[lathspell]

Because all the members of the Fellowship were in Mordor or in Gondor, little is said about the things going on in the North. Yet when they fought the battle of the Pellenor Fields, the Dwarves and the man of Dale fought at the slopes of the mountain. King Brand of Dale and Dain II Ironfoot died during that battle. I do not know this for sure but I guess that there were both men of Lake Town and Elves present at the time.

Beorn was dead. His son was leader of a great 'realm' in the vales of Anduin.

I don't think Tolkien didn't think of it, for he seems to have thought it all out, sometimes into the smallest detail. I guess he thought of it of less important, for the action in the South was what really bothered. If Minas Tirith should fall, everything else was considered doomed. In the North it would have been quite bad as well, but not yet hopeless. Another reason of not saying about the north is because the whole Fellowship and the people who knew of the Ring-quest were in the South, in Minas Tirith.

I believe that I read somewhere (I don't recall where) that the Spiders of Mirkwood were indeed offspring of Ungoliant, but if they were the children of Shelob, I can not say. It is suggested in the LotR, but if it is true I do not know.

Hoping this will help and is not considered a pile of *beep*... eeem... nonsense [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img],

greetings,
lathspell