The Shire of the Hobbits: Customs

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Customs, Character, and Material Culture

Agriculture | Astronomy | Birthdays | Brandybucks, Brandy Hall & Bucklanders | Bree | Butchers | Bywater | Class | Cleanliness | Crickhollow | Dance | Education | Families | Food, Drink, & Meals | Hobbit Character | Hobbit Culture in History | Houses & Furniture | Letters | the Marish | Metals | Money | Music & Song | Parties & Games | Transportation |

Agriculture

The hobbits begin their conversation with Farmer Maggot by talking about weather and agricultural prospects, showing the agrarian nature of the hobbits.
Haymaking, harvesting, blackberrying. From The Hobbit.

Astronomy

The hobbits refer to the Sun as a she. This links with the Silmarillion, which explains why the Sun is a she. On a cultural level, it shows ties with the elvish conception of the world.
The hobbit’s name for the Great Bear constellation is The Sickle.

Birthdays

Hobbits give others presents on their birthday.

Brandybucks, Brandy Hall and Bucklanders

Brandy Hall has yellow and red round windows, fills a hill, has three large front doors, many side doors, and 100 windows!
Merry as a Bucklander had heard of Bree. Merry says “My people ride out there now and again.” And, in fact, “There was Bree-blood in the Brandybucks, by all accounts.” This is probably one reason why hobbits around Hobbiton think Bucklanders are weird. There used to be more contact with Bree and the Shire in the past.
Brandybucks of Buckland sound a horn-call to gather people when wolves or Black Riders come.

Bree

Merry as a Bucklander had heard of Bree. Merry says “My people ride out there now and again.” And, in fact, “There was Bree-blood in the Brandybucks, by all accounts.” This is probably one reason why hobbits around Hobbiton think Bucklanders are weird. There used to be more contact with Bree and the Shire in the past.
Beds have bolsters in Bree.
In Bree, there was a white tablecloth and candles.
The Prancing Pony has a parlour and a common-room.

Butchers

Bilbo uses a butcher and doesn't cut up meat or skin rabbits. From The Hobbit.

Bywater

The Green Dragon is at Bywater.

Class

The class system is shown by working class calling upper class by "Mr. First Name". For example, Hamfast calls Frodo "Mr. Frodo." Sam says "Mr. Bilbo," but when telling others about Frodo, he says, "Mr. Baggins."
Farmer Maggot, being of lower social station than Merry and Frodo, calls them “Mr. Merry” and “Mr. Frodo.” However, Merry refers to Frodo as “Mr. Baggins” when talking from carriage to carriage with Farmer Maggot. And to further complicate matters, Merry calls Maggot “Mr. Maggot” once. Maggot also refers to Frodo as “Mr. Baggins” when talking about him in the third tense, as in “Mrs. Maggot put this up for Mr. Baggins.” So hobbits seem to address social betters as “Mr./Miss/Mrs. Firstname” and everyone appears to refer to hobbits as “Mr./Miss/Mrs. Lastname” when talking about them in the third person.

Cleanliness

Hobbits wash their faces and hands when they get up.
Hobbits washed before supper.
In the morning, Bilbo wants to put a kettle on, wash and brush. From The Hobbit.
Bilbo wants a warm bath and a late breakfast on the lawn afterward. From The Hobbit.

Crickhollow

The house at Crickhollow has a stone floor.

Dance

There is a dance called the Springle-ring where dancers dance with bells in hand. It is pretty but vigorous.

Education

Bilbo taught Sam his letters. (Teaching is by personal relationship and willingness).

Families

Farmer Maggot has three daughters and at least two sons. (Farmers have large families on average?)

Food, Drink, and Meals

Bilbo's table had a high reputation. (A hobbit can get a reputation for this).
Pippin is surprised Frodo wants to think at breakfast while they are walking towards Bree. Pippin says, "Good heavens! At breakfast?"
When it is dark, the hobbits and Farmer Maggot’s family eat dinner by candlelight.
The hobbits hope that the Prancing Pony will be homelike. The hobbits like the food at the Prancing Pony because it is “good plain food, as good as the Shire could show, and homelike enough.”
When the hobbits find out the ponies of Merry and the Bree-landers have gone, their hearts sink, but Merry is happy they at least get breakfast. This either shows they really like breakfast, or they focus on any positives, or both.
The Golden Perch at Stock had the best beer in the Eastfarthing.
Uses a fork to take bacon off pan. From The Hobbit.

