Q: Where Do Hobbits Live In Middle-earth?
ANSWER: Hobbits enjoyed a long though obscure history in Middle-earth. According to J.R.R. Tolkien in a letter, the Hobbits were an offshoot or sub-family of the race of Men (the Human Race). It is generally inferred that the ancestors of Hobbits were among the mythical “Fathers of Men” who were said to have awakened in Hildorien, the “land of the After-comers”. However, Tolkien reveals nothing of the movements or activities of the ancestors of the Hobbits until the early Third Age.
In an essay titled “Of Dwarves and Men”, which Christopher Tolkien published in The Peoples of Middle-earth, J.R.R. Tolkien mentioned that Hobbits settled in or near the communities of Men (of the North) in the Vales of Anduin in the early Third Age. He does not say where the Hobbits came from, although it seems likely that he imagined them following much the same ancient migratory route taken by the Elves and Edainic peoples across northern Middle-earth, passing near the inland sea of Rhun before reaching Greenwood the Great.
The early Third Age Hobbits may therefore have lived in the northern Vales of Anduin for around a thousand years. In the “Prologue” to The Lord of the Rings Tolkien wrote of the three kindreds of Hobbits:
Before the crossing of the mountains the Hobbits had already become divided into three somewhat different breeds: Harfoots, Stoors, and Fallohides. The Harfoots were browner of skin, smaller, and shorter, and they were beardless and bootless; their hands and feet were neat and nimble; and they preferred highlands and hillsides. The Stoors were broader, heavier in build; their feet and hands were larger, and they preferred flat lands and riversides. The Fallohides were fairer of skin and also of hair, and they were taller and slimmer than the others; they were lovers of trees and of woodlands. The Harfoots had much to do with Dwarves in ancient times, and long lived in the foothills of the mountains. They moved westward early, and roamed over Eriador as far as Weathertop while the others were still in the Wilderland. They were the most normal and representative variety of Hobbit, and far the most numerous. They were the most inclined to settle in one place, and longest preserved their ancestral habit of living in tunnels and holes.
The Stoors lingered long by the banks of the Great River Anduin, and were less shy of Men. They came west after the Harfoots and followed the course of the Loudwater southwards; and there many of them long dwelt between Tharbad and the borders of Dunland before they moved north again.
The Fallohides, the least numerous, were a northerly branch. They were more friendly with Elves than the other Hobbits were, and had more skill in language and song than in handicrafts; and of old they preferred hunting to tilling. They crossed the mountains north of Rivendell and came down the River Hoarwell. In Eriador they soon mingled with the other kinds that had preceded them, but being somewhat bolder and more adventurous, they were often found as leaders or chieftains among clans of Harfoots or Stoors. Even in Bilbo’s time the strong Fallohidish strain could still be noted among the greater families, such as the Tooks and the Masters of Buckland.
Tolkien’s description of the Fallohides suggests they may have lived near Elves at some point in their ancient history, but according to texts published in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth Thranduil’s people did not settle in far northern Greenwood/Mirkwood until about the time that the Harfoots began crossing the Misty Mountains into Eriador.
The movements of Thranduil’s people are only vaguely documented in the various notes published in the texts. We can establish that Oropher, Thranduil’s father, settled on or near Amon Lanc in southern Greenwood the Great early in the Second Age. Then later, perhaps because of the rise of the influence of Celeborn and Galadriel (or because of the growing power of Mordor), he led his people to central Greenwood (gradually over three migratory events) where by the end of the Second Age they were living in Emyn Duil (the mountains in the center of the forest, later known as the Mountains of Mirkwood).
It was Thranduil, according to these notes, who led his people farther north to settle in the northeastern quadrant of the forest after Sauron established himself on Amon Lanc around the Third Age year 1000. We can infer that the Fallohides might have lived in Greenwood near the Emyn Muir long enough to associate with Thranduil’s people until Sauron took Amon Lanc for his own. The Elves then fled northeast but the Fallohides, perhaps seeking the company of the more numerous Harfoots, fled northwest. The Harfoots entered Eriador in the year 1050. Tolkien does not say where they crossed the mountains but it seems likely to have been through the High Pass that ran near Rivendell. This High Pass lay along the route of the ancient Dwarf road that ran through central Greenwood and Eriador.
The Fallohides and Stoors remained in the Vales of Anduin until about the year 1150. The Stoors were almost certainly living along or near the Gladden River in the Vales of Anduin. The Fallohides may have lived near the southern border of what later became Angmar. There would have been Men living in the area, although it seems they were not related to the Edainic peoples.
From 1050 to 1300 the Harfoots (later joined by the Fallohides) lived in eastern Eriador between the Mitheithel (Hoarwell) river and the Weather Hills. From 1150 to 1356 the Stoors (who had come north through Dunland and Eregion) had lived in the Angle. Thus, for the first 150 years of their history in Eriador all the Hobbits appear to have been subjects of the Dunadan kingdom of Rhudaur. (NOTE: Be sure to check out our Middle-earth Unplugged article about Hobbits in Rhudaur: “Rhudaur and the Little Folk”.)
All that changed when the Witch-king established the evil realm of Angmar north of Rhudaur. The Harfoots and Fallohides fled west to Arthedain beyond the Weather Hills, settling in and around Bree. The Stoors split into two groups, with one branch crossing over the mountains and returning to the Gladden Fields and the other branch fleeing to Dunland. (NOTE: See “Strange As News From Bree” for more information about the Hobbits’ impact on Bree.)
The Stoors of the Gladden Fields remained in that region for at least 1100 years (Deagol found the One Ring in 2463 and Smeagol was driven from the Stoor community within the next two years). By the end of the Third Age there were no longer any Stoors living near the Gladden River. Tolkien does not say whether they moved elsewhere but many readers infer that the Gladden Stoors probably died out. He does not mention the Stoors of the Gladden Fields in any of the tales concerning the early Rohirrim, although the narrative says “Such folk of good or evil kind as saw it approach fled out of its path for fear of its might and splendour.” However, Eorl led his army south along the eastern bank of Anduin, and the Gladden River flowed into the Anduin from the west, coming down from the Misty Mountains.
The Stoors of Dunland survived until 1636. When King Argeleb II of Arthedain granted the Shire to the Hobbit brothers Marcho and Blanco in 1600 many Harfoots and Fallohides left Bree to colonize the new land. About 30 years later many Stoors left Dunland, migrating to the Eastfarthing of the Shire and settling mainly in the Marish along the Baranduin (Brandywine) river. In 1636 the Great Plague wiped out the remaining Stoors of Dunland.
In the year 2340 the Oldbucks left the Shire, crossing the Baranduin to establish the Buckland between the Shire and the Old Forest. By the end of the Third Age the only Hobbit communities left were those of Bree-land, the Buckland, and the Shire.
Hobbits thus lived in many places in Middle-earth, but they lived in different regions at different times. Although it is easy to speak of the Hobbits living in “communities” such as the Shire, the Bree-land, the Buckland, etc. they clearly established many towns and estates. Their histories were punctuated by the wars of Men and Elves. In fact, the wars were sometimes the causes of great Hobbit migrations. Only the relative isolation of western Eriador in the late Third Age ensured the stability and safety that the Bree-land, Buckland, and Shire Hobbits enjoyed.
See also
When Did Hobbits become Divided into Fallohides, Stoors, and Harfoots?
What Is the Earliest Date Hobbits Could Have Settled in the Vales of Anduin?
Did Hobbits Ever Live in Tribes?
Where Did Hobbits Live in the First Age?
Did Hobbits Live by the Anduin?
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