XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien   
   From: kyonshi@wilderland.ovh   
      
   On 1/3/2026 8:47 PM, Louis Epstein wrote:   
   > Every municipality throughout the Suza in the times recorded   
   > in the Red Book was a town of hobbits.   
   >   
   > So why was the particular settlement beneath the Hill   
   > and across the Water from Bywater known as "Hobbiton"?   
   > It's like naming some arbitrary place in human-inhabited   
   > lands Mantown.   
   >   
   > My only theory is that it is the first place that Marcho   
   > and Blanco and their followers,having entered across the   
   > Bridge of Stonebows,decided to stop and build a settlement,   
   > and things then fanned out from there.   
   > (Something like Brigham Young,on reaching the   
   > Great Salt Lake Valley,declaring "This is the right place".)   
   >   
   > -=-=-   
   > The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,   
   > at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.   
      
   That's what I always assumed. From the preface about hobbits in LOTR it   
   seemed like Hobbiton was basically the central settlement of the Shire,   
   with the mayor of Hobbiton having some ceremonial duties the others   
   respected out of tradition, even though the Tooks seemed to be close to   
   the leaders of the hobbits, or maybe the Great Took actually WAS the   
   mayor at one point. There is precious little information regarding their   
   actual internal politics.   
   I have the theory that the Great Took and Belladonna both went on   
   adventure with Gandalf (which is why Bilbo's grandfather had such an   
   elevated position, and Belladonna had the money so Bungo could build her   
   a home). This goes further as Gandalf had his friendship both with Bilbo   
   and Frodo.   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)