Longbottom
| Longbottom | |
|---|---|
| Village/Town | |
| |
| "Longbottom" by Matěj Čadil | |
| General Information | |
| Location | The Shire (Southfarthing) |
| Type | Village/Town |
| People and History | |
| Inhabitants | Hobbits |
| Events | Tobold Hornblower introduced pipe-weed in T.A. 2670 |
Longbottom was a village or town in the Southfarthing of the Shire.[1] It was the home of some of the Hornblowers. The village and its surroundings were sheltered from the elements, probably by the valley's sides.
In T.A. 2670 (1070 by the Shire-reckoning), a certain Tobold Hornblower introduced a new herb there.[2] The valley's sheltered aspect, and the relatively warm climate of the Southfarthing, made the region around Longbottom ideal for growing this new plant, pipe-weed, which rapidly became the centre of a thriving industry. Longbottom Leaf remained one of the most famous varieties of the weed.
Etymology
The element bottom is frequent in English place-names (and their surnames like Ramsbottom); it means "valley", especially its head or inner end.[3]
David Salo suggests that it represents a possible Old Hobbitish Langbotm meaning "Long Valley".[4]
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "A Part of the Shire" map
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "Prologue", "Concerning Pipe-weed"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings" in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 773
- ↑ David Salo, "Hobbitish Place-names" dated 23 November 1998, Elfling (accessed 26 April 2024)
