ISSUE 14

Contents
1 Editorial ........................................... Mike Percival
2 The 1986 Yuletide Feast ........................... Catherine Hooley
3 The Annual General Meeting..... .................. lan Alexander
4 The Gross Shire Product ........................... lan Alexander, Ted Crawford
8 Artwork ........................................... Susan Foord
9 Uncle Mike's Book Corner ........................ . Mike W hitaker
11 Review ............................................ Marcus Streets
12 Comment
14 Bard the Bowman ................................. Gary Hunnewell
15 The Motif of the Inn as Numinous
Place in Troubled Times ............................ J. S. Ryan
18 Middle-earth Revisited ................... ........ .. Susan Foord
19 Scatha the Worm .................................. Graham Taylor

Editorial
Welcome to issue 14 of Anor; I hope that through its pages you may, for a moment
at least, forget those nasty little end of term tests which are now looming over you!
My first point won't come as news to most of you, but in case you hadn't already
found out, this is my second last issue as editor of Anor. I have decided to give up the job
after the OxonmootfSocieties fair issue in September; by then I will have been producing
Anor for two years, and I think it will be time for a change, both for me and for the
magazine. The effect of this, of course, is that we will be in need of a new editor, so if
you are at all interested, please get in touch with either me or one of the committee. The
qualifications required are not great; an ability to type is helpful, but you'll soon learn if
you can't already, and a certain amount of computer litteracy would also help, as at t!Je
moment Anor is typeset using the university computer, although of course the new editor
could always change that. Otherwise a small amount of time three times a year, and a

certain keeness to bully people when their material is late is all that's necessary.
As you have probably observed by now, there is no 'Layman's Guide' in this issue;
this is partly a question of space, but rather more a question of when people can find t!Je
time to put pen to paper. The 'Layman's Guide' will be back in issue 15, but whether with
a discussion of the various biographical works, or Farmer Gile3, Smith of Wooton Major,
etc., remains to be seen.
That's about all for now; please, keep the material rolling in so I can really go out
in style with a bumper issue. The copy date for Anor 15 is August 1st, so you've got
plenty of time, and before then there's puntmoot on June 13th, so why not bring all your
comments there so I can dip them all in the Cam and land up with a lot of soggy bits of
paper with indecipherable nonsense on!
 The 1986

Yuletide Feast
There is an old saying amongst the folk of the Sty-"It takes a heap o' vittles to gag
a boggie". No doubt bearing this ancient lore in mind, the organisers of last year's feast
decided {if you'll pardon the expression) to go the whole hog with a full sit-down dinner.
Mike Percival and Maggie Thomson were the brave souls who 'volunteered' to do the
cooking and open their home to the hordes of assorted Rohirrim, Nazgill, and occasional
avians from Farthest Harad who tend to flock to such events. A fragment of an epic lay
describing their preparations does in fact survive. It runs as follows {more or less):
From Mulberry Close in the grey morning
with Mags in Degbie1 rode Percival's son:
to Sainsbury's they came, the ancient halls
of Marks and Spencers, shopper shrouded;
tins of baked beans were in gloom mantled ...
Various Committee members and other helpful folk did what they could to assist, and by
about six that Saturday evening it became apparent that the whole thing was probably
going to come off despite all the usual misgivings.
It was bitterly cold that night, with icy mist, but most of the twenty four who had
booked did make it. After some preliminary exploration of the various drinks on offer
the feast commenced in earnest with home-made mushroom soup, swiftly demolished with
true hobbit gusto. Meanwhile our hosts nipped off behind the scenes to prepare the main
course for serving. This was either roast chicken and ham or vegetables a l'anglaise, both
being served with a small mountain of assorted vegetables. Extra help was required so
our vegetarian chairman, Ian Alexander, stepped nobly into the breach-only to find he
had to carve the chickens! But he stoically shouldered his responsibilities and in fact did
remarkably well, although he would insist on calling the hapless birds Thorin and Gandalf.
In any event the results were delicious. This was followed by various cakes and gateaux
(not one per head, unfortunately!), then cheese, and finally coffee, accompanied by small
mysterious coloured globes which turned out to be liqueur chocolates.
Eventually even the boggiest were satisfied, and the company relaxed in replete con­
tentment. Then someone discovered the Tolkien Society Song Book. A sing-song com­
menced, the highlight (?) of which must surely have been the duet by !wan Morus and
Colin Rosenthal of "The W ild Ranger". Those two further entertained the company by
reading from their works, notably a spirited rendition of "The Lay of Eii.rringa" and a
recital of the beautifully poignant "Alternative Tale of Aragorn and Arwen". The merri­
ment abated somewhat at the realisation that the washing-up had yet to be done, but
after lan took the beer to the kitchen, most people followed it there to help.
Things wound down a little after that, but various groups continued chatting into the
small hours, there being no college porters to vex us this year. At the risk of being too
glowing I think I must say as a veteran of nearly all the C.T.S. feasts that this was the
best yet. Well done Minas Tirith! Eglerio!
Catherine Hooley

1 The origin of this word is obscure, but it is believed to refer to some form of wheeled
transport. It is thought that the g is silent, and that the word should be pronounced
'debbie'.

