It is widely known as an idyllic, beautiful rural land in the north of Middle-earth.
While its times of peace are most remembered, its creation would come after centuries of war. Over
the years to come, the hobbit inhabitants would face terrible threats - harsh winters, famine,
orcs, wolves, and near-destruction at the hands of the white wizard.
Today, on Nerd of the Rings, we cover the History of The Shire.
The lands we come to know as The Shire were originally part of the mannish realm
of Arnor. Founded by Elendil in the Second Age, Arnor would be home to the high king
as his sons ruled the southern kingdom of Gondor. Arnor, which covers most of Eriador,
would remain intact until 861 TA, when its tenth king Earendur dies. Due to dissent among
his three sons, the kingdom is split. Amlaith, the eldest rules over the realm of Arthedain,
while his brothers rule the breakaway kingdoms of Cardolan and Rhudaur.
Beginning in 1356 TA, the kingdom of Angmar, founded by the lord of the Nazgul,
would wage a war against the remnants of Arnor that would last over 600 years. This
is covered in greater detail in my Wars of the Witch-King video, but by the 1400s,
he had invaded Arthedain and killed King Arveleg I, destroyed the watchtower of Amon Sul,
ravaged Cardolan and killed its last prince, and occupied the entire realm of Rhudaur.
It is in the midst of this back and forth war with the Witch-king that hobbits would come
into the picture. By 1601 TA, hobbits have come to live in Eriador in places such as Dunland,
the depopulated Cardolan and Rhudaur, and the town of Bree. It is from Bree that the Fallohide
brothers Marcho and Blanco come to travel across the Brandywine. With the permission of King
Argeleb II of Arthedain, they settle this land now called The Shire. The land itself is relatively
small - measuring 120 miles east to west and 150 miles north to south - but it is described
as both beautiful and fertile. In days past, it had been a hunting grounds of the Kings of Arnor.
Over the next 30 years, the hobbits of Dunland, Cardolan, and Rhudaur would migrate to the Shire.
With the exception of hobbits who would dwell in Bree and the Stoor-hobbits who were the ancestors
of Smeagol, the hobbits of Middle-earth would dwell exclusively in The Shire.
Along with the lands of Eriador, the Shire would be affected by the great
plague in 1636 TA. Though, neither would be as hard hit as Gondor in the south.
The Shire-hobbits consider themselves to be subjects of the King of Arthedain,
though their realm would for some time be isolated from outside influence - either good
or ill. Still, we are told that some hobbits did indeed fight in the war against Angmar.
Specifically, we are told hobbits fight in the climactic Battle of Fornost,
in which the Witch-king is finally defeated thanks to the aid of Gondor
and the elves of Rivendell and Lorien. While the kingdom of Angmar is destroyed,
Arthedain - the last remnant of Arnor is left in tatters with its king dead. From this moment,
all that remains of the once great northern kingdom is the Dunedain Rangers.
With the Fall of Arnor complete, the Shire hobbits establish the role of Thain in the absence of a
king. This role was a hereditary one that would pass through the male line of the Took family. The
first is Bucca of the Marish, who takes the roll in 1979 TA. Much later, after the War of the Ring,
Pippin would become the 32nd Thain of the Shire before passing the title to his son Faramir Took.
As the hobbits thrive in The Shire the three kinds of hobbits - the Stoors,
Harfoots, and Fallohides - largely merge together. In 2340 TA, due to the swelling
of the Shire’s population, the Oldbuck family of the Marish crosses the Brandywine river,
and founds the land of Buckland. Their family is renamed the Brandybucks and like the Tooks,
they establish a governing position - the Master of Buckland. This title would pass
from their leader Gorhendad who led them to found Buckland all the way down to Meriadoc Brandybuck,
who would become the 8th Master of Buckland before passing the title to his son.
Despite being a fairly insignificant realm to the great dark powers, and secretly being protected by
the Dunedain Rangers, the Shire would come under outside threats. In 2740,
Goblins from Mount Gram began raiding several parts of Eriador. In 2747,
they invade the lands of the Shire, entering the Northfarthing. Bandobras “Bullroarer” Took leads
the hobbits in The Battle of Green Fields, killing the goblin king Golfimbul. Dismayed
at the death of their king, the orcs flee and their raids in Eriador cease altogether.
Eleven years later, the Shire would be hit with harsh cold and snow in
the Long Winter. It lasts from November 2758 to March 2759 and would result in
the deaths of many thousands of hobbits. During this very winter in the south,
the Rohirrim would come under attack by the Dunlendings, and their king Helm Hammerhand
would hold out in the Suthburg - a fortress that would later bear his name - Helm’s Deep.
