Tolkien based the Shire’s landscapes, climate, flora, fauna, and placenames on rural England where he lived, first in Worcestershire as a boy, then in Oxfordshire.
Is Middle-earth based on England?
Middle-earth is the imaginary world created by J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) as the setting for his novels, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. Tolkien took his inspirations from a wide range of mythologies and cultures, including those of Finland, Iceland, Brittany, and Anglo-Saxon England.
Is the Shire based on Wales?
Writing at a time when industrialisation was transforming the British countryside, his nostalgic depiction of The Shire was inspired by rural Wales. It’s easy to see similarities between the landscapes in his books and the hills and meadows of the Black Mountains.
Why do they call it the Shire?
The word shire derives from the Old English sćir, from the Proto-Germanic *skizo (Old High German: sćira), denoting an ‘official charge’ a ‘district under a governor’, and a ‘care’.
Is the Shire part of a kingdom?
After Aragorn’s return as the King of Arnor and Gondor, the Shire became a protected enclave inside the Reunited Kingdom.
What country is Rohan based on?
Rohan and Gondor
Despite this, many academics link Rohan to one of the most powerful kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England – Mercia, which was based in the Midlands where Tolkien spent much of his youth. Some also say the riders’ names are rooted in the Mercian dialect.
What is Rohan based on?
Tolkien grounded Rohan in elements inspired by Anglo-Saxon tradition, poetry, and linguistics, specifically in its Mercian dialect, in everything but its use of horses. Tolkien used Old English for the kingdom’s language and names, pretending that this was in translation of Rohirric.
Is the Shire inspired by Ireland?
Tolkien based the Shire’s landscapes, climate, flora, fauna, and placenames on rural England where he lived, first in Worcestershire as a boy, then in Oxfordshire.
Is the Shire based on the Cotswolds?
Tolkien based The Shire on his home hamlet of Sarehole which, during his childhood, was in Worcestershire, the northern gateway to the Cotswolds. The 768 square miles of beautiful greenery spans multiple counties, including Wiltshire, Somerset, Worcestershire and Oxfordshire.
Is Merlin based in Wales?
However, it may surprise you to learn that Merlin was traditionally a legendary figure in Wales before becoming a popular figure in both literature and film today. The first depiction of Merlin appeared in a book called Historia Regum Britanniae, written all the way back in 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth.
Why is everything shire in England?
“Shire” is just the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of the old French word “county”, so Yorkshire, for example, means “County of York”.
Is shire used in America?
The Modern History of the Shire Horse
Nearly 4,000 Shires were imported to the United States between 1900 and 1918 and approximately 6,700 Shires were registered with the association between 1909 and 1911 and the breed continued to flourish both in England and North America, for several years following.
Why is Kent not a shire?
A shire is a traditional term for a division of land – it was first used from the beginning of the Anglo-Saxon settlement. They are usually named after the county town. It tends not to be found in counties which existed before this, for example Kent, Sussex and Essex, as each represents a former Anglo-Saxon kingdom.
Who controls the Shire?
No one “ruled” the Shire. They were quite democratic. The Tooks had a Thane, who led his hobbit family to battle when necessary. The Brandybucks had a patriarch and we know that Hobbiton had a mayor (Sam becomes the mayor seven times before he leaves the Shire and goes West.
What is the biggest shire in the world?
A gelding named “Sampson” was the biggest Shire horse so far. He measured 2.19 m at the withers and weight about 1,500 kg! He really lived up to the Shire horses’ reputation as the world’s largest horse breed.
What makes a shire A shire?
Shires in Great Britain
In England and Wales, the term “shire county” is used to refer to counties which are not metropolitan counties. It can also be used in a narrower sense, referring only to traditional counties ending in “shire”. These counties are typically (though not always) named after their county town.
Who is Gondor based on?
Arnor is modeled after the Western Roman Empire (a previously united empire, the west of which has now fallen and people are living amongst the ruins of a former great power) and Gondor is modeled after the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantine Empire (which in the mid-8th century, were the only force powerful enough to
Where is Mordor based on?
The places in Birmingham that inspired Tolkien
He based the description of Mordor, home to the evil Lord Sauron, on the Black Country, a region of Birmingham which was heavily polluted by iron foundries, coal mines and steel mills due to the Industrial Revolution.
Where is Boromir from?
Gondor
Boromir was the oldest son of Denethor II, the last Ruling Steward of Gondor. He grew up in the city of Minas Tirith, a young lordling, heir to the Stewardship, and much enamored with the glory of Gondor of old.
Can Halbrand be Sauron?
Galadriel immediately becomes suspicious and soon confronts Halbrand. He concedes that, yes, he is Sauron, and hopes to restore order to Middle-earth. He offers her a place alongside him as his queen.
Is Rivendell a city?
Rivendell is one of the major cities in the game, located between Trollshaws and the Misty Mountains. Rivendell is also one of the places that players can choose as Elven character’s homeland. The Last Homely House refers to a large dwelling of Elrond, not to the entire refuge of Rivendell.