2
 The Annual General Meeting
of
The Cambridge Tolkien Society
This year's A.G.M. took place on Saturday the 7th of March in Christ's college, and
was due to start at five o'clock in the afternoon. But a serious problem occurred; only
seven people turned up, and the Constitution stated that we needed eight people to be
able to hold the meeting!!! This lead to some serious thinking about who were the closest
members who could be found and persuaded to attend. It also brought about comments
about calling an E.G.M. at the next puntmoot so that we can change the numbers required.
[Again??!!]
Since the seven had turned up it was decided to give the reports and post the names of
the candidates for next year's committee, even though they could not be officially accepted.
The Chairman's report was mostly concerned with the encouraging turnout of members
seen at the discussion meetings. This has unfortunately not been continued for all of
this term. He also reported on the society's involvement in the 50th anniversary of the
publishing of The Hobbit, which will consist of a display at the Central Library in the first
full week of May. Next came the Treasurer's report, which primarily consisted of a handout
s)lowing the society's financial position. Finally came a plea from the Anor editor for a
new editor since he wishes to 'retire' in October of this year. Next year's committee will
consist of I. Alexander (Chairman), W. Hurwood (Treasurer) and R. Lilley (Secretary).
Once the reports had been given and the new committee identified everybody decided it
was time to give up and go home. But then another member turned up! The meeting
could be opened at last (it was now about five thirty!!). Some quick voting then took place,
with all the reports being accepted and next year's committee being elected unanimously.
The position of Officer Without Portfolio is still vacant, so if anyone out there is at all
interested please get in touch with the present committee.
It was now about six o'clock and since the annual dinner was not starting until se\·en
.
thirty, those who had nothing better to do retired to the bar to await the arrival of the rest
of the diners, the meal being better attended than the A.G.M. had been. Christ's gave
us a wonderful meal, well worth the fifteen pounds it cost; wine and port flowed freely for
a good two hours, and not even a hungry hobbit could have complained about the fare
we received. Our thanks go to Dr. Courtney, who made this meal a possibility, for his
hospitality. If we hold an annual dinner in Christ's again I can recommend it to anyone
who is worried about value for money.
Having seen the abysmal attendance of the A.G.M., I would like to make a plea to the
members of this society. Please do try and attend the meetings since they are arranged
for your enjoyment; the committee does not want to waste its time arranging things no
one bothers to attend! If you don't attend meetings because you are not interested in
what they are about please come and tell the committee; hopefully we can then arrange
meetings which will interest you. If we do not get any feedback there is no way that we
can alter what is happening to improve it.

Ian Alexander

3
 The Gross Shire Product
This article is based on material submitted by Ian Alexander and Ted Crawford, and
basically falls into three parts; firstly, a definition of Gross Shire P roduct, together with
an explanation of how to calculate it, followed by !an's computation of G.S.P., and Ted's
comments and recalculation.
The Gross Shire P roduct, or G.S.P., is simply a measure of the total output of the
hobbits of the Shire. It is defined as the total value of goods (both necessities and luxuries)
produced during a year, and its value gives some indication of the state of economic
development of the Shire.
W hilst calculating G.S.P. a number of terms will be used which need to be explained.
For simplicity we shall assume that there are only two forms of commodity produced:
Necessities (N)-food, etc.
Luxuries (£)-metal goods, paper, etc.
This is of course a gross simplification, but owing to a lack of relative price information in
LotR it is one that has to be made.
G.S.P. is calculated by the formula

P(N) ·
H(N) ·
H(W) · O(N) + P(L) · H(L) ·
H(W) · O(L)

where the terms used are defined as follows:

P(N)-the price of necessities. This is decided by your view on the technical and
social development of the Shire. If you are calculating figures for the WotR period you
could take early to mid eighteenth-century Britain as a possible source of information.
P(L)-the price of luxuries.
O(N)-output per hobbit of necessities. How much each hobbit is able to produce in
a given time, i.e. a year.
O(L)-output per hobbit of luxuries.
H(T)-total hobbit population of the Shire.
H(D)-total number of dependent hobbits, i.e. those hobbits who are too old to work,
too young and those which are ill.
H(W )-total number of working hobbits; also defined as H(T) - H(D).
H(N)-percentage of hobbits employed to produce necessities.
H(L)-percentage of hobbits employed to produce luxuries.
So overall G.S.P. can be described as the total value of necessary and luxury goods produced
by the Shire in one given year.

Ian Alexander's Calculation of G.S.P.

My calculations of G.S.P. are for the period between Bilbo's adventure and the War
of the lling. This is the best documented period of Shire history available to us. The year
I shall choose as a representative sample is 1400 (Shire Reckoning).
Now my estimates for the determinants of G.S.P. are:
Population etc. The overall figure for H(T) which I will use is 40,000. This is taken
from Duncan McLaren's article in A nor 10. The population appears to have been growing
relatively slowly and so the bias towards a young population will only be slight. But at
what age did hobbits start work? Sam was born in 1380 and was working by the time
of the party (1401). The Gaffer had started his apprenticeship about 60 years before the

4
party and he was born in 1326. So it would seem fair to set the average age of starting
work at 18. At what age did hobbits stop working? Again using the Gaffer as an example,
he was working at the time of the party but not by 1418. So it would seem safe to set the
'retirement' age at 80. Now, what was the average life expectancy of a hobbit? The family
trees in LotR show that most hobbits lived to the age of 100. All of this information leads
to figures for population etc. as:
H(T) = 40,000
H(D) = 40% (rounded up from 38% due to the slightly higher proportion of young.)
H(W) = 0.6 x 40,000 24, 000 hobbits.
=

How are these hobbits split between producing necessities and luxuries? In my article in
Anor 10 I set levels of 90% for necessities and 10% for luxuries. I shall stick with these
estimates for this calculation, although Mr Crawford in Anor 12 does point out some
creditable differences of opinion. This will give 21,600 and 2,400 hobbits employed as the
respective workforces for necessities and luxuries.
P rices, etc. This is an even less well documented area of the Shire. My tentative
estimates are based upon British figures for agriculture etc. in the period of the early
eighteenth century. This I believe is best suited to what we know of the Shire at that time,
although the industrial sector (luxuries) may be slightly overstated. If you combine P(N)
and O(N) you calculate the average value of production by one hobbit in one year. This
could be rewritten as:
Total value of N /Number employed in N.
On average in the eighteenth century 1.8 million people were employed in the agricultural
sector. In 1730 the value of agriculture was 23.6 million pounds (at 1700 prices). So
P(N) 0(N) is 13.1 pounds. This can also be used for luxuries. In 1700 approximately
·

