The Encyclopedia of Arda - Greenholm (original) (raw)
A settlement on the Far Downs
The location of Greenholm on the Far Downs (conjectural, see note 2)
The location of Greenholm on the Far Downs (conjectural, see note 2)
A town or village of the Hobbits on the Far Downs, which originally lay on the western borders of the Shire. It was the home of Fastred, who married Sam Gamgee's daughter Elanor, and with her founded the clan that would become known as the Fairbairns. When King Elessar extended the Shire's borders westward to the Tower Hills, Fastred and Elanor removed from Greenholm into the new Westmarch of the Shire.
The name Greenholm is open to various interpretations, because the old word holm has a number of possible meanings. It might possibly refer to a river-island, or even to a holly tree, but a much more likely interpretation, especially as it lay on the Far Downs, would be simply 'hill'.
Notes
| 1 | III 1601 was the date of the founding of the Shire itself, so Greenholm cannot have existed before this time. |
|---|---|
| 2 | We're never explicitly told where Greenholm lay, but we are told that the marriage of Sam Gamgee's daughter Elanor to Fastred of Greenholm took place on the Far Downs. The most obvious explanation for this is that Fastred's home of Greenholm lay among those downs. |
Indexes:
About this entry:
- Updated 24 November 2019
- This entry is complete
For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.
Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2004, 2010, 2019. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.