Animals of Middle Earth

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SME110: Every creature in Arda is there for a reason.

Thomas Salerno hosts Jeff Haecker, Robert Story, and Rob Leonardi for a wide-ranging look at the animals of Middle-earth — from the mundane to the Maia-touched. The central question running through the episode: what separates a natural animal from a supernatural one, and does the line even hold?

Huan the Hound of Valinor gets his due first. One of Oromë’s hunting hounds, fated to speak only 3 times, who defeated both Sauron and Carcharoth in single combat. The panel argues he may be the greatest animal character in all of Tolkien.

The discussion expands from there. Werewolves, they conclude, are likely evil Maiar force-inhabiting wolf bodies — which raises the theory that wargs are Morgoth’s attempt to breed his own version of Huan after getting savaged by him. Man’s best friend, corrupted for the orc armies. Beorn is the episode’s great unanswered mystery: is he a bear who takes human form, or a man who becomes a bear? Tolkien deliberately leaves both options open.

Tolkien’s dislike of cats comes through clearly in the legendarium. Tevildo, Prince of Cats (an early form of Sauron), the cats of Queen Berúthiel as secret police, and Shelob treated as Sauron’s independent, disloyal cat — none of them flattering portraits. Lewis was a cat person. The panel enjoys the implication.

Ungoliant and Shelob raise their own questions: could Shelob eventually grow to her mother’s size given enough to eat? And would Sauron have allowed it, knowing what happened when Ungoliant turned on Morgoth?

Birds cover significant ground too. The Great Eagles as symbols of Manwë and possibly Ilúvatar, connected to Tolkien’s devotion to St. John the Evangelist. The ravens of Erebor versus the untrustworthy crows. The thrush whose language only Bard’s bloodline could understand. Swans at Alqualondë and in Tuor’s journey to Gondolin.

The fell beasts of the Nazgûl get their own debate: does “Nazgûl” name the rider or the flying creature? The answer is the rider — “Nazg” is “ring” in Black Speech. The Nazgûl’s horses, meanwhile, are real horses tortured into service, not ghost animals. Gandalf says so plainly. The Mouth of Sauron’s horse breathes fire in the books.

Shadowfax is silver-grey, not white — his name is Old English for “shadow coat.” The Mearas descend from Oromë’s horses in Valinor, and Shadowfax carries that blood without being a pure Meara. The films changed his color to match Gandalf the White’s new look.

The episode closes on the thinking fox from Fellowship: the narrator’s deliberate signal that the whimsy of The Hobbit still lives in odd corners of Middle-earth, even if it’s no longer the story’s focus.

The news segment covers Rings of Power Season 3’s November premiere, Anárion’s confirmed casting, Stephen Colbert’s Tolkien film covering the opening chapters of Fellowship, and the Hunt for Gollum cast updates.

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Secrets of Middle-earth Secrets of Middle-Earth 1-300