The Trees of Middle-earth: Tolkien’s Environmental Philosophy

• J. R. R. Tolkien’s fiction was a harbinger of the widespread preoccupation with environmental pollution, landscape destruction, and, above all, deforestation that would emerge after its publication. Tolkien himself made clear that trees were, among all flora, the most meaningful to him: “I am (obviously) much in love with plants and above all trees, and always have been; and I find human maltreatment of them as hard to bear as some find ill-treatment of animals” (The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien). Although this statement is frequently cited, its broader literary and environmental implications have rarely been examined in depth. There is therefore a growing need for a comprehensive study of Tolkien’s ordinary and extraordinary trees—including, but not limited to, Ents and Huorns—in his two masterpieces, The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955). An ecocritical analysis of their arboreal narrative role, symbolism, and economic value has the potential to unlock new insights into Tolkien as a person, a writer, and the creator of Middle-earth. The Trees of Middle-earth fills this gap in the scholarship by demonstrating that Tolkien’s trees are essential for understanding two of the author’s best-known works within the context of his evolving environmental philosophy.

J. R. R. Tolkien, Trees, Forests, Environmental philosophy, Ecocriticism, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, Middle-earth

• Andoni Cossio is Assistant Professor of English at the University of the Basque Country (EHU) and Reviews Editor (pre-1500) of English Studies. He is also Research Affiliate at the University of Glasgow and Visiting Fellow at St Catherine’s College, Oxford. His research on Middle English works, William Shakespeare, C.S. Lewis, and especially J.R.R. Tolkien has appeared in many prominent journals and peer-reviewed collections. In 2025, Cossio and Dimitra Fimi received The Tolkien Society’s Best Article Award. More recently, he has co-authored a chapter with Nelson Goering on Tolkien’s academic life for the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of J.R.R. Tolkien. The Trees of Middle-earth is his first monograph.