Hobbits
"Hobbits really are amazing creatures, as I have said before. You can learn all that there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet after a hundred years they can still surprise you at a pinch." —Gandalf, in The Fellowship of the Ring Hobbits, also known as Halflings, were an ancient mortal race that lived in Middle-earth. Although their exact origins are unknown, they were initially found in the northern regions of Middle-earth and below the Vales of Anduin. At the beginning of the Third Age, Hobbits moved north and west. Most of their race eventually founded the land of the Shire in about the year TA 1601, though one type of Hobbit known as Stoors remained in the Anduin Vale (the type of Hobbit Sméagol was).
Last Updated
05/31/21
Chapters
9
Reads
645
Appearance
Chapter 8
"I picture a fairly human figure, not a kind of fairy rabbit as some of my British reviewers seem to fancy: fat in the stomach, shortish in the leg. A round, jovial face; ears only slightly pointed and 'elvish'; hair short and curling (brown). The feet from the ankles down, covered with brown hairy fur that are extremely small. Clothing: green velvet breeches; red or yellow waistcoat; brown or green jacket; gold (or brass) buttons; a dark green hood and cloak (belonging to a dwarf)."
In the Prologue to The Lord of the Rings, he wrote that they dress in bright colours, favouring yellow and green. Nowadays (according to Tolkien's fiction), they are very shy creatures, but they are and have been capable of amazing things. Their feet are covered with curly hair (usually brown, as is the hair on their heads) and have leathery soles, so most Hobbits hardly ever wear shoes. Hobbits (Halflings) are often depicted with large feet for their size, perhaps to visually emphasize their unusual nature. (This is especially prominent in the influential illustrations by the Brothers Hildebrandt, and the large prosthetic feet used in the films by Peter Jackson). Tolkien does not specifically give size as a generic hobbit trait, but does makes it the distinctive trait of the Proudfoot hobbit clan. Hobbits can sometimes live for up to one hundred and thirty years, although their average life expectancy is one hundred years. The time at which a young Hobbit "comes of age" is thirty-three. Thus, a fifty-year-old Hobbit would only look 26–30 years by human standards.
The Hobbits had a distinct calendar. Every year started on a Saturday and ended on a Friday, with each of the twelve months consisting of thirty days. Some special days did not belong to any month - Yule 1 and 2 (New Year's Eve and New Years Day) and three Lithedays in mid summer. Every fourth year there was an extra Litheday.
