Bree

Bree was the main city of Bree-land, a mostly uninhabited land. Men of that land were friends with Dwarves, Elves, and Hobbits, more so than any other Men. "According to their own tales they were the original inhabitants and were descendants of the first Men that ever wandered into the West of the middle-world. Few had survived the turmoils of the Elder Days; but when the Kings returned again over the Great Sea they had found the Bree-men still there, and they were still there now, when memory of the old Kings had faded into the grass" (p. 161, The Fellowship of the Ring). That quote is a perfect example of the history embedded in these stories. There were also many wanderers, whom the Breelanders called Rangers, that roamed the wild lands. Many hobbits resided in Bree and it was really the only place in Middle-earth where the Big Folk and Little Folk lived in such close quarters. By this time in Middle-earth very few Shire folk visited Bree.

Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippen came upon the city gate at night and found it was closed. Harry the Gatekeeper questioned the hobbits, recognizing them as hobbits from the Shire. "'Our names and our business is our own, and this does not seem a good place to discuss them,' said Frodo, not liking the look of the man or the tone of his voice" (p. 163, The Fellowship of the Ring). Finally Harry relented and let the four hobbits pass. He stared at them as they moved on and missed the dark shadowy figure that climbed over the wall.

They found The Prancing Pony as Tom Bombadil suggested and it was a lively place. Barliman Butterbur was the proprietor and was the first to greet them. "'Can we----' Frodo began. 'Half a minute, if you please!' shouted the man over his shoulder, and vanished into a babel of voices and a cloud of smoke" (p. 165, The Fellowship of the Ring). Barliman came back for a proper greeting and was pleased to find four hobbits of the Shire; Frodo gave his traveling name of Underhill in case any ears were listening for Baggins. Butterbur seemed to be reminded of something but couldn't quite bring it to the forefront of his mind. He called for one of his help: Nob a hobbit of Bree, who showed the hobbits to their quarters. The Inn had special rooms for hobbits, low to the ground with round windows. Nob was quite intrigued to meet hobbits of the Shire and Barliman continued to talk a mile a minute as they settled in.

They ate a good supper. "There was hot soup, cold meats, a blackberry tart, new loaves, slabs of butter, and a half ripe cheese..." (p. 166, The Fellowship of the Ring); sounds yummy; perhaps I'll get ambitious and try to recreate a similar meal one of these days!! Afterward Barliman invited the hobbits to the main hall to visit with other Bree-landers and travelers for they all were anxious to see the guests from the Shire. All went except Merry who wanted some fresh air. They were quickly introduced to the room and the Bree Hobbits asked them many questions. "There were several Underhills from Staddle, and as they could not imagine sharing a name without being related, they took Frodo to their hearts as a long-lost cousin" (p. 167, The Fellowship of the Ring). Frodo seeing all the questions made a up a story that he was researching hobbits from outside the Shire for a book. Many voices told many stories but Frodo did not acknowledge them, rather he sat alone in a corner observing the room.

Sam and Pippin were getting along great with the Bree Hobbits. Men were talking with native Bree-landers about events far away and the migration of other Men. "Suddenly Frodo noticed that a strange-looking, weather-beaten man, sitting in the shadows near the wall, was also listening intently to the hobbit-talk. He had a tall laniard in front of him, and was smoking a long-stemmed pipe curiously carved. His legs were stretched out before him, showing high boots of supple leather that fitted him well, but had seen much wear and were now caked with mud. A travel-stained cloak of heavy dark-green cloth was drawn close about him, and in spite of the heat of the room he wore a hood that overshadowed his face; but the gleam of his eyes could be seen as he watched the hobbits" (p. 168, The Fellowship of the Ring). Butterbur informed Frodo the man was a Ranger known as Strider.

Strider waved Frodo over as if he guessed the innkeepers conversation with Frodo. Frodo felt very uncomfortable as Strider introduced himself. "'Well, Master Underhill,' said Strider, 'if I were you, I should stop your young friends from talking too much. Drink, fire, and chance meeting are pleasant enough, but, well--this isn't the Shire'" (p. 169, The Fellowship of the Ring). It was then that Frodo noticed Pippin was telling a lively story about Bilbo's last birthday party when he disappeared. Frodo did not wish the name Baggins to be brought to everyone's mind and quickly interrupted putting all eyes on himself. He gave a courteous thank you for their reception and the onlookers called for a song. Put on the spot Frodo sang a drinking song that Bilbo had made up (involving the moon, a cow, a dog, plate, and spoon) and the crowd roared with appreciation. Frodo was given a drink and feeling good led another round of singing.

He began to dance a little too vigorously and fell over and to everyone's amazement disappeared. People moved away from and gave dirty looks to Sam and Pippin, thinking they were some sort of magicians. One swarthy Bree-lander, a southern foreigner, and Harry the Gatekeeper made their way out of the Inn quickly after this unexpected event. Frodo meanwhile crawled over to Strider's dark corner and removed the Ring. "For a moment he wondered if the Ring itself had not played him a trick; perhaps it had tried to reveal itself in response to some wish or command that was felt in the room. He did not like the looks of the men that had gone out" (p. 173, The Fellowship of the Ring). Strider was not pleased and asked Mr. Baggins for a private chat. "'What about?' asked Frodo, ignoring the sudden use of his proper name. 'A matter of some importance--to us both,' answered Strider, looking Frodo in the eye. 'You may hear something to your advantage'" (p. 173, The Fellowship of the Ring).

Frodo agreed but wasn't able to leave immediately. Barliman had been called over and was receiving all sorts of varied accounts as to what had happened. He thought some mistake had been made. Frodo called out to all saying he merely had crawled away under tables being embarrassed by the fall but this satisfied no one. Most decided to head home having had enough entertainment for one evening. The last to leave were some Dwarves and traveling men who said good night to Butterbur but not to Frodo and his friends. Frodo apologized to Barliman who was not that put out (he figured many would be coming in the days to come to talk about what had went on) but he informed Frodo that he'd like to have a chat with him for he remembered something very important. "'Certainly!' said Frodo; but his heart sank. He wondered how many private talks he would have before he got to bed, and what they would reveal'" (p. 174, The Fellowship of the Ring).

Middle-earth timeline: Third Age, 3018, September 29th

Today's reading comes from: The Fellowship of the Ring, pages 160-174