0.95 million people worked in the industrial sector producing 18.5 million pounds worth of
goods, so average value is 19.5 pounds (at 1700 prices).
G.S.P. can now be calculated:
(13.1 x 21, 600) + (19.5 x 2, 400) 329,760 pounds at 1700 prices.
=

G.S.P. per hobbit is 8.24 pounds, so on average each hobbit produced 8.24 pounds worth
of goods in this time period each year. By themsel�es these figures have little value, but
they can be used for comparison against other people's calculations of G.S.P. which will
hopefully be forthcoming.

Ted Crawford's Reply

I am indebted to !an for his estimates of G.S.P. even if I think them wrong as they
are far too low. He has provided a methodology in this first attempt at measurement and
on the base line of his figures we can offer refinements. His method is to look solely at
production possibilities in two segments of the economy, agriculture and industry, or, as he
says, the necessary and the luxury sectors. I would disagree that much hobbit industrial
production was in the luxury class. He then assumes:
a) that two thirds of the population work in agriculture, and
b) that in both sectors productivity is similar to the same sectors in eighteenth-century
England.
With each of these assumptions I have reservations. I also believe that we have certain
evidence about consumption which must be taken into account in G.S.P accounting.
!an's age estimate for hobbits is correct, but the activity ratio of hobbits may be far
higher than for people in eighteenth-century England, e.g. work starts at an early age and

5
continues till 90 years old. So there is a gradual rise in work intensity to maturity, and then
a gradual decline. There is hardly any retirement. Stenstrom's data on age distribution is
both conclusive and suggestive. High activity ratios and the population age profiles suggest
a very healthy and fit labour force, if age-specific death rates are, as is customary, taken as
a proxy for general health. This is far more the case than in eighteenth-century England
and therefore the population is at least 25% more productive. Probably the difference is
more like 50% after the low death rate in the productive age groups is taken into account.
Ceteru paribu.� that in itself would raise the per capita productivity by about 50%. Despite
my great respect for Stenstrom's work, though, I do not accept his estimates for population
growth.
Productivity in agriculture m�t be much higher than eighteenth-century England. It
is at least as much as two and a half times greater, due not to labour saving machines,
but to productive plant and animal types with high yields and with resistance both to
disease and climatic shock. Crops may even have had the ability to fix nitrogen from the
air. I would imagine that we are looking at Victorian high farming with four field rotation
and with the addition of improved crop types. There might be horse-drawn scythes but
probably no mechanical threshers. H such threshers do exist they are horse powered, not
driven by steam. In general that would be true of all agricultural implements. They might
be advanced nineteenth century designs, but would only be hobbit or horse powered. There
would be no power tools! Thus it is to elven technology, which has affected crop types and
beasts, both of which are disease resistant, that the Shire owes its high standard of living.
Productivity in manufacturing was probably higher than in eighteenth-century Eng­
land, perhaps 50% higher than in the textile industry at the time, but there is not nearly
the differential that there is in agriculture. The water mills suggest it is more like early
nineteenth century technology. Thus I believe that the Shire's textile industry used water
powered mechanical looms and water powered spinning wheels in small workshops em­
ploying at most half a dozen people each. Water power for lathes and saws would be
used for timber working such as furniture or construction. All this is similar to the best
practice in the 1820s. Unlike in nineteenth century England this production would not be
for export so the proportion of the population employed in textiles would be much smaller.
The evidence for the degree of mechanisation of industry is the plentiful available power
supplies.
Metal working is backward. Metal imports are taken from the dwarves. I stated this
when I wrote my booklet a dozen years ago and since then it has been confirmed in Letter�
(see letter 154 to Naomi Mitchinson). Even so the total quantities of metal would not be so
large. Armaments do not exist. Only nails, tools, agricultural implements, pots and pans,
together with firedogs or stoves would be imported or manufactured from imported bar
iron as in eighteenth-century England. There must be some metal work so I would imagine
that smithies exist for the shoeing of horses and for the repair of tools and implements. So
there is no incentive to develop metallurgy both because of the lack of demand for weapons
and because there is a plentiful and cheap supply available from the dwarves. Estimates
of total metal consumption per hobbit household could be made, though with careful use
many iron artifacts might last a good time. Consumption flows therefore would be low in
relation to the stock of such goods.
Over a long time period there has been an accumulation of capital goods by means of
the solid construction of barns and dwellings which need little maintenance and so have
low depreciation rates. Properly seasoned wood can last a long time, as in the 900 year old
Norwegian churches. In the Shire as in Norway such buildings have also lasted a long time

