Longbottom

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Matěj Čadil - Longbottom

Longbottom was a village or town in the Southfarthing of the Shire. It was the home of some 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. 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.[1]

David Salo suggests that it represents a possible Old Hobbitish Langbotm meaning "Long Valley".[2]

References