The Shire

As my chronological read through Middle-earth draws me ever nigh to the great War of the Ring I thought this would be a good spot to post some updates on Shire life. "The Shire at this time had hardly any 'government'. Families for the most part managed their own affairs. Growing food and eating it occupied most of their time. In other matters they were, as a rule, generous and not greedy, but contented and moderate, so that the estates, farms, workshops, and small trades tended to remain unchanged for generations" (p. 18, The Fellowship of the Ring).

What laws they had were attributed to the ancient King. They were respected even though there had been no King for nearly 1000 years. Only two real offices existed for Hobbits: the Thain and the Mayor of Michel Delving (the Shire in reality). The Took's (which Bilbo had relation too) had long been the preeminent family so the Thainship passed through their lineage. "The Thain was the master of the Shire-moot, and captain of the Shire-muster,  and the Hobbitry-in-arms, but as muster and moot were only held in times of emergency, which no longer occurred, the Thainship had ceased to be more than a nominal dignity" (p. 19, The Fellowship of the Ring).

The Mayor was elected "...every seven years at the Free Fair on the White Downs at the Lithe, that is midsummer" (p. 19, The Fellowship of the Ring). I quoted that to show the tremendous depth of Tolkien's creation. Most fantasy authors would say (in my opinion) there was a mayor, perhaps elected every 7 years; whereas as Tolkien lists the event, the location, and the time--for a character who will have no bearing on the central tale. Amazing stuff. The mayor's responsibility was to attend banquets (yum!),  and to oversee the only two services in the Shire: Postmaster and Shirrif. Hobbits, who could read and write that is, wrote constantly and the Postmaster was frequently the busier of the two.

However, as Sauron grew in power and as Saruman set a watch around the Shire the Shirrifs were more active. "The Shirrifs was the name of that the Hobbits gave to their police, or nearest equivalent that they possessed" (p. 19, The Fellowship of the Ring). Three for each Farthing (North, South, East, and West). Shirrifs oversaw the Bounders who watched over the borders of the Shire to make sure no wild animals or unwanted visitors became a problem. They were quite active as the War of the Ring drew close. "There were many reports and complaints of strange persons and creatures prowling about the borders, or over them: the first sign that not all was quite as it should be, and always had been except in tales and legends of long ago. Few heeded the sign, and not even Bilbo yet had any notion of what it portended" (p. 19, The Fellowship of the Ring).

Middle-earth timeline: Third Age, circa 3000
Today's reading comes from: The Fellowship of the Ring, pages 18-19