6
 because of the lack of wars which might have led to the destruction of the capital stock.
Other buildings include those which P imple bought up, mills, malthouses, inns and farms
as well as other property. There must also be effective storage for crops in barns which
are mentioned even if storage is helped by elven technology which includes resistance to
parasites and disease.
Ian has not considered the most important evidence of consumption patterns such as
the high food inputs, wooden furniture, panelling and flooring as well as the plentiful if
practical clothing in the household of a well-off hobbit. I assume smaller dwellings but
still adequate furniture, fuel and clothing for the poorer individuals in normal times. In
eighteenth-century England poor people were often hungry and cold for a large part of
the time, which I assume was not the case in the Shire until the arrival of Saruman's
servants. Between the Brandywine and the White Downs life may have been boring but
there would be a sufficiency of basic goods which were relatively evenly distributed. It
would strengthen !an's case if he argued that there does not exist in the Shire, as there
does in eighteenth-century England, a landowning class with extremely extravagant and
wasteful tastes in clothes, carriages, horses and country houses all of which drained off
great outputs from the productive economy. The rentier3 like Dilbo may be idle but they
are sober and respectable, in style bourgeois rather than aristocratic and their life styles,
though comfortable, are modest.
Even if we had agreed about the G.S.P. per capita the total G.S.P. is dependent on
population estimates, so there is divergence between us on total size of G.S.P. Dut in
my view there is a necessity for a greater population than Alexander adduces, given the
division of labour which must occur as a consequence of the high individual outputs in
the economy. The long lifetimes that I have suggested for the main items in the capital
stock would mean low depreciation rates and therefore a high N.S.P. (Net Shire Product)
relative to G.S.P.
Thus in conclusion I would imagine that half the population worked in industry and
half in agriculture, with figures for productivity as follows (all figures in £):

Agriculture Industry Overall

!an's estimates
(per head) 13 20 15

My estimates add 50%

for increased activity 18 30 24

P roductivity 150%

....
greater in agriculture,
50% greater in industry 45 45 45

On the basis of a lower activity ratio Ian estimates an income per individual of about

..
£8-9. I would estimate a much higher activity ratio and thus a G.S.P. per capita of about
£25 at 1730 prices. If we assumed an imputed value for housework the G .S.P. would be
about £40, but the English G.N.P. in 1730 would also be raised considerably.
It will be noted that on my figures there is no difference between per capita agricultural
and industrial productivity in the Shire. This is because, if there ever was such, this is an
economy in equilibrium. I assume similar relative prices to 1730 though we might expect
that food in the Shire was relatively cheaper than manufactured goods in the eighteenth
century.

7
 Appendix
A note on prices in 1730. A number of people have pointed out how the results given
above are 'abstract', so in an attempt to remedy this they can now be expressed in terms
of the number of loaves of bread you could buy. A four pound (in weight) loaf cost 4.8
pence in 1700. Now there were 240 pence to an old English pound, so you could buy 50
loaves for one pound. Thus, for example, if the G.S.P. per capita was £10, a hob bit could
buy 500 loaves in a year. Note however that 4lb is a very large loaf of bread, which would
cost around £1 today, so the G.S.P. could, on that basis, be translated as about £500 per
head. Crawford's figure of £25 (1730) would then translate as about £1250 in modern
money.

Bibliography
Tolkien, J. R. R., The Lord of the Ring,,
Floud & McCloskey, The Economic Hi,tory of Britain 'ince 1700.
Carpenter, H. (ed.), The Letter' of J. R. R. Tolkien

8
 Hello again, and welcome to yet �!8es ago), being part I of
another Book Corner. This time I the trilogy, along with
felt like using the Macintosh (deep breath) parts 2 and 3 of a
properly, not.just for the titles, 110 trilogy, part I of another trilogy,
the layotrt of this column is going to part 2 ol part 1 of a daalogy of
be alllhadc different from preYious dualogies .. . and, wonder of
. ..
ones. Hope it brightens ap your wonders, a single book which
Anar . shows positively no sign of
becoming a trilogy at all!
This issue I' ve got the new
DragonLance book (as promised

------�
THE TIME OF THE TWINS

I promisedyua this a long time ago, andit's finally arm-ed.

I{anything, its an improvement on the first three hooks,
having better characterisation (prOOably due to there being
fewer c�). The plot concerns Ce.ro.mon and Raist.lin,
the twin brothers from the first trilogy. Raistlin has designs
on world domination by the simple process of replacing tht·
evil Queen of Darkness by himself, and Caramon is
dtey-botmd to stop him. buthung ap becausehe is, after all
his brother . Add to that a priestess of the world's God of

I�
I
Good, who has a divine mission (so she believes) to stop him,
buthas discovered she's fallinginlovewith him, and a
mischmowt kcnder by the of Tu who getsin
name
'"'
EVERVONE's way, and yua've got the makings of fan.some
The plot gets a little stretched on occasions, btrt. cwerall, it's
good stuff.

If ytra read the first lot. read this.

9
 The Anvil of Ice

Unicorn

THE ANVIL OF ICE THE PRINCESS OF FLAMES

This is the first part at

I belieYe, a trilogy. I liked this. It's nothing speciaL bat it
It's set in a world which bu obviouslybeen was qaite pleuant and non-taxing to
carefally researched to contain 'monsters' read. The plot is similar in some ways to
from Prehistoric Earth. and the author hu � ·· "LordValentine's Cutle" in
gone to town. a la JRRT, on the iDclasion of that it telf.c the story of an exiled member
editorial notes by a •IIJIP08ed translator of of a ruling familywho returns to sort out
the 'original' mana.cript. Plot good. her kingdom. Unlike Valentine, Elfrid
cbaracterisation good - I like the ideas doesn't'haft amnesia however. A couple
behind his Smith s magic.
' of neat twists stop the plot from being too
predictable, even i! I saw through the
Well-researched. well-writtten and well principal one.
worth waiting for the next ODe in the .me..
Good for a train jcnD'ILSY.

