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{{book
{{book
|title=Farmer Giles of Ham
|title=Farmer Giles of Ham
|image=[[Image:Farmer Giles of Ham 1949.jpg|225 px]]
|image=[[Image:Farmer Giles 1949.png|275px]]
|author=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]]
|author=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]]
|publisher=[[George Allen and Unwin|George Allen & Unwin]]
|editor=[[Christina Scull]], [[Wayne G. Hammond]] (50th Anniversary edition)
|date=[[20 October|October 20]], [[1949]]
|illustrator=[[Pauline Baynes]]
|format=
|publisherUK=[[George Allen and Unwin]]
|pages=
|publisherUS=[[Houghton Mifflin]]
|isbn=
|date=[[20 October]] [[1949]]
|amazon=
|format=Hardcover; paperback
|amazonprice=
|pages=64
|isbn=0859970620
}}
}}
'''''Farmer Giles of Ham''''' is a short story written by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] in [[1937]], first published in [[1949]].


'''''Farmer Giles of Ham''''' (written in 1947, published in [[1949]]) is a short story written by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]].  The story describes a series of encounters between Farmer Giles and a wily dragon named [[Chrysophylax]]. It is set in a fantasy Britain of long ago, which has mythical creatures, medieval knights, and primitive firearms.
The story describes the encounters between [[Farmer Giles]] and a wily dragon named [[Chrysophylax]], and how Giles manages to use these to rise from humble beginnings to rival the king of the land. It is cheerfully anachronistic and light-hearted, set in Britain in an imaginary period of the "Dark Ages", and featuring mythical creatures, medieval knights, and primitive firearms. It is only tangentially connected with [[Middle-earth]].


The book was originally illustrated by [[Pauline Baynes]].
The book was originally illustrated by [[Pauline Baynes]]. The story has appeared with other works in compilations, including ''[[The Tolkien Reader]]'', ''[[Poems and Stories]]'', and ''[[Tales from the Perilous Realm]]''.


==Summary==
==Plot summary==
Farmer Giles was not a hero. He was fat and red-bearded and enjoyed a slow, comfortable life. One day a rather deaf and short-sighted [[The Giant|giant]] blundered on to his land. Farmer Giles managed to scare him away with a [[blunderbuss]] shot in its general direction. The people of the village cheered: Farmer Giles was a hero.
Farmer Giles is not a hero. He is fat and red-bearded and enjoys a slow, comfortable life. But a rather deaf and short-sighted [[The Giant|giant]] blunders on to his land, and Giles manages to ward him away with a [[blunderbuss]] shot in his general direction. The people of the village cheer: Farmer Giles has become a hero. His reputation spreads across the kingdom, and he is rewarded by the King with a sword named Caudimordax ("Tailbiter")—which turns out to be a powerful weapon against dragons.
His reputation spread far and wide across the kingdom. Giles was rewarded by the King of the [[Middle Kingdom]], with a sword named [[Caudimordax]] or "Tailbiter",  a powerful weapon against dragons.  


The giant reported to its monstrous friends that there were no more knights, just stinging flies (actually scrap metal from Giles' blunderbuss), in the Middle Kingdom. This prompted a dragon, Chrysophylax Dives, to investigate the area — and everyone turns to the accidental hero Farmer Giles to deal with it.
The giant, on returning home, relates to his friends that there are no more knights in the Middle Kingdom, just stinging flies—actually the scrap metal shot from the blunderbuss—and this entices a dragon, Chrysophylax Dives, to investigate the area. The terrified neighbours all expect the accidental hero Farmer Giles to deal with him.


The story makes light of the great dragon-slaying traditions. The knights who are supposed to do the job  are useless fops more intent on "precedence and etiquette" than on noticing huge dragon footprints littering the landscape. "Giles" is also an interesting commentary on how people react to danger. Heroes aren't simply called for, they are demanded and hapless farmers can be forced to be heroes.  
The story parodies the great dragon-slaying traditions. The knights sent by the King to pursue the dragon are useless fops, more intent on "precedence and etiquette" than on the huge dragon footprints littering the landscape. The only part of a 'dragon' they know is the annual celebratory dragon-tail cake. Giles by contrast clearly recognises the danger, and resents being sent with them to face it. But hapless farmers can be forced to become heroes, and Giles shrewdly makes the best of the situation.


The Latin names and references imply that Giles is a Briton, a late generation remnant of the old empire after the decline of the western authority of the Romans. All the Giles place-names are supposed to occur relatively close to Oxford, along the Thames or on the route from London to Oxford.
==Philological humour==
Tolkien, by profession a philologist, sprinkled several philological jokes into the tale, including a variety of ingeniously fake etymologies. Almost all the place-names are supposed to occur relatively close to Oxford, along the Thames, or along the route to London. At the end of the story, Giles is made Lord of Tame, and Count of Worminghall. The village of Oakley, burnt to the ground by the dragon early in the story, may also be named after Oakley, Buckinghamshire, near to Thame.


