Abstract
Flieger takes as her departure point a passage on tree-spirits in one of the manuscripts for “On Fairy-stories,” and considers the development of Tolkien’s ideas about more-or-less enspirited trees throughout his oeuvre. Begins with the earliest appearance of Old Man Willow in the Tom Bombadil poems, progressing through his maturation as an idea in The Lord of the Rings. Pays special attention to Treebeard and the Huorns, and ends with the birch tree in Smith of Wootton Major.