THE CHR.ONICLES OF TOR.NOR A BLACKBIRD IN DARKNESS

..being the Elizabeth A. �books aba9'e Full marks for finishing it off in two
�=�!atchtmm'' which I reviewed earlier. books, not three! Sequel to 'Blackbird in
yes. well. what can I ay? They're Si!Ter', this continues the story and on
,

all right. I suppose,�� knows the way, explains the enigmatic

how theywon the 'Worldl'antasy Award' I character Mevrian from the firstbook - in
The books are a TeJY loose trilogy (each book fact most of it is told from her viewpoint.
being .ame htmdreds ofyeus apart) Chapter 1 is �going, bat stick to it. it
connected by the world and the fact that all picb: up. The plot is good (Mevria.n adds
the principal character�� are homosexuals! I a nas1f twist) and the ending is great
admire her guts more than her plot8, (miff!), There are another two books,
although her characters 'liYe' reasonably �£a separate series, due- should
well. be waiting.
A resou:nding 'hmmm'. Better than the firstbook - read it.

10

F
 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Saddler's Wells Theatre
This struck me as a difficult book to stage, being a sea voyage to the end of the earth.
The pared down production at Saddler's Wells, however, overcame most of the difficulties,
though the limitations imposed by theatre reduced the scale that is present in the book.
I have a slight admission to make. Due to roadworks in the City, I arrived late,
reaching my seat just as Eustace, Lucy and Edmund reached the boat, so I missed the first
transformation, but I am sure that it was up to the standard of all the others. I also did
not acquire a programme, so I do not know who was playing whom.
The Dawn Treader slid on and off from both the wings, as did all the other sets. She
did have a dragon prow of sorts, and raised foredeck and poop. The sail dropped from
the ceiling, relieving the need for a mast. The crew of thirty was reduced to Drinian,
the captain, and a sole, incompetent crewman-who apparently sailed the Dawn Treader
single-handed at times.
The sets were very simple but effective. Aside from the boat, there was greenery for
Dragon Island, a blue cloth marked the pool on Deathwater, a lectern for the Magician's
library, and Asian's table set with a feast on the island at the beginning of the end of
the world. The changes were slick, and often covered by smoke. The effects were simple,
mainly using smoke or back-projection, and good use was also made of the P.A. for Asian's
roar, the invisible Duffers, etc. The costumes were reasonable but would not win prizes at
Oxonmoot.
As this was the start of the show's run, the cast were still making mistakes, though
these were well covered by the others. Unfortunately, cutting the book for the stage lost
the sense of scale, and left some of the actions obscure, particularly Caspian's desire to
stay at the end of the world, when he had only just fallen in love. Actions happened too
fast, destroying the sense of danger in the journey itself; a new island appeared almost
before the adventure on the previous one was over. Also some of the characterisation was
lost; Caspian came over as obsessed with treasure, and the change in Eustace was not as
strong as it might have been.
A few minor quibbles. The Duffers were refered to as Duffiepuds throughout, Eustace
constantly refered to 'Ma' and 'Pa', and the sail was based on the modern cover, instead of
the text. In general those scenes where Lewis's dialogue stood worked best, the worst scene
being the Lone Islands, which was totally rewritten to suit the stage. Also the Christian
propaganda, which is in the background in the book, stood out as the rest of the story was
pared away around it. However, it was a very enjoyable night out, and generally captured
the sense of mystery and magic that all good fantasy needs.
Finally, comparing the production to that of "The Hobbit" which I saw a few days
later. The lighting of "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" was much less effective, and
Smaug was more frightening than Eustace, who hardly seemed a problem. However, the
actors were easier to hear, though that is subjective as I saw "The Hobbit" from the gods
and "Dawn Treader" from the stalls. Overall, howe\·er, I felt that the simplicity of the sets
for "Dawn Treader", which left the audience room for imagination, worked better than
"The Hobbit", where you had to accept the designers' ideas.

Marcus Streets

11

-
 Comment
No prizes for guessing the chief subjects on which I have received comments for this
issue. First off, this contribution from Duncan McLaren:
"Some thoughts on hobbit populations.
"If one includes the data made available by Gary Hunnewell in Anor 13, it is possible
to revise the figure for the average size of a hobbit family in the Shire to 2.31 children.
This is virtually identical to the replacement rate for humans. Although several factors
imply that figures derived from family trees are likely to be under-estimates (such as the
omission of children in the female line, as Gary points out), the child mortality of hobbit
society was probably higher (as a result of a ;relative lack of medical technology). This
factor may well be significant enough to counter-balance the under-estimation. Thus I
would suggest that the hobbits of the Shire were in a situation of population stability,
or, at the most, very slow growth. Thus estimates of the total population above tens of
thousands are unrealistic, particularly given its depletion in the long winter of 2758 Third
Age.
"The low birth rate also indicates, by analogy with historic Britain, that the pop­
ulation was primarily agricultural, and probably land holding. The population boom in
Britain was associated with the breaking of the subsistence tie to land in the Industrial
Revolution. The inheritance of subsistence land was associated with lower birth rates,
particularly as a result of a higher age of marriage. The average generation gap between
birth date and birth date of first child provides a good surrogate for age of marriage, and it
is the case that in the family trees given in The Return of the King this is 41 years (which,
in relation to coming of age, is equivalent to a human age of 26 years, which would actually
be quite high for pre-industrial rural Britain). It is also possible that those landless hobbits
which did exist would be involved in craft industry and thus not involved in the expansion
of agricultural land.
"Regarding Gary Hunnewell's point in Anor 13, I accept that the hobbit clans for
which we have family tree data were exceptionally prominent. In a situation of scarce
resources such families could be expected to be somewhat larger than average, as a result
of preferential access to those resources. If resot\rces were not scarce then the family sizes
are probably representative. I leave you to draw your own conclusions as to the implications
for resources and the economics debate if hobbit populations were stable or growing rather
than declining!
"Susan Foord should remember that evidence from the Red Book is from hobbits
themselves and not from some other race in Middle-earth. It should therefore be accepted
as accurate, particularly in the light of the reputation of hobbits for keeping detailed and
meticulous family trees. Although I accept her point about battles in general, I do not
accept it when applied to the Battle of Bywater, which was fought to free the Shire from
oppression. In this case I cannot believe that any male hobbit able to fight would not have
been involved."

