Brockenbores

Brockenbores, or Brockenborings, was a network of tunnels in the northern part of the Shire's Eastfarthing, in the hilly region of Scary.^[1] This was one of the more outlying parts of the Shire, which was perhaps the reason that a band of Hobbit rebels hid here for a time when 'Sharkey' took control of the Shire during the War of the Ring.^[2]

Etymology

The name of this place is given as 'Brockenbores' in the text of The Lord of the Rings, but as "Brockenborings" on A Part of the Shire, the map that accompanies the trilogy.

David Salo suggests a speculative derivation from Old Hobbitish *Broccesboran.^[3]

The name(s) translate approximately as "badger-burrowings".^[4]

References

1. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "A Part of the Shire" map
2. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Grey Havens"
3. ↑ David Salo, "Hobbitish Place-names" dated 23 November 1998, Elfling (accessed 22 May 2013)
4. ↑ 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. 767