Lord of the Rings: The Animated Musical | Characters: ‘Rustic’ Hobbits of the Late Third Age

When creating prototypes and characters who might be classed as ‘rustic’ hobbits living during the late Third Age, or the time when The Hobbit and most of The Lord of the Rings took place, I considered how their physical appearance and occupation might affect their status within a complex, stratified society and accordingly influence their choice of clothing. Such stratification continues to occur in the Real World. In countries where people regard themselves as being democratic, like the United States, people attempt to appear egalitarian and middle class, even if this society currently faces the most extreme income gaps in its history. Meanwhile, in countries where people maintain remnants of feudalism or religious beliefs supporting hierarchy, like England and India, people take pride in their status and emphasize their identity through their clothing, especially if they are higher in the system, and even if their government has become democratic.

Beyond markers of status, I wanted the costumes to align with the parallel fashion timeline from the Real World. Since I have portrayed Shire Hobbits of the Fourth Age as wearing late 19^th century clothing, along with Bilbo and Frodo Baggins wearing late 18^th century clothing even if it was considered antiquated in their time, the ‘rustic’ hobbits would wear early 19^th century clothing as seen in northwestern Europe. This essay will cover all of these factors as they relate to parallels in the Real World along with including character designs for adolescent Sam Gamgee, his father Hamfast, his neighbor Daddy Twofoot, their friend Old Noakes, their rivals Sandyman the Miller and his son Ted, and an assortment of other ‘rustic’ hobbits.

Social Hierarchies

The strict social hierarchy of feudalism changed during the post-medieval period as the nobility began to lose their political power, peasants became working class, and businesspeople emerged to form the middle class. The society of the Shire bears strong resemblance to that of Regency England from 1811 to 1820 as covered by the author Jane Austen, and of Victorian England from 1837 to 1901 as covered by the author Charles Dickens. This system became destabilized during the Edwardian Era from 1901 to 1910 and World War I from 1914 to 1918 — the period covered in the early works of P.G. Wodehouse — and had faded by the end of World War II. While remnants of this system remain to this day, as England never abolished its monarchy, the levels are nowhere near as strict as in the past.

Sub-hierarchies existed within the divisions of nobility, gentry, and laborers. The system for nobility existed in England and other European countries and was also known as “peerage”. Stemming from feudalism, the king and queen were at the top although no longer widely believed to be divinely appointed. Since the hobbit’s king was missing, the Thain and the Master likely held a position the next level down, similar to English dukes who ruled over duchies. Next down on the chart were marquises, such as the American Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette. Their border territories were called marches, just like Westmarch on the western border of the Shire, making Fastred of Greenholm and Elanor Gardner Fairbairn its first marquis and marquess. Other titles include earls who ruled over counties, viscounts who ruled over other counties, and barons who seemed to have a nice castle and village but no other territory. Not to be missed were knights, men from the gentry who did something so important that the king gave him a title as a thank you. Aragorn gave Sam the Star of the Dúnedain to make him an honorary Ranger, as mentioned in “The Tale of Years”, and this appeared to be equivalent to knighting.

Laborers were generally divided between skilled craftsmen and unskilled workers, including servants. Craftsmen were considered to have “a degree of skill — a combination of manual dexterity and acquired knowledge”, which was gained through an apprenticeship. This educational system began during the Middle Ages but not among the working class. Instead, the nobility swapped children so they would become friends with different members of their class, decreasing the chance of starting a war. Aragorn’s fostering by Elrond at Rivendell could be viewed as a version of this, along with Arwen moving in with her grandparents, Galadriel and Celeborn, who lived in Lothlorien. What we now consider a modern apprenticeship arrived in 1563 with the Statute of Artificers, which created regulations for the length of the training at seven years and the ideal master to apprentice ratio at one to three. The United Kingdom continues to have a robust apprenticeship system, including modern jobs that might require a college degree in the United States.

Not all apprenticeships were successful, and being unable to acquire a craft meant a lower spot in the hierarchy and lower pay. During his opening scene in “Chapter I: A Long-Expected Party”, Ham Gamgee mentioned being “prenticed” as a child but was instead sent to work in the gardens at Bag End, while Sam spoke with the elves of Lothlorien about his knowledge of rope, suggesting that he had been apprenticed to his ropemaking Uncle Andy but instead ended up in the gardens with his father. Fortunately, Sam loved gardening even more than he loved rope, the Bagginses were implied to be generous with their compensation, and Bilbo had provided him with a basic education, something usually only attainable by those from higher levels of the hierarchy. As for craftswomen, female labor was generally considered unskilled regardless of the training and talent required to complete it.