Next, two comments related to those above, regarding the use of the plough in the
Shire. Firstly from Ted Crawford come these thoughts concerning the matter. "As
far as the plough is concerned, it is not central to my argument, but beer is made from
barley and there are draught animals in the Shire, as Farmer Maggot has a cart. After the
battle of Bywater there is a reference in the Canon to food stored in barns and to huge
crops of corn in the following year. To my mind this points to crop rotation and ploughs.

12
 There will certainly be a lot of livestock as well. Evidence which tends to confirm this
is the existence of meadows in which mushrooms are found. I concede that there must
be plenty of horticulture and potato growing by poor people such as the·Gamgees. Even
those who earned their living by crafts would, I feel sure, own or rent an acre and have
a vegetable garden and a pig. They would not be proletarians in the ma.rxist sense and
Cobbet would have approved of their lifestyle. They would not be servile in their manners
because they had an element of economic independence. They would tend to spend a lot
of time gardening and cooking when not working at their trade and that, together with
eating, might be more than half their waking hours. All these are activities which do not
appear in the G.S.P. accounts! We could look more carefully at the accounts of food eaten
in the Shire to get additional information about agricultural practices."
And secondly, from Duncan McLaren again: "I am unconvinced that the majority of
agriculture in the Shire was based on the plough. If this were the case I would argue
that it contradicts Ted Crawford's apparent beliefs, which I share, that most hobbits used
land-holdings to provide subsistence."
Next, to continue the argument between Duncan and Ted Crawford regarding the
population of the Shire, comes this from Ted Crawford. "I do not accept Duncan's esti­
mates about population, though he claims that I do. I point out that there are difficulties
with both our approaches. The resolution of this problem needs further research at a micro
l!!vel on the economic possibilities in the Shire such as the area devoted to forest and wool
production, both of which competed with land for food. This would need estimates of the
energy resources available per hobbit. From this, the total food supplies can be computed
and the upper and lower bounds of population size can be estimated."
Ted continues with some comments on the analogy between the Shire and feudal
Britain: "Duncan is quite correct that in feudal Britain there was a leisured class and
unsettled land, but there was serfdom, so he is quite at sea if he thinks this says anything
whatsoever about the Shire. That is the whole point of Domar's work, which I recom­
mend. In addition the Shire is an economy in equilibrium where nothing much happens,
quite unlike the dynamic changes in mediaeval timejl which were coupled with externally
generated demographic shocks such as the Black Death and frequent wars. There could
well be uncultivated land after an epidemic or the 'Harrying of the North'.
"If McLaren thinks that order in feudal society was maintained by "the values of
society" rather than by coercion I suggest he reads about the penalties for breaking the
forest laws of the Norman kings. This unsavoury stuff is suitable as bedtime reading for
those who collect Nazi regalia. So I cannot accept that the Shire is 'feudal' in the sense that
I understand the word. It does have parallels with mediaeval Switzerland or Dithmarschen.
These lands were territories where labour was free and where there was a quasi-tribal levy
of foot soldiers. They were also surrounded by difficult terrain for feudal cavalry. Labour
I
is not coerced in the Shire which is what I understand by the feudal mode of production.
I
Thus the armed knight, a symbol of rule and class position, is regarded as weird and
unbecoming among hobbits who "do not hold with iron weskits". Mediaeval Britain was
a pretty violent place even in peaceful times. The Shire is much more suburban and even
modern Swiss."
And finally, to complete this issue's comments, a couple of thoughts of my own. "\\'e
have discussed at some length agricultural/horticultural production methods in the Shire,
and also the question of trade with the dwarves. If food wa.! traded with the dwarves,
then someone, somewhere, must have produced a surplus, so someone must have been
more than a subsistence grower.

13

l m
 "Changing subject completely, I am at present reading The Silent Tower, by Barbara
Hambly. I don't know whether this is available in this country yet, as the copy I have
was brought back by my brother-in-law from the U.S.A., but it raises some interesting
points on the question of Magic/Technology. The book is set in a world in which the
culture is unlike any period of English history, but is perhaps most akin to some sort
of cross between late Middle-ages and the seventeenth century, except that the level of
technology is considerably higher (including mechanised looms in large factories worked
by child labour}, and several of the inhabitants are dabbling in electricity in their attic
laboratories. Amongst all this technology there are an (albeit small} number of mages,
both official 'council' mages and unofficial 'dog-wizards'. Thus in this particular situation
it is possible for magic and technology to both exist-but there are prices to be paid.
Firstly, the official mages take a vow that they wiJI not in any way interfere with the
affairs of men, and that covers everything from moving a rain cloud a few miles to water
someone's garden to blasting the king's army off the face of the earth. Since the only
way to get any tuition in the arts of magic is to join the council, the other mages have
nowhere near so much power, and so present very little threat. Secondly, there are very
few mages; probably no more than a couple of dozen with genuine powers in the whole
country. Although this may seem to be somewhat similar to Middle-earth as depicted in
LotR, where it was not sufficient to allow technological advance, it must be remembered
that it was not the case in Valinor, and most of the technology in Middle-earth probably
derived from Valinor via Numenor. Finally, the non-magic authorities (church and crown)
have access to certain facilities which are 'charmed' against magic, and so can be used to
keep authority over the mages, in particular weapons which cannot be jammed or broken,
and a 'magic-proof' prison, the silent tower of the book's title.
"Thus we can see that in this particu­
lar case magic and technology can co­
exist, but here the result is progress
in technology and stagnation, at least
as far as anything which affects men is
concerned, in magic, while in Middle­
earth the progreea in magic, in partic·
ular during the First Age, results in
apparent stagnation in technological
developement through the Second and
Third Ages as well."
 The Motif of
The Inn as Numinous Place
...
in Troubled Times
Readers of The Lord of the Ring& will recall Barliman Butterbur, the innkeeper of
The Prancing Pony, the chief hostelry in the border zone of Bree-Land, and the fact that
his family had, in fact, run this important Inn for generations1• They will also remember
that he appears at crucial points in the trilogy (1, pp. 164 ff., 276-7, and Ill, pp. 269 ff.),
that he is short and fat, has a bad memory, is deemed important by Gandalf:

