Little is known of the mysterious woman commonly referred to as the Beast-mother, or the Shepherd of the Wild and the Lady of the Forest by some. There are accounts of her throughout Eriador, though most 'sightings' are nothing more than tavern tales, passed along from one traveller to the next until truth is twisted into rumour.

All the stories agree on is the existence of an elusive woman who can supposedly speak with the beasts of the wild. It is said that she knows the tongues of Men but prefers the company of animals, and thus rarely talks to those who encounter her.

No one ever seems to tell the same tale of the Beast-mother's origins, and each version grows more outlandish than the last. Some associate her with the Wild Men of Dunland, largely due to her connection with the wilderness. Others claim that she was orphaned as an infant and raised by a she-wolf (a bear in some stories). There are even those who believe her to be a spirit of the land, or one of the Eldar who have abandoned her kin.