Hobbit Life

Hobbits are between two to four feet tall, the average height being three feet six inches. They tend towards stoutness and have slightly pointed ears[1]. Their feet are furry, with leathery soles; most Hobbits never wear shoes. It is a common misconception that Hobbits have oversized feet (helped by the recent films), but they are in fact normal in size for their height. They are fond of an unadventurous bucolic life of farming, eating, and socializing. Living rather longer than humans, Hobbits can sometimes live for up to 130 years (with 100 years average). The time at which a young Hobbit "comes of age" is 33, as compared to the human 21 years. Thus a seventy year old Hobbit would only be middle-aged. Hobbits also like to drink ale in inns, not unlike the English countryfolk, who were Tolkien's inspiration. We can also see that in the name Tolkien chose for the part of Middle-earth where the Hobbits live: "The Shire" is clearly reminiscent of the English county names.

Mealtimes, consist at least of the seven meals known as breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and supper.

Hobbits are also called Halflings (in Sindarin, perian singular and pheriannath collective) due to their small stature. However, the term is slightly offensive to Hobbits, as to themselves they are not 'half' of anything, and certainly do not use the term to refer to themselves.

Historically, the Hobbits are known to have originated in the Valley of Anduin, between Mirkwood and the Misty Mountains. According to The Lord of the Rings, they have lost the genealogical details of how they are related to the rest of humankind. At this time, there were three Hobbit-kinds, with different temperaments. The Harfoots, the most numerous, were almost identical to the Hobbits as they are described in The Hobbit. The Stoors had an affinity for water, boats and swimming; the Fallohides were an adventurous people. (Both of these traits were much rarer in later days.) While situated in the valley of the Anduin River the Hobbits lived close by the Eotheod, the ancestors of the Rohirrim, and this led to some contact between the two. As a result many old words and names in "Hobbitish" are derivatives of words in Rohirric, so much so that even someone without linguistic training could make out the relation (Merry would later write an entire book devoted to the relationship, Old Place Names in the Shire).

Some time near the beginning of the Third Age, they undertook, for reasons unknown, but possibly having to do with Mordor's power, the arduous task of crossing the Misty Mountains. Some of the Stoors, however, stayed behind, and it is from these people that Gollum would come many years later. The Hobbits took different routes in their journey westward, but eventually came to a land between the River Baranduin (which they renamed Brandywine) and the Weather Hills. There they founded many settlements, and the divisions between the Hobbit-kinds began to blur.

Around the year 1600 of the Third Age, two Fallohide brothers decided, again for reasons unknown, to cross the River Brandywine and settle on the other side. Large numbers of Hobbits followed them, and most of their former territory was depopulated. Only Bree and a few surrounding villages lasted to the end of the Third Age. The new land that they found on the west bank of the Brandywine is called the Shire.

Originally the Hobbits of the Shire swore nominal allegiance to the last Kings of Arnor, being required only to acknowledge their lordship, speed their messengers, and keep the bridges and roads in repair. During the final fight against Angmar at the Battle of Fornost, the Hobbits maintain that they sent a company of archers to help but this is nowhere else recorded. After the battle the kingdom of Arnor was destroyed, and in absence of the king the Hobbits elected a Thain of the Shire from among their own chieftans.

The first Thain of the Shire was Bucca of the Marrish, who founded the Oldbuck family. However, later on the Oldbuck family crossed the Brandywine River to create the separate land of Buckland and the family name changed to the familiar "Brandybuck". Their patriach then became Master of Buckland. With the departure of the Oldbucks/Brandybucks, a new family was selected to have its chieftans be Thain, the Took family (Indeed, Pippin Took was son of the Thain and would later become Thain himself). The Thain was in charge of Shire Moot and Muster and the Hobbitry-in-Arms, but as the Hobbits of the Shire led entirely peaceful, uneventful lives the office of Thain was seen as something more of a formality.

They dwindled after the fourth age and vanished from middle-earth and middle earth was taken over by men.

Bilbo Baggins

Bilbo Baggins is the first ring-bearer in the history of Middle-earth to give up the One Ring voluntarily.

According to the Appendices of the Lord of the Rings, Bilbo was born on September 22, 2890 of the Third Age, son of Bungo Baggins and Belladonna Took. In 2941, he joined Gandalf, Thorin Oakenshield and his twelve Dwarves on the quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug. This led to an adventure which takes Bilbo and his companions to Rivendell and through Mirkwood, eventually reaching Erebor. Here, after the mountain has been reclaimed by Thorin Oakenshield, the Battle of Five Armies takes place.

During his adventures in The Hobbit, Bilbo also found the One Ring, and escaped from Gollum when he won a riddle competition with the question "What have I got in my pocket?" However, during the contest, he also revealed the names of Baggins and The Shire to Gollum. Bilbo was the Ring-bearer for many decades with no idea of its significance, and it prolonged his life beyond normal limits and slowed his aging. He used the Ring to its fullest ability when the expedition was captured by spiders in Mirkwood, and also when Thorin and his companions were imprisoned by the Mirkwood Elves. At the Battle of Five Armies, Bilbo uses the Ring to prevent himself getting hurt, making it difficult to find him after the battle. Eventually he regains consciousness and takes the Ring off himself. He further remarks to his adopted nephew Frodo in The Lord of the Rings that it is useful for hiding from his obnoxious cousins, the Sackville-Bagginses, when they come to visit.