"He is wise enough, on his own ground. He thinks less than he talks, and slower,
yet he can see through a brick wall in time (as they say in Bree)." (1, 233)

and is called "Thrice worthy and beloved Barliman" (1, 277).

The reason for this significance, apart from being an honest man in a dangerous age
and in a perilous region, is never revealed. Yet he is wise in his assessment of the uncertain
times when the members of the Fellowship visit him on their way home (Ill, pp. 269-74),
even if "most of the things which they had to tell were a mere wonder and bewilderment"
(p. 271).

George Mackay Brown

�
Some notion of t e traditional imprtance of such an innkeeper in fabled story occurs
in a recent mythic novel, Time in a Red Coat (1984), from the last of the sagamen, an
Orkney poet and writer of incantatory prose, namely George Mackay Brown (b.1921). The
work in question tells of a journey through time of a/any woman who loathes war, and of
a soldier (any soldier) who would he himself, a simple fisherman, on the outer perimeter of
the world (Orkney), away from the terrible wars2 which ravage and convulse the hinterland
of the great land mass.
Apart from a prose epic structure in sixteen lon g chapters, many of the section names
echo all quest literature or (European) epic journeys: I The Masque; Ill The Well;IV River;
V The Inn; VI Forest; XI The Battle; XII Longest Journey; XIII The Tryst, and finally,
XVI Old and Grey and Full of Sleep. Ignoring the last's similarity in image to that of
Bilbo at the end of LotR, the reader will find in chapter V many thoughts that il!umine
both Tolkien's and all metaphysical journeys:

It is a worn metaphor, too, that sees life as an inn, a hostelry3 where we stay
for a few nights, warming us at the fire with mulled wine, sitting at the broad
table with strangers-and yet Fate has drawn this assorted company together,
for purposes that we delight to speculate on (p. 45);

1 This is a paraphrase of the entry (p. 42) of J. E. A. Tyler, The Tolkien Companion,
(1976).
2 While no dates are given, or names of generals, there is a mad Napoleon-figure (pp. 118,
128-9), and a mention of Leipzig (p. 105). Movement forward and backward-to embrace
all European wars-is implied by references to Luther (p. 83), Spain (p. 107), and Cracow
(p. 44).
3 Note the reminiscence of the beginning of the 'General Prologue' to Chaucer's Can­
terbury Tale&.

15
 let there be stories, songs, mingled laughter, while the host stands anxiously at
the door between kitchen and dining room, rubbing his hands, waiting for the
least nod or sign from his guests (ibid.);

he has shrewdly guessed that only a few main types (of guests) predominate, say
seven (ibid.);

the melancholy man who sits at the end of the long table and speaks to no one,
nor ever laughs, but ... rises all of a sudden when the tales on each side and the
pledging are at their merriest (p. 43};
This present landlord had never, by nature, been a merry man like his father and
grandfather. True, he had their round red cheeks, but when he was alone a kind
of melancholy4 veiled his eyes (p. 44};

There had been a war when the innkeeper was a lad (p. 45}.
The Aragorn-like section apart, there are many such other passages analagous to the
various references by Tolkien to the Prancing Pony and what happens there.

The Bethlehem Inn

The likely clue to (European} story's persistent use of the frontier/wasteland setting
of the inn is found in Brown's later passage (pp. 48-49} on the Bethlehem inn:
Well, the old man thought, smiling, inns are of great importance in history.
An inn with its beds and fires and broad table and well-stocked cupboard: in
such a place as this had the new time begun, the Light and the Way and the
Word. And in that wonderful story too there had been horsemen and soldiers,
Herod's bloodthirsty troop.

This link is not only orthodox Christian belief, but is found world-wide in the tales of
folk-literature, as categorised5 by Stith Thompson. In his Schema6 the following motifs
may be consulted:

c 856.2 Tabu against (armies) invading inns.

F 147.4 the Inn at the border of the otherworld;
G 303.4.8.4 the devil never eats at an inn;
H 11.1.1 recognition by some at the inn where all must
tell their life histories of a hidden great
truth.

The last motif relates very clearly to the disastrous, boasting, song and disappearance of
Frodo (pp. 166-72) in the chapter "At the sign of the Prancing Pony" in The Fellow&hip of
the Ring. This Tolkienian sequence of events is linked to a fairly common motif in Icelandic
saga, as in the following clusters:7

Hll Recognition through story-telling

4 Compare the last sight of him, Ill, pp. 269, ff.

5 In 1955. The full title of his standard work, in 6 volumes, is: Motif-Index of Folk­
Literature: A classification of Narrative Elements in Folktales, Ballads, Myths, Fables,
Mediaeval Romances, Exempla, Faldiaux, Jest-Books and Local Legends.
( 6 Vol. VI, pp. 420-21.
7 See Inger M. Boberg's Motif-Index of Early Icelandic Literature (1966}, p. 147. Some
thirteen examples are given, some running over long sequences of text.