Hobbit Character

Gandalf says off hobbits, "Soft as butter they can be, and yet sometimes as tough as old tree roots."
The hobbits feels awkward with the daggers Bombadil gives them. Fighting has not occurred to them, and they wondered if the daggers would be of any use. This emphasizes the peaceable nature of hobbit society.
Regarding contact with the outside world: Merry as a Bucklander had heard of Bree. Merry says “My people ride out there now and again.” And, in fact, “There was Bree-blood in the Brandybucks, by all accounts.” This is probably one reason why hobbits around Hobbiton think Bucklanders are weird. There used to be more contact with Bree and the Shire in the past. Shire-hobbits consider Bree hobbits to be uncouth and call them “Outsiders.” (In Bree, Shire-folk are Outsiders).
When the hobbits find out the ponies of Merry and the Bree-landers have gone, their hearts sink, but Merry is happy they at least get breakfast. This either shows they really like breakfast, or they focus on any positives, or both.
Sam shows his dislike of Bill Ferny by throwing an apple at him.

Hobbit Culture in History

Stoors of Smeagol's time made reed boats. The grandmother played a prominent role in Smeagol's life.

Houses and Furniture

Frodo sells feather beds to the Sackville-Bagginses. Feather beds are also mentioned in The Hobbit.
Farm houses mentioned in Fellowship of the Rings have thatched roofs.
The house at Crickhollow has a stone floor.
The hobbits have a pillow that is as soft as down.
They have a blanket of white wool.
Beds have bolsters in Bree.
In Bree, there was a white tablecloth and candles.
The Prancing Pony has a parlour and a common-room.
They have lanterns.
Uses a fork to take bacon off pan. From The Hobbit.

Letters

Frodo’s mailing address: “Mr. Frodo Baggins, Bag End, Hobbiton in the Shire.”
Gandalf’s letter has a seal. Gandalf isn’t a hobbit, but no one is surprised there is a seal.
Address on the letter “The Prancing Pony, Bree.”

The Marish

People of the Marish were house-dwellers and had brick houses.

Metals

Presence of metals: Near the end of the Shire, at the edge of the Old Forest, there is a gate that is thick set, with iron bars and a lock. (This means the hobbits have access to iron. The Third Age is set in at least the Iron Age, albeit a mythical one). There are silver, copper, bronze beads, chains, and jewelled ornaments. Bombadil gives the hobbits old knives/daggers to be used as swords.

Money

Frodo had only brought a little money. However, this means they had some. It also shows he had no idea how involved the trip would be. (He only brought a little money?)
Bill Ferny sells the hobbits a pony (Bill) for twelve silver pennies. That was at least three times the worth of a pony in Bree. Butterbur as the host pays for Bill the pony and gives Merry eighteen pence as some compensation for his stolen ponies. (Merry’s five ponies later run to find Tom Bombadil’s Fatty Lumpkin. When Tom hears what happened, he returns them to Butterbur.)

Music and Song

Party instruments include trumpets, horns, pipes, and flutes.
There are supper-songs, bed-songs, and walking-songs.
Most hobbits hum a supper or bed song when they get near home at night, but in the instance mentioned in LOTR, they hum a walking song.
There are bath-songs.

Parties and Games

There are tents at the party.
The party includes songs, dances, music, games, food, and drink. Meals include elevenses, lunch, tea, dinner/supper.
Party instruments include trumpets, horns, pipes, and flutes.
Games: quoits, dart-throwing, "shooting at the wand," bowls, ninepins. From The Hobbit.
Like to make smoke-rings. From The Hobbit.
Picnics. From The Hobbit.

Transportation

Lobelia drives a pony trap.
Merry has ponies, which the hobbits use to ride into Bree.

Source:

The Lord of the Rings, unless specified as coming from The Hobbit.

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Updated January 3, 2102