While the Ring did not corrupt Bilbo as it had its previous owners, it did have some negative effects upon him; over the years, he began to obsess over it, losing sleep and feeling "stretched out and thin" when he was out of its sight. On the night of his 111th birthday party, the opening event of The Fellowship of the Ring, he reacted with panic and suspicion when Gandalf tried to persuade him to leave it. The last straw was when Bilbo referred to the Ring as his "Precious" — the same name the wretched Gollum had given it — and Gandalf lost his temper with his old friend, putting some sense into him. Bilbo then admitted he would have liked to be rid of it, and left it behind.

In The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo left the Shire on the day of his eleventy-first (111th) birthday, (September 22, 3001), leaving the Ring and all the rest of his estate, including his home, Bag End in Hobbiton, to his relative and heir Frodo. He travelled to Rivendell, accompanied by three Dwarvish friends, where he lived a very pleasant life of retirement: eating, sleeping, writing poetry, and working on his memoir, There and Back Again, known to us as The Hobbit. He also wrote a book called Translations from the Elvish, which formed the basis of what is known to us as The Silmarillion.

At the end of The Return of the King, Bilbo accompanied Frodo, Gandalf, and Elves to the Grey Havens, there to take ship for Valinor across the sea, on September 29, 3021. He had already celebrated his 131st birthday, becoming the oldest Hobbit ever in Middle-Earth (except Gollum/Smeagol, whose life was extended by the One Ring).

Sméagol/Gollum

Once a Stoorish Hobbit, Sméagol spent the early years of his life with his extended family under a matriarch, his grandmother. In 2463 T.A., Sméagol became the fourth Bearer of the One Ring, after Sauron, Isildur, and Déagol. Déagol was his cousin, and on Sméagol's birthday they went fishing in the Gladden Fields north of Lothlórien. It was there that Déagol found a gold ring, after being pulled into the water by a large fish. Sméagol demanded the ring as a birthday present and strangled Deágol when he refused. Sméagol was quickly corrupted by the Ring and, banished by his people, was forced to find a home in a cave in the Misty Mountains. The Ring's malignant influence twisted his Hobbit body and mind and prolonged his life far beyond its natural limits. He called it his "precious" or his "birthday present," the latter as a justification for killing Déagol, a crime that haunted Gollum for the rest of his life.

He lived in the Misty Mountains for over four hundred years, living on raw fish, which he caught from his small raft, and juvenile Orcs who strayed too far. In later years he found Elven food repulsive. His eyes adapted to the dark; Tolkien describes them as lamp-like, shining with a sickly pale light, yellow when calm, green when agitated. Tolkien describes Gollum's complexion as dark.

During his centuries under the Ring's influence, he developed a sort of split personality: Sméagol, his "good" personality, still vaguely remembered things like friendship and love, while Gollum, his "bad" personality, was a slave to the Ring and would kill anyone who tried to take it. Years later, Samwise Gamgee would name the good personality "Slinker" (for his fawning, eager-to-please demeanour), and the bad personality "Stinker" (for obvious reasons.) The two personalities often quarrelled when Gollum talked to himself (as Tolkien put it, "through never having anyone else to speak to") and had a love/hate relationship, mirroring Gollum's love and hatred for the Ring and for himself.

In July, 2941 T.A, during the Quest of Erebor, the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins stumbled upon the subterranean lake on which Gollum lived and found the Ring. Gollum had lost the Ring in the network of caves leading to the lake, although in fact it is more appropriate to say that the Ring abandoned him, for it was known to have a will of its own; as Gandalf says later, it looks after itself, trying to get back to Sauron. After the famous Riddle Game, during which Gollum was unaware of his loss, he refused to show Bilbo the promised way out and plotted to murder him. When he went to get his "birthday present," however, he found that it was gone. He suddenly realised the answer to Bilbo's last riddle — "What have I got in my pocket?" — and flew into a rage. Bilbo inadvertently stumbled across the Ring's power of invisibility as he ran, allowing him to follow Gollum to the entrance of the cave. There, Bilbo at first thought to kill Gollum, but was overcome with pity, so he jumped over him to escape. As Bilbo ran, Gollum cried out, "Thief! Thief, Baggins! We hates it forever!"

In the first edition of The Hobbit, Gollum did not appear quite as wretched or as bound to the Ring. Tolkien revised this characterisation to fit the concept of the Ruling Ring developed during the writing of The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien then explained the version given in the first edition as a lie that Bilbo made up to tell the Dwarves and Gandalf.