16
 H 11.1 Recognition by telling life history.
Tolkien has caused his chapter to contain the (linked) variants: unintended revelation in
story; compulsion to reveal oneself at an inn; an enemy's perception, through his agents,
that something very untoward is being disclosed:
there was one swarthy Bree-lander, who stood looking at them with a knowing
.,
and half-mocking expression.. .Presently he slipped out of the door. (I, p. 172).
The longest Norse treatments of the general theme occur in: (i) Egil& 3aga einhenda ok
A3mtmdar berurkjabana (1-83); (ii) Hore3 &aga konung& ok &ona han3 (X9X-XX99); and
(iii) Didreb 3aga (II, 385-387).
While it is true that Tolkien's artistic focus is on Frodo and the disastrous clues which
he gives both to his identity and to the treasure-burden which he carries, there is enough
left of the inn and innkeeper motifs to remind us of all such, even back to the one in
Bethlehem who, having received strangers from the North,
had behaved, that hard man, very gently after all, once he had seen their plight
by the glim of his lantern. (Time in a Red Coat, p. 49)
ln short, Barliman and the Prancing Pony elements take the form and function which
they do because of a long and honourable tradition in narrative, one which Tolkien has
used and exploited, much as has George Mackay Brown.8 The latter's text is, however,
contrived with a less complex plot and a greater concern with a pattern of continual
repetition of the greatest folly, war and soldiering, and the concomitant compassion which
it engenders in the watchers-women and innkeepers. The work of Stith Thompson and,
in particular, of the Germanist, lnger Boberg, allows us to comprehend more deeply as
well as describe such seemingly odd incidents as the sequence of events in Bree's inn. For
Tolkien's work is close to all (oral) narrative and legend, so that here, as elsewhere, the
tools of motif-study and of narratology should not be ignored by literary critics of the
I I story, biblicists, semioticians, folklorists, or my thographers.

The Functioning of the narrative

While the study of the form and functioning of narrative in the Western tradition goes
back at least to Plato and Aristotle, it is, arguably, only in the last twenty years that there
has been serious study of the traits of narrative, as opposed to their meaning or value.
Thus, this particular approach to Tolkien's work enables us to ponder the notion of inn
and innkeeper9 from
explicit and implicit information; presupposed information; point of view; tem­
poral relation; spatial relation; theme; event description; and orientation of nar­
rative.
In short, this inn and its master present us with a distinct paradigm:
an oriented temporal whole, involving some sort of conflict, made up of discrete,
specific and positive events, and meaningful in terms of a human project and a
humanized universe. (Gerald Prince, Narratology: The Form and Functioning of
Narrative (1982), p. 160).

8 His work is deeply influenced by the sagas, and, in particular, by the Orkneyinga Saga
with its Christ-like pacifist victim, (St.) Magnus.
9 Compare his notions found elsewhere, of the (archetypal) forester, gardener, cook,
painter, story-teller, etc.

17
 -

As with so many situations or incidents in Tolkien's splendid traditional narrative

mode, the reader is able here to respond to its story, wit, style, psychological insight and
suitability to its place in the greater legend. He is able to link it to European chronology,
and to all dangerous journeying, as well as to savour deeply the narrative moment. FUrther,
the more elemental chapter of Brown's which is

Standing near the sources of time, where one drinks hope and delight ( op. cit.,
p. 57).
is, arguably, a tribute to Tolkien, or, at very least a luminous analogue, by the reading
of which we respond all the more perceptively to one of man's most ancient symbols of
shelter, of sanctuary, and of service.

J. S. Ryan

ffir<>OLE EARCb
REVISIC£0

I ONLY ASK�D
FoR A 1-lORN­
-AJL OF youR
B£ST ALt • • •

18
 Scatha the Worm
From the high mountains of the North
Pram, Frumgar's son, set boldly forth
To Ered Mithrin's mountains grey
Where ores and dragons held their sway.

To these grim mountains Scatha came,

A mighty worm with wealth and fame;
He fought and slew the Dwarven Lords
And sat in triumph on their hoards.

In darkened valley was his lair

Where once the Dwarves wrought treasures fair.
On mound of gold he made his bed
And filled the halls with fear and dread.

To this foul place came Frumgar's son

T hrough mists of dawn as day begun.
A great dark opening there he spied;
And sword prepared he stepped inside.

T here Pram found the fearsome drake

On bed of gold, not yet awake.
But then the worm a sound he heard,
And from his slumber was disturbed.

Scatha struck with tooth and claw

And Pram he battered to the floor.
But there Pram found his softer part­
Pram's sword came up and pierced his heart.

T he dragon rolled away in pain

And Pram leapt to his feet again.
Great Scatha fell, and in a flood
From gaping wound flowed steaming blood.

19
 The news soon went out far and wide
"The worm of terror now has died",
And far away King Thniin the Old
Thrned back his thoughts to stolen gold.

The fire of wrath still in him burned

And for the dragon's gold he yearned,
And so he mustered all his might-
A dwarven host marched through the night.

Within the cave one morning pale,

Bold Fram awoke to sound of mail.
Outside he ventured, there to stand
Before the doors with sword in hand.

Axe in hand Thrain climbed the slope

And with him Fram now coldly spoke:
"Halt! I am Fram, I slew the worm..."
"Then we shall slay you in your turn."

Long the twain there grimly fought

And Fram's great deeds all came to naught.
'Gainst dwarven steel his sword him failed,
The axe of Thrain at last prevailed.

Thus was Fram there cruelly slain.

Returned he never home again.
Thrain had now the gold he craved
And Fram had nothing but the grave.

Graham Taylor

20
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