Among the jokes is a question put to "the four wise clerks of Oxenford"; Tolkien then quotes from the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', on which Tolkien had worked. The phrase 'wise clerk of Oxenford' is also a reference to Chaucer's Clerk.
==50th anniversary edition==
The 50th Anniversary Edition was published in [[1999]], edited by [[Christina Scull]] and [[Wayne G. Hammond]].


==Editions==
This edition reproduces the text and illustrations of the First Edition of [[1949]] in facsimile, including the colour plates. It also includes: an introduction and notes by the editors, the first written (manuscript) version of the story, drafts for an unfinished sequel, and a map of 'The Little Kingdom' by Pauline Baynes.
===''Tales from the Perilous Realm''===
This 2008 reprint:
*Includes a new Introduction by [[Tom Shippey]]
*Omits Tolkien's Latin Title Page
*Has new illustrations by [[Alan Lee]], who draws Garm (talking dog) as a Mastiff instead of a Greyhound (as Pauline Baynes had)
===50th Anniversary Edition===
[[Image:Farmer Giles of Ham 50th.jpg|Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 50th Anniv. edition|left|thumb]]
This special edition was published in 1999. The edition includes:
*Tolkien's original Latin title
*The original illustrations by Pauline Baynes
*A map of the Little Kingdom, including Ham, Aula Draconaria, Quercetum, Oxenford, Islip and Farthingho (but not Wootton Major or Wootton Minor)
*Tolkien's original version, previously unpublished
*Tolkien's unpublished sketch for a sequel which he never completed
*A new Introduction and scholarly notes by editors [[Christina Scull]] and [[Wayne G. Hammond]]


In December 2008, a 60th Anniversary Editon limited to 500 copies was published, having the same content as the 50th Anniversary Editon.<ref>[http://www.tolkienguide.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=1050&forum=9&post_id=5040#forumpost5040 Farmer Giles of Ham '60th Anniversary' Edition] at [http://www.tolkienguide.com Tolkien Collector's Guide], as of 18 August 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/871-Farmer_Giles_of_Ham_60th.php Farmer Giles of Ham 60th Anniversary Edition] at [http://www.tolkienlibrary.com The Tolkien Library], as of 18 August 2010</ref>
In [[2009]], the 60th Anniversary Edition was published, limited only to 500 copies. It has the same content as the 50th Anniversary Edition.
===Chronological list===
[[Image:Farmer Giles of Ham 60th.jpg|HarperCollins 60th Anniv. edition|right|thumb]]
*[[1949]]: ''Farmer Giles of Ham: Aegidii Ahenobarbi Julii Agricole de Hammo, Domini de Domito, Aule Draconarie Comitis, Regni Minimi Regis et Basilei mira facinora et mirablis exortus, or in the vulgar tongue, The Rise and Wonderful Adventures of Farmer Giles, Lord of Tame, Count of Worminghall and King of the Little Kingdom.'' Embellished by Pauline Baynes. London: George Allen & Unwin, [October] 1949. 78, [1] pp., [2] plates.
*[[1966]]: Reprinted in ''[[The Tolkien Reader]]''.
*[[1969]]: ''Smith of Wootton Major and Farmer Giles of Ham.'' Illustrations by Pauline Diana Baynes. New York: Ballantine Books, March 1969. 156 pp.
*[[1975]]: ''Farmer Giles of Ham, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.'' London: Unwin Books, [30 October] 1975. 144 pp. ISBN 0-04-823125-8
*[[1980]]: Reprinted in ''[[Poems and Stories]]''
*[[1997]]: Reprinted in ''[[Tales from the Perilous Realm]]''
*[[1999]]: ''Farmer Giles of Ham (50th Anniversary edition)''. Edited by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd (4 Oct 1999). ISBN-13: 978-0261103771. 144 pages, hardcover.
*[[1999]]: ''Farmer Giles of Ham (50th Anniversary edition)''. Edited by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (November 15, 1999). ISBN-13: 978-0618009367. 127 pages, hardcover.
*[[2002]]: Reprinted in ''A Tolkien Miscellany''. Garden City, N.Y.: Science Fiction Book Club, [July] 2002. 369 pp. (SFBC; #51697)
*[[2008]]: ''Farmer Giles of Ham (60th Anniversary edition)''. Edited by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. 1 December 2008.


