Bree

**Bree** was a village in Middle-earth, east of The Shire and south of Fornost Erain. It was the main village of Breeland, a district of Eriador.

## Bree

### Inhabitants

Bree-folk (Barliman Butterbur Senior, Junior, Betsy Butterbur, Bill Ferney, Harry Gotleaf), Hobbits (Master Staddle)

or.

## Geography

Directly west of Bree were the Barrow-downs and the Old Forest. Settled at the crossroads of the north-south road and the Great East Road, Breeland was the only part of Middle-earth where Men and hobbits dwelt side by side, and Bree had a large population of Hobbits.

The village was built under and around a part of the Bree-hill and was surrounded by a hedge. The great East Road passed through this hedge on its western side, and the southern corner where the hedge and dike met the sides of the hill. At both of these points stood a gate that was closed and guarded after nightfall. The West-gate of Bree was guarded by one Harry Goatleaf during the War of the Ring.

Buildings were built on both sides of the road, and some, like *The Prancing Pony*, near the slopes of the hill. The hill itself was burrowed by Hobbit-holes.

## History

Breeland was settled by Gwathuirim at the late Second Age. Surviving the wars and chaos of that time, it became part of the kingdoms of Arnor, and then Arthedain (though the region from Bree to Weathertop was claimed by Cardolan). Bree was by its nature a trading community, due to being located at the major crossroads of the East Road, which ran from the Blue Mountains and the coast to Dale in the far East; and the old north-south road between Arnor and Gondor.

Around TA 1300 Bree, as well as Staddle, saw the arrival of the Hobbits who were fleeing from Angmar. In TA 1601 a large population of Hobbits left Bree and went west beyond Baranduin and founded a new country within Arthedain, The Shire.

After the Fall of Fornost and Arnor, the north-south road had fallen out of much use and was more commonly referred to as the Greenway due to its disrepair. Trade had of course drastically declined in the thousand years since but Bree maintained a certain independence and continued to thrive without any central authority or government, with the unknowing protection of the Rangers of the North. Even at the end of the Third Age Bree remained relatively prosperous. Bree was the most westerly settlement of men in all Middle-earth by the time of the War of the Ring and had a sizable Hobbit population. Thanks to its location on major trade routes, one could encounter travelers from all sorts of distant lands in a bustling Bree inn. The Rangers of the North also were known to stop in Bree for resupply.

In TA 2940, Thorin Oakenshield passed by Bree on his return journey from a vain search for his father Thrain, rumoured to have been "in the wild near Dunland." Stopping at the Prancing Pony, he was stalked by two Men seeking a promise of payment for his head by Azog, but was interrupted by Gandalf. Himself traveling up the Greenway, Gandalf intercepted a copy of the message, which set his suspicions. In conversing with Thorin, they hatched the plan to retake Erebor.

In March 3001, Gandalf met Aragorn in the Prancing Pony, hatching the Hunt for Gollum. He also passed through it on his way to Isengard, but didn't stay in the Inn. Frodo arrived at Bree in September 30, where Frodo accidentally slips the Ring on, attracting the Ringwraiths to the Inn. Aragorn, knowing that Frodo is on the road, contacts and conceals him and his friends, and they leave Bree the next morning.

Bree was raided by ruffians during the War of the Ring, leaving several Men and Hobbits dead. Presumably, Bree was re-absorbed into the revived Arnor and Reunited Kingdom of Aragorn, with increased trade allowing Bree to become more prosperous than in generations.