Hobbits

**Hobbits**, also known as Halflings, are a mortal race

## Types of Hobbits

**The Harfoots** were the most common Hobbits. They were smaller and shorter than the other kinds and had browner skin. They did not grow beards and rarely wore shoes or boots. They were skilled with their hands and feet and preferred hillsides and highlands to live in.

**The Stoors** often chose to live near water or on flat land. They were broader and heavier in build than the other Hobbits and their feet and hands were larger.

**The Fallohides**, who preferred trees and woodland, were the least common variety of Hobbits. They had fairer skin and hair and were taller and slimmer than the others. They also had better relations with the elves of Middle-earth, were more skilled with language and song, and preferred hunting to tilling.

## Age and Appearance

Most Hobbits lived longer than Men, a race of which they might have been an off-shoot. The average lifespan of a Hobbit was about 100 years, though it was not unusual for a Hobbit to live as many as three decades beyond that. The time at which a young Hobbit matured and was accepted as an adult was 33, compared to a Man's 18 years. Thus, a 50-year-old Hobbit would only be middle-aged. The most distinguishing feature of Hobbits was their short stature. They were smaller than Dwarves and were usually between two and four feet in height. With the gradual passing of time, Hobbits became even shorter. By the Third Age, they were usually less than three feet tall. Hobbits' ears were slightly pointed and their furry feet had leathery soles, so they generally didn't need (and rarely wore) shoes or boots. Tolkien wrote that a typical Hobbit had a "round, jovial face; ears only slightly pointed and 'elvish'." Hobbits were skilled listeners and had good eyesight. Although they were inclined to be fat and did not hurry unnecessarily, they were also nimble and deft in their movements. In The Hobbit, Bilbo manages to sneak up on the Trolls without them hearing him because he, like all Hobbits, could walk around very quietly. The Hobbits who lived in the Shire dressed in bright colors and were fond of yellow and green. Their hair usually ranges from a light or dark brown to blonde or a golden red and is almost always curly.

## Culture

Most Hobbits enjoyed farming, food, ales, parties and the giving and receiving of presents. They were usually friendly and happy-go-lucky, although they were often shy of Men. Hobbits preferred a quiet, normal, and peaceful life, which is why Gandalf was frowned upon sometimes, because he brought adventure to Bilbo. Many of them had seen him returning from his long journey to the Lonely Mountain (the journey told of in ) with his steed laden with great chests of . They also have developed a keen taste in the smoking of and blowing smoke rings. Hobbits, particularly those of the Shire are very insular and suspicious of other people from other places and anything that disturbs the peace. Hobbits refer to people outside the Shire as **Outsiders**, being a very broad term, were simply those foreign to any region.

## Lifestyle

Hobbits are fond of an unadventurous bucolic life of farming, eating, and socializing. According to Emanuel Cortez and Jackson's trilogy, they enjoy seven meals a day, when they can get them: breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, and, later in the evening, supper. In the book, however, supper is simply an alternative name for dinner; Bilbo only served three official meals at his Birthday Party: lunch, tea, and dinner (or supper). They like simple food such as bread, meat, potatoes, and cheese, and also like to drink ale, often in inns — such as the English country folk, who were Tolkien's inspiration. They have also been known to have a particular fondness for cake. The name Tolkien chose for one part of Middle-earth where the Hobbits live, "The Shire", is clearly reminiscent of the English Shires. Hobbits also enjoy smoking herbs, which they refer to as "pipe-weed", out of long wooden pipes. This can be attributed to their love of gardening and herb-lore (as exemplified by Sam Gamgee). Another interesting fact is that hobbits have an inordinate liking of mushrooms, prizing them above many other foods. A common pursuit for younger hobbits is mushroom-hunting, and Frodo Baggins said he had stolen Farmer Maggot's mushrooms on at least one occasion. Some Hobbits live in hobbit-holes, known as "smials" which resembled the characteristics of the original places where they dwelt underground. They were found in hillsides, downs, and banks. By the late Third Age, only rich and poor hobbits continued to live in smials; the middle-class hobbits usually lived in large, low buildings, like Brandy Hall. Almost every building in the Shire has round doors and windows, a feature more practical to tunnel-dwelling that the Hobbits retained in their later structures.
Although Hobbits are a peaceful people, who usually shun fighting, they are also, as a race, uncanny marksmen adept with missile weapons of all kinds, from throwing stones to slings and bows - hence the company of archers purportedly sent to aid the Arnorians at the Battle of Fornost. Shire lore says that squirrels, rabbits, and other garden pests have learned to run away quickly if a hobbit so much as reaches for a pebble

## Appearance

In the prologue to The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien said that Hobbits are between two and four feet (0.6m-1.2m) tall, the average height being three feet six inches. In another instance Tolkien described hobbits as being "between 3 and 4 feet tall, never less and seldom more". They are not quite as stocky as the similarly-sized , but still tend to be stout, with slightly pointed ears. Tolkien says the following of the Hobbit :

"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 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.