== External links ==
==Publication history and gallery==
;Earlier editions
{{Gallery
|width=125
|height=125
|lines=2
|File:Farmer Giles 1949.png|1949 hardcover
|File:Farmer Giles 1975.png|1975 hardcover large print
|File:Farmer Giles 1976.png|1976 hardcover
|File:Farmer Giles 1983.png|1983 paperback
|File:Farmer Giles 1990 hardcover.png|1990 hardcover
|File:Farmer Giles 1990 paperback.png|1990 paperback
}}
* [[George Allen and Unwin]], hardcover ([[1949]]), pp. 64.
* Cedric Chivers, hardcover ([[1975]]), ISBN 0859970620 - (large print edition)
* [[George Allen and Unwin]], hardcover ([[1976]]), ISBN 0048231312
* [[Unwin Paperbacks]], paperback ([[1983]]), pp. 91. ISBN 0048232335
* [[Unwin Hyman]], hardcover ([[1990]]), ISBN 0044407246
* [[Unwin Paperbacks]], paperback ([[1990]]), ISBN 0044407238
 
;50th Anniversary and later editions
{{Gallery
|width=125
|height=125
|lines=2
|File:Farmer Giles 1999.png|1999 hardcover
|File:Farmer Giles 2000.png|2000 paperback
|File:Farmer Giles 2000 2.png|2000 paperback 4th impression
|File:Farmer Giles 2009.jpeg|2009 hardcover
|File:Farmer Giles 2014.jpeg|2014 hardcover
}}
* [[HarperCollins]] hardcover ([[1999]]), pp. 144. ISBN 0261103776 - (50th Anniversary edition)
* [[HarperCollins]] paperback ([[2000]]), ISBN 0261103784
** 2000 paperback edition, 4th impression ([[2000]])
* 1999 hardcover edition, 4th impression ([[2009]]) - (60th Anniversary edition)
* [[HarperCollins]] hardcover ([[2014]]), pp. 224. ISBN 0007542933 - (also part of the [[2015]] [[The Tolkien Treasury|Tolkien Treasury]] pocket set)
 
==See also==
*''[[Smith of Wootton Major]]''
*''[[Tales from the Perilous Realm]]''
 
==External links==
*[http://mysite.verizon.net/wghammond/addenda/farmer.html Addenda and Corrigenda to the 50th anniversary edition of ''Farmer Giles of Ham'']
*[http://www.crisismagazine.com/2013/tolkiens-farmer-giles-of-ham-hero-for-our-time Tolkien's Farmer Giles of Ham: Hero for Our Time?] by Peter Freeman


*[http://mysite.verizon.net/wghammond/addenda/farmer.html Addenda and Corrigenda to the 50th anniversary edition of Farmer Giles of Ham]
{{references}}
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{{Publishedmajorbooks}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Farmer Giles of Ham''}}
{{title|italics}}
[[Category:Books by J.R.R. Tolkien]]
[[Category:Books by J.R.R. Tolkien]]
[[Category:Farmer Giles of Ham| ]]
[[Category:Farmer Giles of Ham| ]]

Latest revision as of 16:18, 30 March 2024

Farmer Giles of Ham
Farmer Giles 1949.png
AuthorJ.R.R. Tolkien
EditorChristina Scull, Wayne G. Hammond (50th Anniversary edition)
IllustratorPauline Baynes
PublisherGeorge Allen and Unwin (UK)
Houghton Mifflin (US)
Released20 October 1949
FormatHardcover; paperback
Pages64
ISBN0859970620

Farmer Giles of Ham is a short story written by J.R.R. Tolkien in 1937, first published in 1949.

The story describes the encounters between Farmer Giles and a wily dragon named Chrysophylax, and how Giles manages to use these to rise from humble beginnings to rival the king of the land. It is cheerfully anachronistic and light-hearted, set in Britain in an imaginary period of the "Dark Ages", and featuring mythical creatures, medieval knights, and primitive firearms. It is only tangentially connected with Middle-earth.

The book was originally illustrated by Pauline Baynes. The story has appeared with other works in compilations, including The Tolkien Reader, Poems and Stories, and Tales from the Perilous Realm.

Plot summary[edit | edit source]

Farmer Giles is not a hero. He is fat and red-bearded and enjoys a slow, comfortable life. But a rather deaf and short-sighted giant blunders on to his land, and Giles manages to ward him away with a blunderbuss shot in his general direction. The people of the village cheer: Farmer Giles has become a hero. His reputation spreads across the kingdom, and he is rewarded by the King with a sword named Caudimordax ("Tailbiter")—which turns out to be a powerful weapon against dragons.

The giant, on returning home, relates to his friends that there are no more knights in the Middle Kingdom, just stinging flies—actually the scrap metal shot from the blunderbuss—and this entices a dragon, Chrysophylax Dives, to investigate the area. The terrified neighbours all expect the accidental hero Farmer Giles to deal with him.

