Tolkien - Other Creatures

Disclaimer: All of the following are either direct quotes or paraphrasing of excerpts
from A Guide to Middle Earth by Robert Foster.

Hash-marked^# names are characters present/mentioned in the Hobbit movies.
*Asterisked names are characters present/mentioned in the LotR movies.

Other Creatures

In addition to the Free Peoples (Men, Elves, Dwarves, and Hobbits) Middle-earth is also populated by many other races and species of beings. Below are some of those groups and/or a representative of a group that inhabits Middle-earth.

*Arod & Hasufel:

Horses of Rohan, lent to Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn by Éomer. Arod bore Legolas and Gimli through Rohan and the Paths of the Dead, and probably also bore Legolas in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Hasufel, a large grey horse, bore Aragorn through Rohan, although Aragorn rode a different horse on the Paths of the Dead.

*Asfaloth:

Swift white horse ridden by Glorfindel, the Elf lord who met Frodo and his Companions on their way to Rivendell. Asfaloth bore Frodo to Rivendell while Glorfindel and the others attacked the Nazgûl at the Ford of Bruinen.

*Bill:

Pony bought by Frodo in Bree from Bill Ferny, after whom he was named. Bill was half-starved when bought, but under Sam's care became healthy and happy. He bore Frodo part of the way to Rivendell after Frodo was injured at Amon Hen, and he was later used as a pack animal by the Company. When the Company entered the mines of Moria, Sam set Bill free and he eventually made his way back to Bree, where Sam reclaimed him after the War of the Ring.

*Shadowfax:

A meara - one of the descendants of Felaróf (Eorl's mount) - and the greatest horse of Rohan, being strong, swift, intelligent, and long-lived. Shadowfax was given to Gandalf by King Théoden and bore him faithfully without saddle or bridle throughout the War of the Ring. He could outrun the steeds of the Nazgûl and could run for twelve hours at a time. He was named for his silver-grey coat.

*Gwaihir^#:

Chief of the Eagles of the Misty Mountains, Gwaihir befriended Gandalf when the wizard healed him of a poisoned wound. In 2941, he and his Eagles rescued Gandalf and Thorin and company from Orcs, and later they were involved in the Battle of the Five Armies. During the War of the Ring, Gwaihir helped several times. Radagast sent him to Orthanc as a messenger at Gandalf's request, and Gwaihir, finding Gandalf a prisoner there, flew him away to Rohan. Later, Gwaihir rescued Gandalf from the peaks of Zirak-zigil after his fight with the Balrog and bore him to Lórien. Gwaihir's last act during the War was to rescue Frodo and Sam from the slopes of Orodruin after the destruction of the Ring.

Tom Bombadil:

A being; Lord and Master of the Old Forest and possibly a Vala, Tom called himself 'Eldest' and claimed to have been alive since early in the First Age. He looked like a man - short and red-faced - and was good-hearted but unconcerned with problems of the outside world. Tom had absolute power within the Old Forest and rarely went outside its boundaries except for occasional visits to the Barrow-downs and the Shire. Even the Ring did not have any power over him within the Forest. Tom loved to sing, including a NONSENSE SONG about himself. "Tom Bombadil" was the name given to him by the Hobbits of Buckland. The Elves called him 'Iarwain Ben-adar' and 'the First', while to the Dwarves he was known as 'Forn'.

*Ents:

Tree-herders and possibly the oldest speaking race in Middle-earth. In the First Age, the male and female Ents became estranged and the Entwives crossed the Anduin to tend their gardens while the male Ents tended their trees and forests. Before the end of the Second Age, the Entwives' gardens were destroyed and they had vanished. Ents in the Third Age remained in Fangorn Forest. Saruman began harassing them and cutting down their trees in Third Age 2950, and after the appearance of Merry and Pippin (who escaped into the forest after their capture by Saruman's Orcs), the Ents attacked and destroyed Isengard. Ents are described as about 14 feet tall and a cross between a tree and a Man. They did not die naturally and were difficult to wound, although they could be burned. Ents were slow to think and slower to act, but possessed great strength. They spoke their own language, 'Entish', but knew many others as well. The name 'Ent' was given to them by the Rohirrim, and means "giant" in Old English. The Elves called them the 'Onodrim' (sing. 'Onod') or 'Enyd', both Sindarin words. ENT SONGS are on the 'Poems' page.

*Fangorn (Treebeard):

The Ent who was guardian of Fangorn Forest, and at the time of the War of the Ring, the oldest surviving Ent and therefore the oldest living being in Middle-earth. It was Fangorn who found Merry and Pippin after they escaped from Saruman's Orcs and who led the Ents against Saruman at Isengard. He was bearded and may have resembled an evergreen tree. In Westron, his name is translated into 'Treebeard'.

*Dead Men of Dunharrow:

Men of the White Mountains who swore allegiance to Isildur at the founding of Gondor. Corrupted by Sauron, they broke their oath and did not fight in the Battle of Dagorlad with the Last Alliance. As a result, they were condemned to haunt the Paths of the Dead as spirits until an heir of Isildur called them forth to fulfil their oath. During the War of the Ring, they were called upon by Aragorn and repaid their debt by routing the Corsairs of Umbar, after which they disappeared.