While the Shire in the late Third Age does show similarities to 19^th century European society, this could be a product of Tolkien’s “translation”, as the in-universe explanation for the current version of the text is that the author translated the Westron-language work into modern English. The Shire might instead be compared to a non-Western social hierarchy, among the most recognized being the caste system in India and neighboring countries. Based on the beliefs of Hinduism and likely the oldest social hierarchy at over three thousand years old, the caste system consists of four levels and a group outside the system. Just like the hierarchies of Europe were believed to be divinely appointed, Hindus believe the creator god Brahma made each of the groups.

The Brahmin or scholar and priest caste is at the top of the hierarchy, as they came from the head of Brahma. Mid-19^th century author Oliver Wendel Holmes, Sr. knew this concept and came up with the term “Boston Brahmin” to describe the wealthy elite of New England who ruled the region from the colonial era in the early 17^th century through the present day, although the phrase has fallen out of popular use. While the hobbits do not seem to have a true scholar and priest cast, Bilbo and Frodo seem to fill in this role with their study of other cultures and understanding of their world’s mythology.

The other levels of the hierarchy may be less familiar to the Western reader. Kshatriya includes rulers and soldiers who came from the arms of Brahma. An analogous group in the Shire was the Thain and the Took clan with the Master and the Brandybuck clan, who were essentially one family at the time of the text. Next are the Vaishya, the farming and merchant class who came from the thighs or legs of Brahma. Based on my reading, I decided that these “farmers” were likely analogous to “plantation owners” in Europe and the Americas, as they would have owned property and employed laborers to assist with the work. Since clans of the Shire including the Bagginses, Bolgers, and Boffins accrued their wealth through pipe-weed plantations or having good business sense, this was a similar social caste. Farmer Maggot in East Farthing seemed to be in this caste as well, albeit at a lower subcaste, since he fiercely defended his property and could beat Frodo Baggins without repercussions.

The bottom of the caste system is the Shudras from the feet of Brahma who work as menial laborers. This level certainly existed in the Shire. Although the Cotton clan worked on a farm, they may have rented their land or worked as sharecroppers for the Baggins clan, especially considering they were close relatives to the Gamgees who labored in the gardens of Bag End. The final group of people, perhaps best understood as the dirt under the feet of Brahma, are the Dalits or an untouchable caste that exist outside of the system who clean the streets and public toilets. The Shire did not seem to have this caste, or else they were so overlooked by society that Frodo and Sam never mentioned them. The last few generations of Indians have increasingly protested against this system and are more likely to marry outside their caste. The Indian government has tried to ban discrimination, but in the most populous country of the world at almost 1.5 billion people, these laws are difficult to enforce. As for a more equitable Shire, the transfer of power from the extended Took clan to the newly established Gardner clan seems to have brought caste equality to the region.

A final hierarchy to consider was the existence of colorism, or discrimination based on skin tone. This form of discrimination is found across the globe in areas where people have diverse ethnic backgrounds and where labor is divided into indoor workers versus outdoor workers. While this prejudice is based on racism, colorism can occur between people who consider themselves to be in the same race. A quick literature review a la Google Scholar uncovered a 1988 PhD dissertation by Dr. Bertice B. Berry that revealed how the concept had been academically studied in the United States since at least the 1930s, where it is considered an extension of white supremacy, although the term in its modern meaning seemed to date from the 1980s.

Outside the west, colorism has historically existed in some Asian cultures due to the divide between the nobility and scholars who worked indoors versus the craftspeople and laborers who worked outdoors. Western influence through colonization and globalization have further altered beauty standards to favor lighter skin. In India, a person’s caste is still considered more prevalent than skin tone as an indicator for discrimination. However, skin-lightening beauty regimes are becoming more popular across Asia, including India, Japan, Korea, and China. As a personal anecdote, over the past fifteen years, I have heard classmates and coworkers from this region describe themselves disparagingly as “brown” and then stroke my own admittedly pale arms in misplaced admiration. If nothing else, it encourages me to wear long sleeves.

Inversely, people with unusually pale skin, including albinism, also face discrimination, especially in regions where pale skin is uncommon. People with albinism have historically been considered magical and even evil, like the Albino in The Princess Bride. Besides being more susceptible to skin and eye damage due to lack of pigmentation in their bodies, people with albinism may face discrimination in their community or even be murdered and dismembered as part of religious rituals. Thanks in part to the work of Nigerian lawyer and activist with albinism Ms. Ikponwosa Ero, the United Nations released rulings protecting persons with albinism in 2015, while the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights created legislation to stop attacks on persons with albinism in 2017. The typically “browner of skin” hobbits may have harbored similar prejudices, as “fairer than most” Frodo was regarded with suspicion especially in his connection to magical people including Gandalf, Elves, and Dwarves.

