Dates The Shire was founded in III 1601 (year 1 by the Shire-reckoning) and made a Free Land in IV 6 (1427 S.R.) Location Eriador in the northwest of Middle-earth, within and under the protection of the North-kingdom Race Hobbits Culture Shire-hobbits Settlements Brockenbores, Budgeford, Bywater, Deephallow, Dwaling, Frogmorton, Hobbiton, Little Delving, Longbottom, Michel Delving, Needlehole, Nobottle, Oatbarton, Overhill, Pincup, Rushey, Scary, Stock, Tookbank, Tuckborough, Underhill, Waymeet, Whitfurrows, Willowbottom Other names The only Free Land known to have existed was the Shire, to which the details given above apply; other Free Lands may have existed (with the Drúadan Forest being a significant possibility) but if so they are not specifically described as such Indexes: Alphabetical: F Others About this entry: Updated 1 November 2024 This entry is complete A self-ruling region within a realm Years of the TreesFirst AgeISecond AgeIIThird AgeIIIFourth AgeIV A Free Land was part of a greater kingdom whose inhabitants ruled it as an autonomous land in its own right. We have only a single record of such a land: this was the status bestowed on the Shire by King Aragorn Elessar after the War of the Ring. While the Shire lay within the boundaries and the protection of the North-kingdom of the Dúnedain, the Shire-hobbits were given the authority to order their own affairs. Indeed, when Aragorn proclaimed its status as a Free Land in IV 6 (or 1427 by the Shire-reckoning), he also banned all Men - including himself - from entering the Land of the Halflings. The political arrangements within the new Free Land of the Shire are not explained in detail, but it may be notable that the year of Aragorn's edict was also the year that Samwise Gamgee began his long tenure as Mayor. Sam would go on to serve as Mayor for no less than [forty-nine years](../chronicle.html?startyear=6&startage=4&endyear=55&endage=4&c=Samwise Gamgee's Time as Mayor of the Shire). Not long after the creation of the Free Land of the Shire, in IV 13 (S.R. 1434) Peregrin Took succeeded to the Thainship. At that time Aragorn named the Mayor, the Thain and the Master of Buckland (a title now held by Meriadoc Brandybuck) as Counsellors of the North-kingdom. So the Shire-hobbits gained a role in the government of the greater land of Arnor within which their Free Land lay. The Shire is the only definitive example of a Free Land, but a case could be made that the Drúadan Forest also had a claim to this status. After the War of the Ring, Aragorn gave the land over to the Drúedain who lived there, and denied entry to outsiders, except by the leave of the forest's inhabitants. These aren't quite the same conditions as applied to the Shire, but they are similar enough that the Drúadan Forest might reasonably be considered a further example of a Free Land. Indexes: Alphabetical: F Others About this entry: Updated 1 November 2024 This entry is complete For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page. Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2024. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ. Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.Whatever your personality profiling needs, Discus has a solution for you. |