Back in the Shire, it is during the Long Winter that Gandalf meets and befriends the hobbits. The
wizard would later recount this to Pippin in the Unfinished Tales chapter “The Quest of Erebor”:
pinches they have been in, dying of cold, and starving in the dreadful dearth that followed.
Immediately after the Long Winter come the Days of Dearth - a terrible famine that continues well
into the year 2760. Gandalf, who had come to the hobbits aid during the Long Winter,
witnesses the hobbits’ courage and pity for one another. This would lead to not
only his affection for hobbits, but his eventual choice of Bilbo Baggins for the Quest of Erebor.
A second extremely cold and long-lasting winter would strike in the Fell Winter of 2911-2912 TA.
While this winter was less harsh than the Long Winter, there would be food shortages once more
across Eriador. This, combined with the freezing of the Brandywine River, would lead to the
hobbits being attacked by White Wolves, which had descended from the frozen north of Middle-earth.
As the wolves cross the river, the Horn-call of Buckland is sounded - warning the Shire
of the imminent danger. Were it not for the help of Gandalf and the Rangers of the North,
the hobbits would have likely died of hunger during this terrible winter.
Over the centuries, Gandalf’s interest in the hobbits would be noticed by Saruman.
The white wizard, who had long been searching for the One Ring for himself,
places spies in Bree and the Southfarthing. They discover that the Shire is closely guarded by the
Dunedain. This guard is doubled when Gandalf comes to suspect that Bilbo’s ring is the One.
Aside from the occasional visits of the Grey Wizard and the undetected protection of the
Dunedain, few travelers would make their way through the Shire. Notable
exceptions are elves making their way to either Emyn Beraid or the Grey Havens,
and Dwarves taking the East road to or from their mines in the Blue Mountains.
As the War of the Ring nears, the Nine Ringwraiths would come to the Shire in search of the ring,
which had now passed to Frodo. As the ring journeys with Frodo, the rangers would come
to fight alongside their chieftain Aragorn in the battles in the South. They, along with Elrond’s
sons make up the Grey Company, and follow Aragorn on the paths of the dead. Meanwhile,
with the rangers gone, the Shire is for the first time in centuries, left unprotected.
For the first time in it’s history, the Shire is occupied by an invading force - a
group of Ruffians under the service of a mysterious Sharkey. Frodo, Sam, Merry,
and Pippin would return to the Shire after the destruction of the One Ring to find their home
desolated by the forced industrialization of Sharkey. The horn-call of Buckland would
sound once again as the four hobbits lead their fellows in the Battle of Bywater.
The battle features well over 300 hobbits against 100 ruffians. Led by our four hobbit heroes,
the shire-folk are victorious. While 19 hobbits would be killed and 30 wounded,
the ruffians fare much worse - 70 are killed and 12 are captured. As they come to Bag End,
they find Sharkey to be the fallen wizard Saruman. After being shown more cruelty by his master,
Grima Wormtongue cuts Saruman’s throat before he is also struck down by hobbit archers.
The Shire is reclaimed through bloody battle, the very last of the War of the Ring. In the
aftermath, the hobbits would set to work restoring the shire, undoing the terrible work of Saruman.
A great help in this effort is the soil which Galadriel had given to Sam in Lorien. The silver
nut he plants in the spot of the fallen Party Tree, and he places a grain of Lorien soil at
the root of each sapling he plants throughout the Shire. In all the history of the Shire,
the year 3021 would be remembered as both the most productive and most prosperous.
The Shire joins the Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor under Aragorn. Six years after Frodo
and Bilbo’s departure to the Grey Havens, King Elessar would visit his friends in the north.
He would stop short of entering the Shire, meeting Merry, Pippin, and Sam,
at the Brandywine Bridge - for he had decreed in that year that the Shire was a free land - a
protected realm within his Kingdom - and that no one other than Hobbits were permitted to enter
without the halflings’ leave. By this time, Sam is the newly elected Mayor of Michel Delving,
sometimes known as Mayor of the Shire - a role he would serve for an unprecedented 7 terms.
Later, in 31 FoA, Aragorn gives the hobbits additional land,
extending the Shire to the west as far as Emyn Beraid. This new land was named the Westmarch,
and many hobbits would come to dwell there.
Sam would leave the Shire for the Grey Havens sailing west in 61 FoA. And Merry and Pippin would
leave the Shire in the year 63, spending their last days in Gondor with Aragorn. Before departing
the land they had fought so hard to protect, these heroes of Middle-earth would pass on their roles
to the next generation, untrusting their children with the land they loved - the land of the Shire.
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