Gollum left the Mountains and pursued Bilbo a few years later, but the trail was cold. He made his way into Mordor, where he met the monstrous spider Shelob and became her spy, worshipping her and bringing her food. He was eventually captured by Sauron's forces and forced to reveal what he knew about the Ring; the information he provided alerted the Dark Lord of Mordor to the existence of Hobbits, the Shire, and the Baggins family. Gollum was then freed, but caught by Aragorn, who, along with Gandalf, interrogated him about the Ring and placed him in the care of the Silvan Elves living in Thranduil's kingdom in Mirkwood. He then escaped into Moria.

In The Lord of the Rings, Gollum met and started following the Fellowship of the Ring in Moria, and was spotted and heard by Frodo Baggins (nephew and heir of the hated Bilbo) on several occasions. On January 15, 3019 T.A., the Fellowship was divided when Gandalf disappeared while fighting a Balrog. Gollum continued trailing the remaining members. It is unknown how he crossed the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, but he came with them to Lórien without their knowing. Gollum followed their boats down Anduin (floating on a log) to Rauros, and pursued Frodo and Sam across the Emyn Muil when they struck out on their own towards Mordor. Gollum followed them, but after a confrontation in which he bit and nearly strangled Sam, Frodo subdued him. Frodo tied an Elvish rope around Gollum's ankle for a leash, but the mere touch of the rope pained him. Taking pity on the wretched creature, Frodo made Gollum swear to help them. Agreeing to the oath, Gollum swore by the "precious" itself, and Frodo released him. The unlikely company, guided by Gollum, made their way to the Black Gate, the entrance to Mordor.

Frodo's kindness brought out the "Sméagol" personality, and he made at least some effort to keep his promise. The two formed a strange sort of bond from both having been Ringbearers; in Gollum, Frodo saw his possible future, and wanted to save him so he could save himself.

When the Black Gate was reached and found to be well-guarded, Gollum told them not to go that way, convincing them that they would be caught. Gollum said he would lead them south, where he knew of another entrance into Mordor.

Frodo and Sam were apprehended by Faramir, and Gollum followed them. When Frodo allowed Faramir to briefly take Gollum prisoner, however, Gollum felt betrayed, allowing his bad personality to take control. Faramir found out that the place Gollum was taking them was called Cirith Ungol, and warned Frodo and Sam of the evil of that place, as well as the treachery he sensed in Gollum.

Frodo, Sam, and Gollum left Faramir and began crossing the pass of Cirith Ungol in the border-mountains of the Ephel Duath. Gollum visited Shelob, planning to betray the Hobbits to her and then get the Ring for himself. When he returned the Hobbits were asleep, and the sight of Frodo sleeping nearly moved Gollum to repent. However, Sam woke up and spoke harshly to him, and all hope of redemption was lost. Gollum followed through with his plan and led Frodo and Sam into Shelob's lair.

Just as Frodo warned him, Gollum's betrayal of his oath ultimately led to his undoing, for Frodo and Sam escaped from Shelob's lair and came against all odds to the volcano Orodruin, or Mount Doom. Gollum followed them all the way, seeking a chance to surprise them and take the Ring. When Frodo and Sam had almost reached their destination, he attacked, but failed to get the Ring. Sam, who had hated Gollum on sight, tried to bring himself to kill him, but relented out of pity and sheer disgust, turning his back on the beaten (but still wily) creature.

Moments later, Frodo was standing on the edge of the Crack of Doom, but, unwilling to destroy the Ring, claimed it for himself and put it on. Then Gollum attacked again. The two fought while Frodo was invisible and finally Gollum bit off Frodo's finger and seized the Ring.

It was then that fate played its part, and Bilbo and Frodo's kindness in sparing Gollum's life was rewarded; After seizing the Ring, Gollum teetered on the edge of the great pit, lost his balance and fell in, taking the Ring and finger with him with a last cry of "Preciouss!" Thus, the Ring was destroyed and Sauron was utterly defeated. Had Gollum not lived to play this final part, there would have been a good chance that Sauron would have regained the Ring, as he knew where Frodo was as soon as he put the Ring on.

Déagol

Déagol was the Stoor Hobbit who became the third bearer of the One Ring, after Sauron and Isildur when he found the One Ring while diving in the Gladden river (a tributary to the Anduin) with his cousin Sméagol. Sméagol (later known as Gollum) demanded the ring and murdered Déagol when he refused to give it to him.

Déagol is an Old English translation of the "original" Westron name Nahald. Both names carry the meaning "apt to hide, secretive".

Rosie Cotton

Daughter of Tolman Cotton and Lily Brown and sister of Tolman (Tom), Wilcome (Jolly), Bowman (Nick), and Carl (Nibs). Rosie was a long-time friend of Samwise Gamgee, and they were married in 3020 when Sam returned home after the War of the Ring. Sam and Rosie had thirteen children (Elanor, Frodo, Rose, Merry, Pippin, Goldilocks, Hamfast, Daisy, Primrose, Bilbo, Ruby, Robin, Tolman (Tom)). Many were named after Sam and Rosie's friends and relatives. Among them were Elanor the Fair, Frodo Gardner (F.A. 2—), and Goldilocks. Rosie died in the year 61 of the Fourth Age. Sam then left Middle-earth for the Undying Lands later that year. 'Cotton' in Hobbitish is 'Hlothran'.