Shire-thain

The Shire-thain,The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, (iii) "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur", The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain also known as the Thain of the Shire, was the title given to the traditional military leader of the Hobbits in the Shire after the fall of Fornost and the Dúnedain Kingdom of Arthedain in the mid-Third Age. The Shire-thain was the master of the Shire-moot and the captain of the Shire-muster.
==History==
The Hobbits first chose a Shire-thain to rule them in TA 1979 (Shire-reckoning 379), four years after Arvedui, last King of Arthedain, perished. Over time, the Shire-thain became a hereditary position, originally held by the Oldbuck Clan. Since TA 2340 (SR 740), the Thainship remained within the powerful Took-clan.
Other office-holders of the Shire included the Master of Buckland and the Mayor of Michel Delving, as well as in the Fourth Age the Warden of Westmarch, a position created by King Elessar. The Shire-thain's traditional duties involved the defence of the Shire from external attacks and presiding over meetings of the Shire-moot and Shire-muster. By the time of the War of the Ring most of the Shire-thain's duties were ceremonial and the practical duties, such as maintaining the Messenger Service, were handled by the Mayor of Michel Delving.
==Etymology==
"Thain" is a variant spelling of the Old English "thegn", an Anglo-Saxon designation for a minor noble, probably best known for its use in Shakespeare's Macbeth. While more commonly spelled "thane" in modern English, J.R.R. Tolkien used the older variant to represent the ancestral speech of the Hobbits.
==In other versions==
In earlier drafts, the Shire-thain was called the Thane before being change to the Shirking, short for Shire-king. After which, it was changed to Shire-thain.The Peoples of Middle-earth
==List of Shire-thains==
The following table is a list of all known thirty-three Shire-thains. All dates are given in the Shire-reckoning (SR) that lags behind the Third Age by 1600 years and passes ahead the Fourth Age by 1421 years. Thus, to convert SR to TA 1600 must be added, while to convert SR to FO 1421 must be subtracted (SR 1422 is the first year of the Fourth Age).
# 	Name 	Rule 	Lifespan 	Note
I 	Bucca 	379 — ? 	Unknown 	First Oldbuck Shire-thain, who was elected by the Hobbits after the dissolution of Arthedain
II—XI 	10 unnamed Oldbuck Shire-thains 	10 unnamed Oldbuck Shire-thains 	10 unnamed Oldbuck Shire-thains 	10 unnamed Oldbuck Shire-thains
XII 	Gorhendad 	? — 740 	Unknown 	Last Oldbuck Shire-thain, who abdicated Thainship after the removal to Buckland, becoming its first Master
XIII 	Isumbras I 	740 — ? 	Unknown 	First Shire-thain of the Took-clan, who was elected by the Hobbits after his predecessor's abdication
XIV—XXI	8 unnamed Shire-thains of the Took-clan (including Ferumbras I, Isengrim I, Paladin I and Isumbras II)	8 unnamed Shire-thains of the Took-clan (including Ferumbras I, Isengrim I, Paladin I and Isumbras II)	8 unnamed Shire-thains of the Took-clan (including Ferumbras I, Isengrim I, Paladin I and Isumbras II)	8 unnamed Shire-thains of the Took-clan (including Ferumbras I, Isengrim I, Paladin I and Isumbras II)
XXII 	Isengrim II 	1083 — 1122 	1020 — 1122 	Direct descendant of Isumbras I
XXIII 	Isumbras III 	1122 — 1159 	1066 — 1159 	Eldest son of Isengrim II
XXIV 	Ferumbras II 	1159 — 1201 	1101 — 1201 	Eldest son of Isumbras III
XXV 	Fortinbras I 	1201 — 1248 	1145 — 1248 	Eldest son of Ferumbras II
XXVI 	Gerontius 	1248 — 1320 	1190 — 1320 	Eldest son of Fortinbras I
XXVII 	Isengrim III 	1320 — 1330 	1232 — 1330 	Eldest son of Gerontius and Adamanta Chubb, who died childless
XXVIII 	Isumbras IV 	1330 — 1339 	1238 — 1339 	Younger brother of Isengrim III, second son of Gerontius and Adamanta Chubb
XXIX 	Fortinbras II 	1339 — 2980 	1278 — 1380 	Eldest son of Isumbras IV
XXX 	Ferumbras III 	1380 — 1415 	1316 — 1415 	Eldest son of Fortinbras II and Lalia Clayhanger, who died childless
XXXI 	Paladin II 	1415 — 1434 	1333 — 1434 	Eldest son of Adalgrim, first cousin of Ferumbras III, great-grandson of Gerontius
XXXII 	Peregrin 	1434 — 1484 	1390 — after 1484 	Eldest son of Paladin II and Eglantine Banks, who abdicated Thainship to his son
XXXIII 	Faramir 	1484 — ? 	1430 — ? 	Son of Peregrin and Diamond of Long Cleeve, who inherited Thainship after his father's abdication
XXXIV—?	Unknown number of unnamed Shire-thains of the Took-clan, who continued their line in the Fourth Age 	Unknown number of unnamed Shire-thains of the Took-clan, who continued their line in the Fourth Age 	Unknown number of unnamed Shire-thains of the Took-clan, who continued their line in the Fourth Age 	Unknown number of unnamed Shire-thains of the Took-clan, who continued their line in the Fourth Age
==Translations==
Foreign Language	Translated name
Danish 	Thain (herredsfoged)
Dutch 	Dinghoofd
Hebrew 	תאין
Italian 	Conte della Contea
Polish 	Than
Russian 	Тан
==References==
Category:Hobbit ranks and titles
Category:Thains of the Shire
de:Thain
fr:Thain
it:Conte della Contea
pl:Than Shire'u
ru:Тан
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