By-The-Bywater: A Podcast about All Things J.R.R. Tolkien

35. Do the Hobbits Have H.O.A.s?


Listen Later

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Oriana’s choice of topic: the Shire. The

homeland of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and many of Middle-earth’s hobbits in
general, and the entry point for nearly every reader to Tolkien’s imaginative
geographical and creative landscape, the Shire often seems like an idyllic and
nostalgic English utopia, an untroubled land where the beer is good, the
family trees are all spelled out carefully and there’s not much to worry about
aside from the occasional wolf or Orc raid over the centuries. Yet Tolkien
himself said he didn’t view it as a utopia, and both as sociopolitical
organization and as physical location, the Shire has more going on with it
than might be seen at first glance, even by some of its most well-known
inhabitants. What is the sense of history among the hobbits of the Shire, and
how do they regard their land and their sense of who they are? What does the
Shire being a seemingly safe place truly reveal when the Scouring is necessary
at the end of the grand story? Who are the authorities, if there are any, that
keep this seeming anarchist fantasy going as a functioning concern, and does
that cover monetary issues as well? And is that the only linguistically
blessed fox in the Shire, much less Middle-earth as a whole?

Show Notes.

Jared’s

doodle. A
party of special magnificence indeed.

Amazon’s title announcement

video – FINALLY. (And yes we
know there’s more but that happened after recording this episode – next time!)
TheOneRing.net
got some behind the scenes shots from the creation of said video, pretty cool.

The formal Haggerty Museum of Art

announcement about the
“J. R. R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript” exhibition in Milwaukee, running
from August 19 to December 12.

Douglas Trumbull is rather

well known in the field.

The Shire: a basic overview.

Some of our relevant past episodes on the Scouring of the

Shire and Sam
Gamgee.

Karen Wynn Fonstad’s Shire

map,
as with all her work, is very great. (Pick up The Atlas of Middle-earth if you haven’t.)

What is utopia? Everywhere and

nowhere…well, nowhere, really.

Golf is canon!

English gardens are indeed a

thing.

Asterix rules, the end. The specific

volume in question – and
here’s the lawn
joke.

Merry England, or rather an

overview of the stereotype.

A recent article on Tolkien and

satire in the context of the
Shire.

Air traffic controller

memes!

The Worlds of J. R. R.

Tolkien by John Garth – well worth picking up. Here’s the
Birmingham map mentioned – Sarehole is location 1.

Britton Hill – Florida’s highest

point. (In contrast Ned climbed Mount
Marcy once.)

Who doesn’t love a Shire fox?

Watership Down and The Plague

Dogs, both very good reads and
often harrowing movies.

The feast with Gildor at

Woodhall as depicted
by Alan Lee.

Lovely Crickhollow.

Support By-The-Bywater and our network on

Patreon!

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

By-The-Bywater: A Podcast about All Things J.R.R. TolkienBy Jared Pechaček, Oriana Scwindt, and Ned Raggett

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

32 ratings


More shows like By-The-Bywater: A Podcast about All Things J.R.R. Tolkien

View all
Stuff They Don't Want You To Know by iHeartPodcasts

Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

10,374 Listeners

The Prancing Pony Podcast by The Prancing Pony Podcast

The Prancing Pony Podcast

2,043 Listeners

Pod Save the World by Crooked Media

Pod Save the World

24,823 Listeners

It’s Just A Show by Chris Piuma and Charlotte Wells (and Adam Clarke and Beth Martin)

It’s Just A Show

48 Listeners

Tides of History by Wondery /  Patrick Wyman

Tides of History

6,290 Listeners

You’re Not Funny by Adam Clarke and Chris Piuma

You’re Not Funny

1 Listeners

And Thereby Hangs A Tale by Adam Clarke

And Thereby Hangs A Tale

1 Listeners

Some More News by SomeMoreNews | PodcastOne

Some More News

2,579 Listeners

Behind the Bastards by Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts

Behind the Bastards

15,622 Listeners

Dear Reader by Michael Collins and Emily Gushue Whalen

Dear Reader

1 Listeners

The Spouter-Inn by Suzanne Conklin Akbari and Chris Piuma

The Spouter-Inn

30 Listeners

This Is Your Mixtape by Michael Collins

This Is Your Mixtape

10 Listeners

Bad Gays by Huw Lemmey & Ben Miller

Bad Gays

499 Listeners

The Opposite Of Lonely by Nadia Halim

The Opposite Of Lonely

0 Listeners

A Part Of Our Scare-itage by Adam Clarke and Sarah Chamberlain

A Part Of Our Scare-itage

7 Listeners

5-4 by Prologue Projects

5-4

3,523 Listeners

The Scene of the Scene by Megaphonic

The Scene of the Scene

0 Listeners

You Are Good by Sarah Marshall + Alex Steed

You Are Good

2,720 Listeners

HubrisWeen! by S Frost and Tim Lehnerer

HubrisWeen!

0 Listeners

Kill James Bond! by November, Abigail, and Devon

Kill James Bond!

443 Listeners

Game Show 1939! by Chris Piuma and Michael Collins

Game Show 1939!

2 Listeners

Unclear and Present Danger by Jamelle Bouie and John Ganz

Unclear and Present Danger

610 Listeners

If Books Could Kill by Michael Hobbes & Peter Shamshiri

If Books Could Kill

9,416 Listeners

Shelved By Genre by Ranged Touch

Shelved By Genre

446 Listeners

SAD OLIGARCH by Cool Zone Media and H11

SAD OLIGARCH

229 Listeners

Weird Little Guys by iHeartPodcasts and Cool Zone Media

Weird Little Guys

1,014 Listeners