We begin with a review of the new biographical film Tolkien (spoilers: see below) before moving on to the first half of Book I, Chapter 10. Frodo, Sam, and Pippin retire to their parlor after the “accident” in the common-room, only to find the mysterious Ranger called Strider there with them. Strider seems to know a lot about their errand, but before Frodo can find out how, Barliman comes in with a not-exactly-rush delivery. We investigate the peculiar names of inns, mock the poverty of bards, and reveal there’s more in our CD collections than just classic Rush albums.
SPOILER ALERT: Our review of the new biopic film Tolkien is (of course) full of spoilers, and (also of course) went longer than we planned. If you haven’t seen the film and don’t want it spoiled, skip ahead to just before the 59-minute mark for our chapter discussion.
For more on the history of British pub signs and naming traditions, visit https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Pub-Signs-of-Britain/
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Recommended Reading:
Garth, John. Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth (Mariner Books, hardcover)
Garth, John. Tolkien at Exeter College (Exeter College, paperback)
Carpenter, Humphrey. J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography (Houghton Mifflin, paperback)
Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (Mariner Books, paperback)
Shippey, Tom. J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century (Mariner Books, paperback)
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit (Mariner Books, paperback)
Rateliff, John D. The History of the Hobbit (HarperCollins, one-volume hardcover)
Kocher, Paul H. Master of Middle-earth: The Fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien (Del Rey, paperback)
Thanks for covering the biopic. My wife and I saw it for a date. We were aware of some of his life, but only the most broad brush strokes. We could tell that the film (like all such movies) took liberties while drawing on facts. Though we had decided half way through the film that we would check out two different biographies from the library and compare notes. I appreciate the time you took for a review and for your biography recomendations.
Our pleasure, Mike! Glad the review was helpful, and please do check out those biographies… they’ll help a lot. Write to us anytime with any questions.
Bob’s job, as you mentioned, is an ostler, so he spent a good deal of his time taking care of horses. Likely, many of these were ponies used by hobbits or traveling dwarves, or by men as pack animals, but some were certainly full sized man horses — as it was mentioned that one horse was never recovered (likely stolen by the squint eyed southerner). A full size man would find this job much more convenient.
Also, Bob returning to his family at night was clearly for defense. A hobbit could also return home in the evening to protect his family, but a man would be more likely to take such an aggressive stance against other men.
None of this is proof, but I like to think of Nob and Bob as best of friends (hence the delight Breelanders seemingly take in giving them rhyming nicknames), which friendship in any other land would be seen as peculiar (but in this unusual circumstance, altogether excellent.)
I do love the thought of Nob and Bob having a friendship that transcends race, and certainly such a thing would be more possible in Bree than in many other places. And you’re right about Bob returning to his family at night; I’ll concede doesn’t help my case that he’s a hobbit.
But I just don’t know. Surely in Bree, hobbits and men must do all sorts of jobs for each other, and there are stepladders (and also trenches/knee pads)? Maybe I’m stretching. But I still think the lack any distinction being made between Nob and Bob suggests Tolkien thought of Bob as a hobbit. I also have no proof. 🙂
I find it interesting that the advice Strider gives the hobbits – to avoid the roads and go cross-country – is something that they have already been doing. First in the Shire and then through the Old Forest the hobbits avoided the main roads where the sight-lines are long and a man ahorse can move fast. I’m almost certain they would have tried the same strategy even if they had not met Strider, but it probably wouldn’t have ended well, these lands being entirely out of their knowledge.