Southfarthing
| Southfarthing | |
|---|---|
| Region | |
 | |
| "It always rains on washing day - Smials in South Farthing" by Kay Woollard | |
| General Information | |
| Location | The Shire |
| Type | Region |
| Regions | Green Hill Country |
| Inhabitants | Hobbits |
The Southfarthing was the southmost and warmest farthing of the Shire.
Geography
Its northernmost point was the Three-Farthing Stone, its eastern border was the Brandywine River, and much of its border with the Eastfarthing ran along the River Shirebourn.[1]
Other features include:
- Hills: Part of the Green Hill Country
- Swamps: Marshes in the south
- Roads: An unnamed road crossed the Southfarthing to Sarn Ford.
- Towns: Longbottom, Pincup.
History
About T.A. 1630 many Stoors from Dunland entered and settled in the Southfarthing,[2] and thereafter Stoorish characteristics and appearance were common among the Hobbits in that region.
Tobold Hornblower of Longbottom first grew pipe-weed in the Southfarthing about the year T.A. 2670.[3]
Saruman, having received reports on Gandalf’s movements and noting his interest in the Shire, began keeping agents in the Southfarthing in T.A. 2953.[2] By T.A. 3018 there were rumors of trouble with the "Big People".[4]
The Southfarthing was where Lotho Sackville-Baggins began his rise to power during the War of the Ring, based on the substantial property in the region that he inherited from his father.[5] Presumably it was he who began exporting pipe-weed to Saruman.
Culture
This was the region where most of the Shire's pipe-weed production was concentrated, in warm sheltered places like Longbottom.[6] Another noted product of the Southfarthing was the strong red wine called Old Winyards.[7]
Portrayal in adaptations
In The Atlas of Middle-earth (page 71), Hardbottle is shown in the Southfarthing rather than the Northfarthing[8] and Sackville, shown in the Southfarthing, is entirely invented (compare the Sackville Family).
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "A Part of the Shire" map
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Road to Isengard"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Three is Company"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Scouring of the Shire"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "Prologue", "Concerning Pipe-weed"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "A Long-expected Party"
- ↑ 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. 771