The story parodies the great dragon-slaying traditions. The knights sent by the King to pursue the dragon are useless fops, more intent on "precedence and etiquette" than on the huge dragon footprints littering the landscape. The only part of a 'dragon' they know is the annual celebratory dragon-tail cake. Giles by contrast clearly recognises the danger, and resents being sent with them to face it. But hapless farmers can be forced to become heroes, and Giles shrewdly makes the best of the situation.

Philological humour[edit | edit source]

Tolkien, by profession a philologist, sprinkled several philological jokes into the tale, including a variety of ingeniously fake etymologies. Almost all the place-names are supposed to occur relatively close to Oxford, along the Thames, or along the route to London. At the end of the story, Giles is made Lord of Tame, and Count of Worminghall. The village of Oakley, burnt to the ground by the dragon early in the story, may also be named after Oakley, Buckinghamshire, near to Thame.

50th anniversary edition[edit | edit source]

The 50th Anniversary Edition was published in 1999, edited by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond.

This edition reproduces the text and illustrations of the First Edition of 1949 in facsimile, including the colour plates. It also includes: an introduction and notes by the editors, the first written (manuscript) version of the story, drafts for an unfinished sequel, and a map of 'The Little Kingdom' by Pauline Baynes.

In 2009, the 60th Anniversary Edition was published, limited only to 500 copies. It has the same content as the 50th Anniversary Edition.

Publication history and gallery[edit | edit source]

Earlier editions
1949 hardcover  
1975 hardcover large print  
1976 hardcover  
1983 paperback  
1990 hardcover  
1990 paperback  
50th Anniversary and later editions
1999 hardcover  
2000 paperback  
2000 paperback 4th impression  
2009 hardcover  
2014 hardcover  

See also[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

References

Tales from the Perilous Realm
Farmer Giles of Ham · The Adventures of Tom Bombadil · Leaf by Niggle · Smith of Wootton Major
Roverandom (since 2008) · On Fairy-Stories (since 2008)
A J.R.R. Tolkien book guide
Books by or mainly by Tolkien
On Arda Authored by
J.R.R. Tolkien 		The Hobbit · The Lord of the Rings
(i.The Fellowship of the Ring · ii.The Two Towers · iii.The Return of the King) ·
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil · The Road Goes Ever On · Bilbo's Last Song
Edited by Christopher Tolkien The Silmarillion · Unfinished Tales · The History of Middle-earth series
(i.The Book of Lost Tales: Part One · ii.The Book of Lost Tales: Part Two · iii.The Lays of Beleriand · iv.The Shaping of Middle-earth · v.The Lost Road and Other Writings · vi.The Return of the Shadow · vii.The Treason of Isengard · viii.The War of the Ring · ix.Sauron Defeated · x.Morgoth's Ring · xi.The War of the Jewels · xii.The Peoples of Middle-earth · Index) ·
The Children of Húrin · Beren and Lúthien · The Fall of Gondolin
Edited by others The Annotated Hobbit · The History of The Hobbit · The Nature of Middle-earth ·
The Fall of Númenor · The Maps of Middle-earth
Not on Arda Short stories
and poems 		Leaf by Niggle · Farmer Giles of Ham · Smith of Wootton Major · Letters from Father Christmas ·
Mr. Bliss · Roverandom · Tree and Leaf (compilation) · Tales from the Perilous Realm (compilation)
Fictional works The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún · The Fall of Arthur · The Story of Kullervo · The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun
Translations and academic works Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo · Finn and Hengest ·
The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays · Beowulf and the Critics · Tolkien On Fairy-stories ·
Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary · A Secret Vice · The Battle of Maldon
Collected letters and poems The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien · The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien
Edited old texts A Middle English Vocabulary · Sir Gawain and the Green Knight · Ancrene Wisse · The Old English Exodus
Books by other authors
Biographies J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography · The Inklings · Tolkien and the Great War
Reference works The Complete Guide to Middle-earth · The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide
Scholarly studies The Road to Middle-earth · The Keys of Middle-earth · The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion ·
The Ring of Words · A Companion to J.R.R. Tolkien · Tolkien's Lost Chaucer ·
Tolkien's Library · Tolkien on Chaucer, 1913-1959
Scholarly journals Tolkien Studies · (The Chronology)
Other works by Tolkien
Linguistic journals Vinyar Tengwar various issues · Parma Eldalamberon issue 11-22
Collections of artwork
and manuscripts 		Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien · J.R.R. Tolkien: Life and Legend · J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator ·
The Art of The Hobbit · The Art of The Lord of the Rings · Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth ·
Tolkien: Treasures · J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript
This list is only a selection of works, for a fuller bibliography of Tolkien see here or here. See also a timeline and an index.
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