As a final note on this research, I am able to quickly corroborate my historical hypothesis with scholarly articles thanks to modern search engines and digitized scholarship. As part of my education and work, I am continually learning how to discuss these topics in a way that is honest but thoughtful towards the people involved. Much of this did not exist even fifteen years ago. While Tolkien taught at a leading university and was known for supporting people from backgrounds unlike his own, he likely could not have accessed resources describing other cultures in the voices of people who lived within those cultures due to technological limitations in his time. Instead, he most likely would have read accounts written by his fellow Englishmen, along with witnessing religious and class-based discrimination in his own life. Tolkien was highly empathetic and yet could not have fully understood the experiences of people outside of his own community. Additionally, he did not have a network of people who might lend support. The idea of a beta reader or sensitivity reader, a modern editorial concept where the member of a repressed minority group is paid to thoughtfully analyze the book and suggest changes, obviously did not exist in the 1950s. The treatment of hierarchy and race as presented in the book should make modern readers uncomfortable and question the motives of both the in-universe authors and Tolkien’s “translation”. The current ability to critically examine this aspect of the text should make us hopeful because it proves how far we have come in the past seventy years and how far we might go in the next seventy.

Clothing by Occupation

During the 18^th and 19^th centuries, lists of occupations could be found in census records and in newspaper articles after catastrophes, as noted in my post on Bywater when High Street of Ipswich, England burned in a fire. Another excellent source is illustrated books depicting the occupations of working-class people, who were often drawn in a derogatory way. The versions I used for references included a set of prints created by Dutch engraver Jan Anthonie Langendijk now held at the Rijksmuseum and the book Costume of the Lower Orders of London by Thomas Lord Busby now held at the New York Public Library. Additionally, I referenced a print of 19^th century Bavaria found in A Pictorial History of Costume by Wolfgang Bruhn and Max Tilke, which I reviewed back in January.

But my favorite discovery was the smock, a beloved clothing item worn by farmers in rural England. According to a virtual exhibit created by the Museum of English Rural Life, which has an extensive collection of original smocks, paints including smocks, and photographs of men wearing smocks, smocks were worn over a regular outfit to keep it neat while working. The word “smock” is ancient, having existed in Old English, and originally meaning women’s clothing, similar to a dress. The smocks worn by male farmers had the same shape. The front of smocks was decorated with “smocking”, a type of embroidery that allowed the clothing to fit snug to the body but stretch as needed, making it the most practical athletic clothing before spandex. My final smock linguistics fact is that some linguists think it belongs to a group of ancient Germanic words indicating snugness, whether poking one’s head through a tightly fitted garment or curling up in a cozy hole. Tolkien used these words for his “translations”, including Smaug the dragon who lived in a snug hole, Smeagol the Stoor who loved to burrow and was later called Gollum, and smials or cozy hobbit-holes.

As for farmers and their smocks, these men were really proud of their outfits even if they were seen as antiquated by upper class people. They wore fancy smocks to church and other important events, preferring a nice smock to a suit. Some smocks had buttons down the front, while others were reversable with identical smocking on the front and back. The thread used to create the smocking was the same color as the fabric. Each smock was made for a specific person by those who knew him best, so the craftswoman was often a mother, sister, wife, or daughter. Today, a few clubs preserve the art of smocking and embroidery. In the United States, the Smocking Arts Guild of America (SAGA) has chapters across the country including one at First Baptist Church in Beverly, MA, which appeared as a quick history stop back on April 9.

As for headgear, English working-class women wore a muslin cap at almost all times and added a bonnet over the cap when going out. Elsewhere in Europe, women sometimes wore a handkerchief instead of the cap and bonnet. Men wore “wide-awake” hats with large brims and trilbies with small brims, but these were nothing like the “felt bag that [Sam] called a hat”, according to Frodo’s perspective in “Chapter 3 Three Is Company”. I did find an oil painting of a farmer wearing a simple hat with a short, floppy brim along with his smock, which was created by British artist Henrie Pitcher during the early 20^th century. As much as I liked the hat, it made an appearance in other paintings by Pitcher and was a prop rather than authentic. I have never been able to find a hat matching Frodo’s description; maybe Sam really was wearing a bag.

Physical Appearance

Similar to “Shire Hobbits of the Fourth Age” where I illustrated hobbits as having attributes from all three ancient breeds first shown in “Races: Hobbits”, these hobbits from the previous few generations had characteristics of different phenotypes despite the implied hierarchy. I have illustrated the Sandyman clan as having more Fallohide attributes. The term “sandy” when referring to hair first arrived in the 1520s and denoted a “yellowish-red hue”, what modern beauticians might call strawberry blonde. The shade would not be much different than the golden-brown hair I have given Frodo, especially compared to the brown hair of most hobbits.

