Tolkien borrowed a lot of details, settings, characters, and concepts from old fairy tales to create his magnum opus. Many of the creatures of Middle-earth existed in stories decades before the creation of that world. Trolls, for example, originated in Northern mythology alongside dwarves. Their lore is pretty consistent across fiction, but some trolls don't seem to follow the rules.

The monsters in Lord of the Rings rarely get the spotlight. Everyone loves Aragorn and Gandalf, but there's not as much fondness for the Balrog. Very few monsters get a personality, but people still have a fondness for them. Work in the franchise can give unique attention to the forgotten elements.

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What are the trolls in Lord of the Rings called?

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As a broad category, the family is called trolls, but there are a lot of types of trolls out there. Most trolls are named after the location they occupy. Hill-trolls, also known as stone trolls, are notable for having killed Aragorn's grandad. Cave-trolls once attacked the Fellowship of the Ring, suffering a bleeding wound to the toe from Frodo's sword Sting. Mountain-trolls were depicted wielding the giant battering ram to shatter the gates of Minas Tirith. Snow-trolls were only mentioned once in the book, but it's safe to say that they're similar to the other examples. Some half-trolls served in Sauron's army during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. These powerful beasts have a lot in common. They're strong, but they're not very intelligent. However, the strongest trolls were created by Sauron.

The Olog-hai are Sauron's advanced form of trolls. They're bigger, stronger, less vulnerable, and more intelligent than the typical troll. Their scales are sharp, their bodies are huge, and they wield a variety of deadly weapons. Their name comes from the Black Speech words for "troll kind" because the Olog-hai could only communicate through that language. They reside throughout Mordor and had a significant presence at the Battle of the Black Gate. Most Trolls were without motivation. Many acted like large animals. Olog-hai were unique among trolls in that they were completely bound to the service of Sauron. While they all appear monstrous, Olog-hai are the only truly evil trolls.

Why do some trolls not turn to stone in sunlight?

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The process that created the Olog-hai is unknown. It's comparable to the process that Saruman used to create the Uruk-hai. After seeing the Olog-hai in action, some thought they were closer to orcs than to trolls. The term Olog-hai doesn't even appear in the text of the original novels. Their name is only accessible in the appendices. Whatever Sauron did to the trolls gave them immunity to sunlight. Normal trolls instantly turn into stone statues as the light of the sun falls upon their scales. Olog-hai can survive the sun without any issues. This improvement comes alongside a variety of other enhancements. The Army of the West faced Olog-hai at the Black Gate. Their ability to move in sunlight was instrumental in their use on the battlefield.

Were any trolls left at the end of Lord of the Rings?

Olog-hai were under the command of Sauron during the War of the Ring. After the Ring was destroyed by the fires of Mount Doom and Sauron was consumed by the void, Olog-hai were without direction. As soon as their leader dies, they scatter into the woods like animals. It is later stated that all the Olog-hai are killed after the war. The rest of the trolls who appeared at the Black Gate were either killed or sent away. It's fair to say that there were tons of trolls throughout Middle-earth after the events of the trilogy. Tolkien argued that their escape represented the truth of evil. Though the heroes successfully defeated Sauron, some token of his influence would still haunt the world.

Trolls have a complicated history in the Lord of the Rings franchise. When they were introduced in The Hobbit, they were comic relief characters who spoke with heavy cockney accents. Critics raised concerns about their depiction, arguing that they represented negative stereotypes about working-class people. More philosophical critics raised questions about their ability to speak. Tolkien, a devout Christian who frequently blended his faith with his fantasy, felt an inherent connection between a creature's ability to speak and its possession of a soul. With that in mind, Tolkien moved his depiction of trolls away from comedy and towards shrieking beasts. They shifted away from comedic fairy tale characters and toward the monsters of epic poetry. Treebeard once mentions that trolls are made "in mockery of the Ents," just like orcs are dark reflections of Elves. This concept created a new complex look at a theoretically evil creature. Evil can't create in Tolkien's universe. The trolls are simultaneously unforgivable monsters and corrupted wild animals. It's a bizarre, complex depiction of a simple concept. The Lord of the Rings isn't always consistent, but it is always engaging.

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