Little Folk: Difference between revisions

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A term for the small race of people more commonly known as [[Hobbits]], especially used by the taller [[Men]] (who were in turn referred to as the [[Big Folk]]).
[[Image:Pippin and Diamond from PJ's RotK.jpg|250px|thumb|[[Peregrin Took]] and [[Diamond of Long Cleeve]], two exemplary Hobbits, from [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]]]
{{quote|The [[Big Folk]] and the '''Little Folk''' (as they called one another) were on friendly terms, minding their own affairs in their own ways, but both rightly regarding themselves as necessary parts of the [[Bree-folk]].|[[At the Sign of the Prancing Pony]]}}


The origins of the Little Folk are mysterious. They were evidently an ancient branch of the human race, but they developed in the mysterious east of [[Middle-earth]], and how they came by their small stature and peculiar habits is unknown. By the time they entered history, in the year 1050 of the [[Third Age]], they had already broken into three distinct groups, the [[Harfoots]], the [[Fallohides]] and the [[Stoors]].
'''Little Folk''' was a term for [[Hobbits]], used especially by both [[Men]] ([[Big Folk]]) and Hobbits in [[Bree]].<ref>{{FR|I9}}</ref>  It was also used by [[Boromir]], a member of the [[Fellowship of the Ring]], on [[Caradhras]],<ref>{{FR|II3}}</ref> and thus it may be assumed was in common use by men who knew about the [[Halflings]].


Over the next two thousand years, the Little Folk spread slowly across the Western lands. By III 1601, they had acquired a land for themselves, that they called the [[Shire]]. Despite many hardships, the Shire would survive until the time of the [[War of the Ring]] and beyond. Though their land did not survive to our own time, [[Tolkien]]'s words in the [[Prologue to The Lord of the Ring]] suggest that the Little Folk themselves are not extinct, but continue a secret, hidden existence alongside us, the bumbling Big Folk.
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[[Category:Hobbits]]

Revision as of 04:46, 3 September 2012

"The Big Folk and the Little Folk (as they called one another) were on friendly terms, minding their own affairs in their own ways, but both rightly regarding themselves as necessary parts of the Bree-folk."
At the Sign of the Prancing Pony

Little Folk was a term for Hobbits, used especially by both Men (Big Folk) and Hobbits in Bree.[1] It was also used by Boromir, a member of the Fellowship of the Ring, on Caradhras,[2] and thus it may be assumed was in common use by men who knew about the Halflings.

References