Relating to the Elves Part 2: Beloved Beech Trees

So you’ve taken your first step towards understanding Elves, but wait, we’re not done.  There can’t be enough said about… Beech Trees.  That’s right, it isn’t enough to know that you can eat Beech nuts and make cooking oil from them.  There’s this deeper level to why Elves seem to like trees so much, their minds are full of the arch-concept of what a ‘tree’ is.

There is something important to elves in what they might call lúmequenta, the memory of the origin of all things, and the very ‘idea’ of trees is central to this. There is the nyárë of two trees in particular. “The Two Trees of Valinor” they call them. It is told in the Aldudénië, “Lament for the Two Trees” “Of the deeds of that day much is told in the Aldudénië, that Elemmírë of the Vanyar made and is known to all the Eldar. Yet no song or tale could contain all the grief and terror that then befell.” 

These two trees might not be considered “trees” of the kind that we know growing upon Arda today, but they seem to imply some sort of higher idea or concept, nevertheless, and before the ‘grief and terror that then befell,’ were these two very important “trees…”

“The one had leaves of dark green that beneath were as shining silver, and from each of his countless flowers a dew of silver light was ever falling, and the earth beneath was dappled with the shadow of his fluttering leaves. The other bore leaves of a young green like the new-opened beech; their edges were of glittering gold. Flowers swung upon her branches in clusters of yellow flame, formed each to a glowing horn that spilled a golden rain upon the ground; and from the blossom of that tree there came forth warmth and a great light.”

So it is described as like a Beech Tree, and this is the first mention of a specific tree, (a real tree other than Mallorn) likely because they are so fond of them, but it is not exactly a “Beech Tree.”  However the importance is noted.  And once again, this importance and reference to Beech Trees is mentioned again, “The pillars of Menegroth were hewn in the likeness of the beeches of Oromë, stock, bough, and leaf, and they were lit with lanterns of gold. The nightingales sang there as in the gardens of Lórien; and there were fountains of silver, and basins of marble, and floors of many-coloured stones.”

So important is this tree that either it is literally the inheritor of all they hold sacred and dear, or because of its importance, their tales constantly refer to it in order to connect what they understand as a “Beech Tree” with this tale of the Elder Days that they all love so much. 

“And when Valinor was full-wrought and the mansions of the Valar were established, in the midst of the plain beyond the mountains they built their city, Valmar of many bells. Before its western gate there was a green mound, Ezellohar, that is named also Corollairë; and Yavanna hallowed it, and she sat there long upon the green grass and sang a song of power, in which was set all her thought of things that grow in the earth. But Nienna thought in silence, and watered the mould with tears. In that time the Valar were gathered together to hear the song of Yavanna, and they sat silent upon their thrones of council in the Máhanaxar…

And as they watched, upon the mound there came forth two slender shoots; and silence was over all the world in that hour, nor was there any other sound save the chanting of Yavanna. Under her song the saplings grew and became fair and tail, and came to flower; and thus there awoke in the world the Two Trees of Valinor. Of all things which Yavanna made they have most renown, and about their fate all the tales of the Elder Days are woven.

The one had leaves of dark green that beneath were as shining silver, and from each of his countless flowers a dew of silver light was ever falling, and the earth beneath was dappled with the shadow of his fluttering leaves. The other bore leaves of a young green like the new-opened beech; their edges were of glittering gold. Flowers swung upon her branches in clusters of yellow flame, formed each to a glowing horn that spilled a golden rain upon the ground; and from the blossom of that tree there came forth warmth and a great light. Telperion the one was called in Valinor, and Silpion, and Ninquelótë, and many other names; but Laurelin the other was, and Malinalda, and Culúrien, and many names in song beside.”

The Elves clearly have placed a great importance, for whatever reasons upon the Beech Tree, and connected it with a particular ‘conceptual’ or ‘mythical’ tree of the ancient origin of all things, and perhaps because it somehow embodies this idea which comes from these mythical or ‘conceptual’ pre-history, primal trees. (Or at least one of them.)  This story of the Beginning is something that in their existence they are clearly ‘ever-conscious’ of, and it reveals a connection of all that is (Eä) and the living world that surrounds them in their daily life.  

“Not far from the gates of Menegroth stood the greatest of all the trees in the Forest of Neldoreth; and that was a beech-forest and the northern half of the kingdom. This mighty beech was named Hírilorn, and it had three trunks, equal in girth, smooth in rind, and exceeding tall; no branches grew from them for a great height above the ground.”

The Beech Tree is once again referred to of great importance, not even the Oak Tree is so referred to. It would seem that there can be no doubt as to which tree is not only their ‘favorite’ but one they clearly identify with above other trees. 

