Shire-reckoning

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The Shire-reckoning (Gondor Sindarin: Genediad Drannail[1]) was the calendar system used by the Hobbits in the Shire and (eventually) in Bree.

In the New Reckoning of King Elessar, the year 1 of the Fourth Age the year began on March 25, old style. The Hobbits mostly ignored the change and so for them Fo.A. 1 was just 1422.

In Bree, Year 1 corresponded to T.A. 1300, however the Shire-reckoning counted as Year 1 the year that colonization of the Shire began, corresponding to T.A. 1601.

When the Hobbits were still a wandering people, their calendaric unit was not a 'week' , but a 'month', governed more or less by the Moon. However, through contact with alien peoples (perhaps the Dúnedain of Arnor) they adopted the notion of weeks which formed the Shire Reckoning. It was based on the King's Reckoning but with several minor alterations to fit their customs.[2]

See also

References

  1. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Sauron Defeated, "Part One: The End of the Third Age: XI. The Epilogue"
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix D