Release the plot bunnies!!

[cairistiona7]

Or, A Very Interesting Article On The Migration of Hobbits....

I don't know how many of you follow Michael Martinez' blog, Middle-earth and JRR Tolkien Blog, but he always writes very interesting articles. Back in December, he posted this one, Charting The Shire Lines.I just discovered the post yesterday and haven't read the entire thing yet, in

Comments

[rhapsody11]

*whispers* a company hobbit archers is quite an addition to the army of Arnor for the battle of Fornost, imho. Too bad they never returned */whispers*

[cairistiona7]

*sobs* Oh that would be sad to write...

[mikononyte]

I love Martinez's articles!

I cannot recall where I read this, possibly in one of Christopher Tolkien's pieces, but there was remark about how the hobbits, having moved in to what became the Shire, did in fact send bowmen to join men and elves against Angmar.

Now picturing such mighty if diminutive archers may incite laughter, but it was their due and just service to the then King.

I imagine between war and famine and those terrible winters they suffered horribly. But they are, much like the Edain of the North, a hearty people. :)

[rhapsody11]

Well following her plotbunny, those archers could have been trained by the edain, perhaps an elite company of archers? :D

[cairistiona7]

but there was remark about how the hobbits, having moved in to what became the Shire, did in fact send bowmen to join men and elves against Angmar.

I know I must have read that somewhere, too, because it does ring all kinds of bells. What a fascinating fic that would be to write. *jots down in my Ideas File*

Now picturing such mighty if diminutive archers may incite laughter, but it was their due and just service to the then King.

I love the imagery. And I'm also wondering now how many Shire hobbitlings might have played "Archer against Angmar" on the schoolground. *g*

I imagine between war and famine and those terrible winters they suffered horribly. But they are, much like the Edain of the North, a hearty people. :)Life would have been so dreadful during that period. I can't really wrap my head around it sometimes. And that history is something that the Dunedain know all too well and never forgot--and strengthens their resolve against the darkness growing in Mordor

[mrowe]

I know I must have read that somewhere, too, because it does ring all kinds of bells.

It is in the Prologue to LotR - in the paragraph that starts "Thus began the Shire-reckoning"

*bats away plotbunnies*

[mrowe]

I'm no fan of Martinez, but he does occasionally raise interesting points.

(and in my 'verse, the Dúnedain in the Angle do occasionally find evidence of the hobbits who dwelt there before)

[cairistiona7]

(and in my 'verse, the Dúnedain in the Angle do occasionally find evidence of the hobbits who dwelt there before)

I love that. I need to find ways to work in those type details in my own stories. It doesn't need to be an entire tale about the Angle hobbits but just somehow including it as part of the setting. Those are details that I want to hunt down to include in my tales.

[suzll]

Lolll, we have an author at work named Michael Martinez and I always get soooooo confused, thinking it's the Tolkien guy (no relation whatsoever!).

But this is great! I'm sort of with you in that I try to remember that the Dunedain didn't exist in a vacuum, and had to have had interactions with other races, but tend to sort of forget this as my stories are so insular within their culture. And of course, I usually tend to focus on the relationship between Elves and Men, though my Dective Dirhael plotting is especially pushing me to think more on Hobbits than I ever have before!

[cairistiona7]

Lolll, we have an author at work named Michael Martinez and I always get soooooo confused, thinking it's the Tolkien guy (no relation whatsoever!).

Bwa ha ha... I imagine it is kind of a common name. More common than, say, Sherwood McShevowiczs or something. *g*

I'm sort of with you in that I try to remember that the Dunedain didn't exist in a vacuum, and had to have had interactions with other races, but tend to sort of forget this as my stories are so insular within their culture.

*nods* Exactly what I'm talking about. I get too much tunnel vision when I write. Learning about Bree has helped me with that.

though my Dective Dirhael plotting is especially pushing me to think more on Hobbits than I ever have before!Writing about Bree really will do that to a person! I think that might underlie my new fascination for that town. And it occurs to me I need to look into its particular history as well. If it's smaller in the 3rd Age than now, then I need to think about how that would be manifested in its buildings and such. I'd think

[dreamflower02]

I really enjoyed writing about Aragorn's grandfather and father as Rangers, and exploring and making up Dunedain culture when I wrote "Trotter". It was fun to imagine how a hobbit might fit in with the Men as a Ranger.

[cairistiona7]

I had fun with Ferdinand Took and Aragorn in "The Ranger and the Hobbit". I think that those two races really do complement each other. As Miko's already mentioned, both are hardy races, and they both have good hearts. Hobbits might look more to their own interests than Rangers do but they step up to help when they see the "bigger picture", because of their generous and brave hearts.

[lindahoyland]

I like and admire Hobbits and Tolkiens other races but just don't have the urge to write about them very often!

[cairistiona7]

I'm not really talking about writing stories centered on any particular race. Like you, I'm probably not going to start writing solely about hobbits or dwarves, either, because my interest is in telling the story of Men in the North (or at least, it is right now). What I'm referring to is remembering to incorporate details about those other races within the stories I do write--remembering that even if I'm not particularly interested in telling the history of Brandy Hall, I can still toss something about it into a conversation between a merchant and a Ranger in Bree. Things like that will deepen my story's connection with the greater Tolkien legendarium. Hopefully! :)

[lindahoyland]

I think that is a great idea.We do both love our Rangers!

[cairistiona7]

Definitely!