In the HISTORY OF MIDDLE EARTH VOL 5 THE LOST ROAD AND OTHER WRITINGS

THE ETYMOLOGIES we find variations of nomenclature regarding the Beech: 

BERETH- T bredele beech-tree; Ilk. breth (*b'retha) beech-mast,
but the beech was called galbreth [CALAD] in Falasse, and neldor in Doriath (see NEL). The beech-tree was probably originally called *pheren, Q feren or ferne (pl. ferni), ON pheren; but in EN fer pl.
ferin was usually replaced by the Ilk. breth mast, whence EN brethil beech-tree; cf. Brethiliand, -ian 'Forest of Brethil' [see PHER).

NEL- three. NEL-ED- three: Q nelde; N neledh later neled (after canad four). Prefix nel- tri-. nelthil triangle (neltildi)
[TIL]. Doriathrin neldor beech. Cf. Neldoreth name of a forest
in Doriath, properly name of Hirilorn the great beech of Thingol with three trunks = neld-orn? [see OR-NI]. The N name is brethel, pl. brethil (cf. Forest of Brethil); see BERETH [where brethil is given as the singular). The proper Dor. name was galdbreth > gal- breth [GALAD].

OR-NI- high tree. Q orne tree, high isolated tree. N, Dor. orn. In Doriath used especially of beech, but as suffix in regorn etc. used of any tree of any size. In N used of any large tree - holly, hawthorn, etc. were classed as toss (tussa) bush [TUS]: thus eregdos = holly [EREK]. N orn has pl. yrn.

PHER-, PHEREN- beech. Q feren or ferne (pl. ferni) beech-tree; ferna mast, beechnuts; ferinya beechen. T ferne. ON pheren beech; pherna mast; Exilic fer was usually replaced by brethil (see BERETH).

As far as what they call the Beech Tree in various developments of language, whether NELDOR or PHEREN or FERNÊ or BRETHIL (which also seems to have been used to refer to ‘Silver Birch’) many names flow into other names and are the basis for other names, and bear relationships to other names, further imprinting the ‘importance’ of a concept or thing, and in this case, “BEECH” continually appears to be of considerable significance. 

It is also likely that wherever you find Beech Trees growing, Elves might not be far away.  Beech Trees grow in MIRKWOOD, “About four days from the enchanted stream they came to a part where most of the trees were beeches. They were at first inclined to be cheered by the change…” (The Hobbit) and just outside Thranduil’s cave: “There the great beeches came right down to the bank” (The Hobbit) and of course, the Wood-Elves of Mirkwood, “The beeches were their favourite trees.”  (The Hobbit).

And in OSSIRIAND, “But they were called by others Green-elves, Laiqendi, because they loved the green wood, and green lands of fair waters; and the house of Denethor loved green above all colours, and the beech above all trees.”

And NELDORETH, “To the beeches of Neldoreth I came in the Autumn. Ah! the gold and the red and the sighing of leaves in the Autumn in Taur-na-neldor!”

And as for LOTHLORIEN, it would seem that if at least one kind of their ‘Elven-Brooches’ are the shape of the Beech Leaf, one might surmise that Beech Trees grow there.

And west of RIVENDELL, in the “Trollshaws” Upland Woods it is most likely there would have to be Beech Trees growing since the three trolls Bilbo ran into were burning a fire with Beech logs. 

Above all other trees mentioned or referenced, the Beech Tree is mentioned and referred to the most and used to describe various things of importance.  

However, if you happen to live in the American West, you’re not likely to find any Beech Trees, and they also do not grow everywhere on the planet. There is the European Beech, Fagus sylvatica, and then there is the American Beech, Fagus grandifolia. (Among others http://www.theplantlist.org/browse/A/Fagaceae/Fagus/ ) This is not to say that some city somewhere might not have planted them down town, but they’re not universally distributed in the wild everywhere. They can grow particularly wide, with trunks of up to 30 feet in diameter, the perfect type of tree to build a tree house, like the one Luthien lived in.  Beech Trees were said to have been possibly the first trees to be used as ‘books’ but it isn’t known whether this refers to their pulp, or the fact that they were commonly used to carve letters, words, messages into. The smooth gray bark is very unique, and runes and ancient carvings have been found on them. They were used as ‘trysting trees’ meant to be familiar trees for communication, both for carving messages and as meeting places. They were the ‘book trees’ the “Beech” “boche, boke, and bike” trees where information could be stored, transferred, transmitted.  Today, they are the likeliest of trees that kids will carve their initials into because the smooth bark allows easy carving and display.  

