Abby Epplett, Historian

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.

I first learned about the documentary Whitin through a Blackstone Heritage Corridor newsletter upon its release about five months ago in November 2024. The documentary was edited, written, and produced by filmmaker Heather Riley of North Grafton with significant input from members of the Whitin family. The documentary is about twenty-seven minutes in length and currently hosted on the ValleyCAST YouTube channel.

This is the final essay before I begin my analysis of the dialogue portion of The Lord of the Rings . I hope to begin moving more quickly through the text now that I have laid a solid foundation and framing to my metaphorical house, but seeing as I tend to overanalyze, I cannot promise any amount of speed. Today I discuss Hobbiton, the famous hometown of Bilbo Baggins and possibly his father, Bungo Baggins. This was not the hometown of Frodo, as he was born in Buckland, but he was permitted to live in this area after Bilbo made him the heir to Bag End. I will cover the ownership, architecture, and layout of Hobbiton while comparing it to real-world history before providing the first animatic of the project.

In this week’s essay, my loves of historic house tours and The Lord of the Rings combine for the first time as I present my map of Bag End, also spelled Bag-End by the older generations of Hobbits. Since Tolkien was a philologist, it is fitting to take a brief break to explain the naming scheme around the property, along with the clan name of the family who built it. Tolkien studies expert Tom Shippey noted in The Road to Middle-earth that “bag-end” is a literal translation of “cul-de-sac”, which was further elaborated upon by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull in Reader’s Companion . The current meaning of a road terminating at a house or collection of houses dates from 1819.

With “I The Númenórean Kings” completed, Appendix A shifted focus to a different group of Men. “II The House of Eorl” covered similar territory to “(iv) Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion” but with the stories told in the perspective of Eorlingas, the “translation” of the name that people from the House of Eorl called themselves. Men of Gondor called them Rohirrim, which meant “Horse-Lords” in their variant of Sindarin. In the real-world, the House of Rohan was a Breton family who lived in Brittany, France and claimed descent from the hero Conan Meriadoc. This legendary founder of Brittany will receive plenty of future commentary for his familiar-sounding name. Today, Musée du Château des Rohan de Saverne [Rohan Castle Museum in Saverne] allows visitors to learn about the family, along with viewing exhibits on nearby archaeological finds, art and history, and the life of a local female journalist. During The Two Towers, Aragorn noted that the Rohirrim were “wise but unlearne...

Continuing with my close read and historical comparison of the Prologue in Lord of the Rings: Part One, The Fellowship of the Ring , I move on to “3 Of the Ordering of the Shire”. This section begins by listing the parts of the Shire: North, South, East and West Farthings; Tookland; the East and West Marches of semiautonomous Buckland; and “the Westmarch added to the Shire in S.R. 1462” ( Fellowship , 10), offering the first piece of foreshadowing for the section. The rest of the section describes the lack of government and laissez-faire attitude of the nobility, the economy and rudimentary police force, and the postal service. Through this information provided in the text, I compare the culture of the Shire to other cultures in Western Europe to determine what equivalent time in history is the 15 th century of Shire Reckoning (S.R.) when the main story is set. Let’s Talk About Feudalism The Took family with its Fallohide ancestry and connection to the high king of Fo...