green flicker in their eyes. About two dozen Ents stood on the grassy floor when the company first gathered, and as many more marched in.

The Slow Speech of the Ents

Once the whole company was assembled in a wide circle around Treebeard, a curious and unintelligible conversation began. The Ents murmured slowly, first one joining and then another, until they were all chanting together in a long, rising and falling rhythm. The language was Entish, a tongue so unhasty that Pippin, listening, wondered whether they had yet got further than "Good Morning" and how many days it would take to sing all their names. The hobbits found the sound pleasant at first, but their attention soon wavered. Treebeard, aware of their weariness, told them that the Ents had agreed that Merry and Pippin were not Orcs and that a new line should be put in the old lists of living creatures—quick work for an Entmoot. He then introduced them to Bregalad (Quickbeam), the nearest thing among the Ents to a hasty one, who took them to his ent-house nearby.

The Decision to March

The Entmoot lasted for three days. On the first two days, the voices of the Ents rose and fell, sometimes loud and strong, sometimes low and sad, sometimes quickening, sometimes slow and solemn as a dirge. The hobbits, staying with Quickbeam, heard the distant voices of the Moot. On the third day, the wind fell and the air grew heavy with expectancy. At sunrise, the Ents' voices rose to a great clamour and then died down. In the afternoon, a sudden silence fell over the whole forest. Then, with a crash, a great ringing shout came: ra-hoom-rah! The trees quivered and bent as if a gust had struck them. A marching music began, like solemn drums, and above the rolling beats and booms, voices sang high and strong: "We come, we come with roll of drum: ta-runda runda runda rom!" The Ents were coming, swinging along with great strides, some fifty followers behind Treebeard, two abreast, keeping step with their feet and beating time with their hands upon their flanks.

The March to War

Treebeard, with Merry and Pippin on his shoulders, led the singing company. The hobbits were amazed at the change that had come over the Ents; it seemed as sudden as the bursting of a flood long held back by a dike. Treebeard explained that the Ents did not like being roused, and were never roused unless it was clear that their trees and their lives were in great danger. The wanton hewing of trees by Orcs, without even the bad excuse of feeding fires, and the treachery of Saruman, who should have helped them, had finally angered them beyond endurance. As they marched, they sang: "To Isengard! Though Isengard be ringed and barred with doors of stone... We go, we go, we go to war, to hew the stone and break the door!" The Ents strode on at a great pace, descending into a long fold of the land and then climbing up onto the high western ridge. As they marched, Pippin looked behind and thought he saw groves of trees moving—the forest of Fangorn itself seemed to be rising, marching over the hills to war. At nightfall, they stood upon the summit and looked down into the dark pit of Nan Curunír, the Valley of Saruman. "Night lies over Isengard," said Treebeard.