The Beech tree could conceivably be seen as a ‘tree of language’ or a ‘tree of script,’ the ‘book tree’ where stories could be told, would be told, and where people would meet to exchange information.  The Elves were called the Quendi, the first speakers, the inventors of language and story, therefore it is possible that if there were one tree to identify with, it would be the tree we know most associated with language, writing, script, communication, and stories. The Beech represents an ‘idea tree’ like no other, and it is also conceivable that it is linked with the ‘first trees’ the ‘Two Trees’ of Valinor in that by way of conceptual transmission, it is the conceptual offspring of one of these two trees. The idea of “meaning” associated with trees is of vital importance, and these original “Two Trees” highly suggest some sort of ‘original meaning’ or significant symbol of primal ‘meaning.’  While the ‘Two Trees’ are more likened to a more generalized primal concept of the light of the sun and the moon, and all the symbolism that suggests, the eventual ‘growth’ of the very ‘idea’ of ‘meaning’ then becomes their offspring significantly tied or linked to the creation of actual trees. The connection between trees and ‘meaning,’ or ‘language’ or ‘script’ or ‘knowledge’ is pretty clear.  

Within the mind of an Elf, there can be no greater symbol for ‘meaning’ than trees, and that either means one or both of the original ‘Two Trees’ or the eventual manifestation of a tree like the Beech Tree, or the mythical Mallorn.  There is an abundance of links not only in Elvish language to trees, plants, flowers and growing things to the invention of words and their derivatives, but also human language. The connection and association of names of organic things to writing, communication, memory, record keeping, language, and even speech seems ubiquitous.  It may be an eternal mystery as to ‘why’ this is, or why this ever came about, but for the Elves, it is quite clear and they are most contemplative about the origins of such things. When one begins to investigate the origins of words, one begins to find a never ending rabbit hole of links to words which describe trees, plants, roots, branches, leaves, and they essentially ‘grow’ from there inexplicably.  What one ends up with is almost a self-replicating narrative which begins to tell itself, and something we can’t quite call ‘history,’ but rather ‘lore’ emerges which the Elves call nólë, or nolwë, the wisdom of the secret lore. The ‘rabbit hole’ as we humans would call it is the inexplicable weirdness which occurs when one begins to follow the branches of the words, whether it be from nolwë to noldor, or neldor, and follow along the implications of the meanings and how they change, we can not only apply this to Elvish language, but to our own, from buk to boke to buck to book, around to bece and bucca, to beech.  Strange ideas begin to emerge that connect ‘idea’ and ‘thought’ and ‘word’ to plants, trees and mysterious beings which have thousands of names, elves being only one of these names. 

Throughout the Silmarillion, Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit, there are hundreds of strange words and word associations, and one can follow the phonetics, the spelling, the meaning and the implementation up and down the narrative and uproot far stranger narratives and meanings which aren’t so much hidden nor contain hidden allegorical meanings, but sub-meanings within themselves, self-referential concepts which in fact inspire a seeker to uncover deeper meanings which are in all things, not just the books. It does not offer so much  the ‘answers’ but a curious example of how one might like to go in search of answers… something which can be applied outside the books. For the Elves, this is a given, it is a matter-of-fact way of thinking, it is part of their culture… it is NOT part of our culture, short of a few odd individuals like perhaps Tolkien himself who indulges in playing around with these sort of ideas.  His Elves are a dream of a ‘people’ that are able to make these sorts of connections, and a vague inference that it might have been a long long time ago, somebody once used to believe in such things, but who can know, it would be never anything to us but a ‘myth.’  The good thing is, we don’t have to dig up ancient DNA to prove anything, all one need do is relate to the Elves, and one can begin on their own to do this. The ‘connection’ to the trees and all they mean can be uncovered and the ‘purer’ narratives of ‘meaning’ can be pursued. The benefit of all this of course is that it is all very ‘practical’ and not so mystical at all, for the very real connections to the very real things such as plants and trees and the contemplation of their very real nature effectively opens one’s mind to this mystery of meaning and language, no magic spells required.   

An Elf loves his Beech Tree, either as a reminder of his way of life, or that there could be meaning in life that is both profound and practical.  He is the maker of meaning, and the seeker of meaning, the finder of meaning, the inheritor of meaning beyond himself in the outside world. The universe itself, Eä,  contains meaning, pours forth meaning, and reveals meaning, and manifests meaning within the many things that can be found, things which are physical and things which are not. The Valar, as ideas themselves, suggest the very ‘idea’ that from them came other ‘ideas’ whether they be trees or intangible concepts, and the weirdness of expounding all of this through writing, speaking and communicating is all part of the process and nothing less that a ‘way of life.’  The further one is removed from all this, from this process, the more life becomes ‘meaning-less.’  

So, Atani, a tree is more than a tree, to an Elf… a Beech Tree is more than a Beech Tree… I imagine that when an Elf looks upon a Beech Tree, they see something not only more ‘profound’ they see another world than you do…