In fact, Bilbo and Frodo’s relative Lotho Sackville-Baggins was noted for his sandy hair, an attribute that other hobbits used to mock him, and possibly a sign that the Baggins clan had a rare gene for lighter hair. Since hobbits love their genealogy, it is worth noting that Bilbo and Lotho were first cousins once removed, while Frodo and Lotho were third cousins. This is the same consanguinity as Sam Gamgee and Rose Cotton, and hobbits seemed to encourage marriage within the clan. If Frodo or Lotho had a sister, I can imagine Lotho’s parents Otho and Lobelia attempting to arrange a marriage to force Bilbo’s wealth into their branch of the family.

Back to the ‘rustic’ hobbits, I portray them with an average height of 3'6" ± 2" (between 40 and 44 inches or 1.02 and 1.12m). I imagine the Gamgee-Cotton clan and the Gaffer’s neighbor Daddy Twofoot to have more Harfoot ancestry and trend on the shorter side, while the Sandyman clan and Old Noakes of Bywater have slightly more Fallohide ancestry and trend on the taller side. None of these hobbits have acknowledged Stoor ancestry, which was implied based on their belief that the river people were “queer” and “unnatural”.

Character Illustrations

For my illustrations, I focused on characters who appeared or were mentioned in the opening dialogue scene at the Ivy Bush in Bywater. Adolescent Sam Gamgee, who was twenty-one years old at the time of “The Long-Expected Party” was implied to be present, if not speaking, since the text needed to be written in his perspective. I have drawn him wearing a green and yellow version of the “Apple Boy” outfit from Busby’s Costume. His father Ham “the Gaffer” Gamgee wears a basic smock, while his neighbor Daddy Twofoot wears a smock with an apron, a common accessory to include another layer of protection over one’s clothes. Old Noakes, Sandyman the Miller, and the stranger “on business from Michel Delving” wear suits inspired by Bavarian clothing which commonly came in green. While Sam’s nemesis Ted Sandyman did not originally appear in the first dialogue scene, I thought his inclusion at the very beginning would better set up his fate at the end of the text. Ted wears a smaller version of his father’s suit. A quintet of hobbits overhearing their conversation would dress similarly to the laborers of London, vendors of the Netherlands, and peasants of Bavaria from the early 19^th century. A postman in an outfit matching that of his Londoner counterpart, albeit green and yellow instead of red and brown, brings his own bell on the route to alert those without doorbells. Final, the shirriff wears a feather in his cap but no uniform while on the street, as described in the Prologue. I have made his outfit similar to that of the postman.

With the exception of Sam, these characters will always appear in the same clothing. This is a common illustration technique in animation, as it allows characters to quickly be recognized by viewers. Additionally, working class people of the protoindustrial era did not have a large wardrobe and would likely have worn the same outfit each day. Changes to these outfits, such as the Gaffer adding a shawl for warmth in his old age or Ted’s face and clothing turning black with soot from inside the furnace at Saruman’s factory, would signify significant changes in the character’s life.

Read past installments of Lord of the Rings: The Animated Musical

• Forewords & Miscellaneous
• New Project Announcement
• Introduction by Peter S. Beagle
• Foreword by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Christopher Tolkien Centenary Conference
• Framing Device
• An Unofficial Logo
• The Epigraph
• Head-Up Display
• Pub Culture
• National Epics
• Introduction to the History of...
• Animation
• Maps
• Perspectives on the Sea
• Musical Theater
• Documentaries
• Conlangs
• Races
• Hobbits
• Elves
• Men
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Dwarves
• Orcs
• Maiar
• Wizards & Balrogs
• Environment & Craft
• Valar
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Prologue
• 1 Concerning Hobbits
• 2 Concerning Pipe-weed
• 3 On the Ordering of the Shire
• 4 Of the Finding of the Ring
• Note on the Shire Record
• Book I
• Chapter 1 “A Long-Expected Party”
• Appendixes
• Introduction to the Appendixes
• Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers
• Overview
• I The Númenórean Kings
• (i) Númenor
• (ii) The Realms in Exile
• (iii) Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur
• (iv) Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion
• (v) The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen
• The House of Eorl
• II The Kings of the Mark
• III Durin’s Folk
• Appendix B: The Tale of Years
• Appendix C: Family Trees
• Appendix D: Shire Calendar
• Appendix E
• I Pronunciation
• II Writing
• Appendix F
• I The Languages & Peoples of the Third Age
• II On Translation
• Architecture
• Bag End
• Places
• Hobbiton
• Bywater
• Characters
• Elanor Gardner Fairbairn
• Shire Hobbits of the Fourth Age
• Bilbo & Frodo Baggins