Hobbit
- This article is about the fictional race. For the book by Tolkien, see The Hobbit. For the hominid species, see Homo floresiensis.
Hobbits are a fictional people in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth stories. They appear prominently in The Hobbit in The Lord of the Rings, whose main characters are the hobbits Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck, and Peregrin Took.
Creation
Hobbits first appeared in Tolkien's book The Hobbit, which at that time was not yet part of his older stories. When Tolkien, upon writing the sequel, moved its setting to Middle-earth, the Hobbits were incorporated into the Middle-earth mythology.
Appearance
Hobbits appear as small humans, between two and four foot tall. They have furry hair on the top of their feet and leathery soles, making shoes unnecessary. They also have slightly pointed ears. Male hobbits do not grow beards. Hobbits have a longer lifespan than humans, many hobbits reaching the age of 100.[1]
Life and Culture
Hobbits are a peaceful people and lead a simple, pre-industrial lifestyle. They live in the land which they call The Shire, and also in Breeland, both situated in Eriador in northwestern Middle-earth.
The traditional housing of Hobbits is the "hobbit-hole", or smial, which is made up of a long hallway with rooms on both sides, built into a hill. Late in the Third Age these were mostly replaced in favour of single-story houses above ground; only the richer classes and the poor kept living in the traditional smials. A notable feature of hobbit architecture are the round doors and windows.[1]
Hobbits use the Shire Calendar, and the Shire Reckoning to count the years, beginning with the colonisation of the Shire in T.A. 1601.[2]
References
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