Day 26: A History of Hobbits

Since the hobbits remained in the Chetwood area for nearly three days, I’ve decided to skip writing a blog for one of those days. So on to Day 26!

Over Day 25 and Day 26 I walked 20.31 miles (32.7 km). The going was rough on both my spirit and my joints. Rain plagued most of Day 25; I swear I am almost used to being wet by now! Day 26 saw sore knees that desperately wanted to avoid the rocky terrain of my favourite trails. But I still continued my journey; after all, Frodo and the hobbits never let soreness and rain stop them!

At a cumulative 172.79 miles (278 km), I am nearing the point where the hobbits and Strider entered the Midgewater Marshes. For nearly three days the hobbits have trekked over the gentle lands of Chetwood. Before the colonization of the Shire, hobbits lived in and around the Bree and Chetwood areas. Of course, they didn’t originate there. Many tales tell of the hobbits coming from the Valley of Anduin between Mirkwood and the Misty Mountains. Sometime in the Third Age the hobbits undertook the journey over the Misty Mountains. All in all, the hobbits seem to have a fairly young history in terms of Middle Earth. Many of the records, especially those genealogical records tying the hobbits to the Big Folk, appear to be lost. I’ve often theorized that the hobbits, concerned mainly with keeping to themselves and their own kind, have long since forgotten much of the history that ties them to the outside world. This is corroborated by a general mistrust within the hobbits of the Big Folk, and even of other hobbits from different parts of the Shire. Farmer Maggot was mistrustful of the Hobbiton hobbits, and the Hobbiton Hobbits seemed to think ill of the Brandybuck hobbits. History and time has done to the hobbit culture what it does to many, drive a wedge between the differences of the races.

I point this out because I think the history of hobbits and their current culture is important to understand when considering how Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin act throughout The Lord of the Rings. As the journey continues on, it will become clearer that these four hobbits are Tolkien’s representation of the entire hobbit race. They show the good and bad aspects of their culture; they hold the redeeming and condemning values of the hobbits. And in the end these values will come to bear on the future of an entire world.

The Road Goes Ever On and On,
~ Daisy Buttons