Q: Do Hobbits Ever Go to War?
ANSWER: Yes. Hobbits go to war. J.R.R. Tolkien hints that Hobbits were involved in many wars but that much of their ancient history was lost after they arrived in Eriador. So the only wars we can associate with the Hobbits are the wars that are documented in the histories of Eriador.
The Hobbits first entered Eriador around the Third Age year 1150. Some of the Stoors settled in the Angle, which at that time was part of the Dunadan kingdom of Rhudaur. The Fallohides were the first to enter Eriador but it’s not clear where they settled. Arnor had been divided between Amlaith and his brothers in 861, and Tolkien wrote that there was often strife between the small kingdoms. They often fought over the possession of Weathertop and its Palantir.
As inhabitants of Rhudaur the Hobbits would have been involved in the border conflicts between Rhudaur and its neighbors; that is not to say they would have become soldiers fighting Men. In his notes concerning the history of Hobbits Tolkien seems to imply that they relied on Men for defense and most likely would have supplied those Men with food and materials for their needs.
The “Tale of Years” says that around the year 1300 “Evil things begin to multiply again. Orcs increase in the Misty Mountains and attack the Dwarves. The Nazgûl reappear. The chief of these comes north to Angmar. The Periannath migrate westward; many settle at Bree.”
Hence, the loss of the Hobbits who fled Rhudaur would have weakened that realm considerably. Those Hobbits who settled in Arthedain would have also strengthened that realm. They would have experienced Angmar’s invasion of Arnor in the year 1409. There were battles at Fornost Erain, the Tyrn Gorthad (Barrow-downs), and Amon Sûl (Weathertop).
After several hundred years the only Hobbits remaining west of the Misty Mountains were all subjects of Arthedain/Arnor. The last great migration occurred when Argeleb II granted them the lands that became the Shire in 1601. After the Great Plague of 1636 Hobbits lived only in Bree and the Shire.
Hobbits Became Directly Responsible for Their Own Defenses
Once Arnor was destroyed by Angmar in 1974 the Hobbits of Bree and the Shire appear to have allied themselves with Cirdan, Gondor, and Elrond. So they were involved in the final war against Angmar in 1975. But as Eriador settled into a long peace there would have been relatively few conflicts left to directly affect the Hobbits.
The only specific conflict that Tolkien describes came when Orcs from Mount Gram raided as far west as the Shire. The Shire-moot defeated the Orcs at the Battle of Greenfields in Third Age year 2747 (Shire Reckoning 1147). Bandobras Took led the Hobbits who defeated the Orcs of Mount Gram.
Tolkien says that was the last battle fought in the Shire prior to the War of the Ring.
The Original Question
This article was originally titled “How and When were Hobbits Involved in War Before the Start of Frodo’s Journey?”
See also
Where Did the People of Arnor Come From?
Where Do Hobbits Live in Middle-earth?
Rhudaur and the Little Folk (Middle-earth Unplugged)
Good Night, Good Rhudaur (Classic Essay)
# # #
Have you read our other Tolkien and Middle-earth Questions and Answers articles?
It is also mentioned that hobbits sent company of archers for battle of Fornost (I think) though there was no sign of this information in any chronicles. During the War of the Ring even before main heroes return, some of the more daring hobbits set up their own resistance forces, fighting partisans against ruffians (Fredegar ,,Fatty” Bolger was leader of one until he got caught). We can also say that White Wolves attacking Shire in one devastating winter over frozen river Brandywine and trees attacking Bucklanders from Old Forest with hobbits organizing defense (chopping down malevolent trees and making great bonfire) could be called ,,war activities”. Also the vague history of their lives in Anduin Vale tells of hostile men increasing in numbers which could lead to some sort of armed conflict in the prelude of the times of migration.