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[[File:Gregor Roffalski - Thain Peregrin I.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[Gregor Roffalski]] - ''Thain Peregrin I'']]
[[Image:Thain Peregrin I.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Pippin Took as Thain Peregrin Took I]]
The '''Thain''' was an office of great respect in [[the Shire]]. The Thain was master of the [[Shire-moot]] and captain of the [[Shire-muster]] and [[Hobbitry-in-arms]].<ref name="Order">{{FR|Ordering}}</ref>
The '''thain''' was an office of great respect in [[the Shire]].
 
==Etymology==
Thain is an alternative spelling, found in Middle English texts, of the [[wikipedia:Early Modern English|Early Modern English]] word ''[[wikipedia:Thegn|thane]]''. The word is derived from [[Old English]] ''þegn'', which meant a person holding lands from the king in exchange for military service. The spelling "thane" appears in the verse from “The Muster of Rohan” which begins "From dark Dunharrow in the dim morning/with thane and captain rode Thengel’s son."


==History==
==History==
For nearly four hundred years after its foundation, the Shire had been part of the lands of [[Arthedain]], and under the rule of that land's King. Ultimately, Arthedain fell to the forces of [[Angmar]], and its last King, [[Arvedui]], was lost, leaving the [[Shire-hobbits]] without a ruler. They remedied this by choosing a new leader from among themselves, [[Bucca of the Marish]], who was given the title ''thain'', a word simply meaning "chief" in their dialect.
For nearly four hundred years after its foundation, the Shire had been part of the lands of [[Arthedain]], and under the rule of that land's [[Kings of Arthedain|King]]. Ultimately, Arthedain fell to the forces of [[Angmar]], and its last King, [[Arvedui]], was lost in {{TA|1975}},<ref name="TA">{{App|TA}}</ref> leaving the [[Shire-hobbits]] without a ruler. They remedied this by choosing a new leader from among themselves, [[Bucca of the Marish]], who was given the title ''thain'', a word simply meaning "chief" in [[Hobbitish|their dialect]].
 
In origin a military office, Thainship passed strictly through the male line.<ref name=Letter>{{L|214}}</ref>


The Thain was chief of the [[Shire-moot]] and [[Hobbitry-at-arms]]. With Peregrin I, thain became Councellor of [[Reunited Kingdom|North Kingdom]].
Bucca and his descendants, a family known as the [[Oldbucks]], served as Shire-thain for twelve generations. The twelfth Thain, one [[Gorhendad Oldbuck]], left the Shire and crossed the River [[Brandywine]] to found [[Buckland]].<ref name="Conspiracy">{{FR|I5}}</ref> With his departure, the Thainship passed to a new line, the preeminent [[Took Family|Tooks]], and specifically to [[Isumbras Took I]].<ref name="Order"/>


Bucca and his descendants, a family known as the [[Oldbucks]], served as Shire-thain for twelve generations. The twelfth Thain, one [[Gorhendad Oldbuck]], left the Shire and crossed the River [[Brandywine]] to find [[Buckland]]. With his departure, the Thainship passed to a new line, the [[Took Family|Tooks]], and specifically to [[Isumbras Took I]]; thenceforth, the thain would be sometimes called simply "the Took".
As a rule, the Thain was also the head of the Took clan (known as "The Took") and the [[Great Smials]], but the two offices were not identical; one example illustrating the difference was the case of Thain Ferumbras III: He inherited the Thainship from his father, Fortinbras II, but his mother [[Lalia Clayhanger]] remained the head of the Tooks.<ref name=Letter/>


From Isumbras I, the line of the Took Shire-thains continued unbroken to the time of the [[War of the Ring]] and beyond. The last recorded Thain was [[Faramir Took I]], the thirty-fourth to hold the title of Shire-thain. The fact that both he and his father [[Peregrin Took]] are recorded as the first of that name shows that there must have been more Thains after this time, and the office clearly lasted well into the [[Fourth Age]].
But as the times of emergency in the Shire were rare, as the need for the muster and the moot (the [[Battle of Greenfields|only battle]] was fought in {{TA|2747}} and the [[Fell Winter (Third Age)|last emergency]] in {{TA|2912}}), the title ended up as nothing more than nominal. Indeed, there was no "government" in the Shire as the clans managed their own affairs.<ref name="Order"/>


==Line of Thains==
From Isumbras I, the line of the Took Shire-thains continued unbroken to the time of the [[War of the Ring]] and beyond with Peregrin I when thainship became also a Counsellor office of the [[Reunited Kingdom|North Kingdom]].<ref name="Later">{{App|Later}}</ref>
It is known that there were at least thirty-three Shire-thains, from Bucca, who became Thain in [[Third Age 1979]], to Faramir I, who took on the title in [[Fourth Age 63]], more than a thousand years later.


* '''I''' [[Bucca of the Marish]] (Thain from Third Age 1979) - The first Thain was given the title in 1979 (379 by the [[Shire-reckoning]]) in a time when the northern lands were recovering from a devastating war in which the old kingdom of Arthedain had come to an end. He was succeeded by Thains of the Oldbuck line.
The last recorded Thain was his son, [[Faramir Took I]], the thirty-fourth to hold the title of Shire-thain.<ref name="Later"/> The fact that both he and his father [[Peregrin Took]] are recorded as the first of that name shows that there must have been more Thains after this time, and the office clearly lasted well into the [[Fourth Age]].
* '''II-XI''' Ten Thains of the Oldbuck line (Thains for about 300 years to [[Third Age 2340]]) - Bucca was followed by Thains whose names are not recorded, but who took the surname ''Oldbuck'' in honour of their ancestor.
* '''XII''' [[Gorhendad Oldbuck]] (Thain to [[Third Age 2340]]) - The line of the Oldbucks came to an end with Gorhendad, who crossed the River Brandywine and founded Buckland, changing his name to Brandybuck. The Thainship passed from him to the Took family, and Gorhendad was succeeded by the first Thain of the Took line.
* '''XIII''' [[Isumbras Took I|Isumbras I]] (Thain from [[Third Age 2340]]) - The thirteenth Thain in line from Bucca, and the first of the Took line. Isumbras' descendants would hold the Thainship for the rest of the recorded history of the Shire.
* '''XIV-XXI''' Eight Thains of the Took line (Thains for about two hundred years to [[Third Age 2683]]) - The eight Tooks to hold the Thainship after Isumbras I are nowhere named, but we can infer some of their identities from the names of later holders of the office. Among these eight must have been [[Isengrim I]], [[Ferumbras I]], [[Paladin I]] and [[Isumbras II]], but no records of their Thainships are known.
* '''XXII''' [[Isengrim Took II|Isengrim II]] (Thain for 39 years to [[Third Age 2722]]) - The twenty-second Thain, and tenth of the Took line. He began the excavation of Great Smials, which would become the seat of the Thains in the Tookland. He became Thain soon after the first pipe-weed was introduced into the Shire by Tobold Hornblower. He was succeeded by his son.
* '''XXIII''' [[Isumbras Took III|Isumbras III]] (Thain for 32 years to [[Third Age 2759]]) - His younger son was [[Bandobras Took]], the famous "Bullroarer". In Isumbras' time the Shire was greatly troubled by Orcs, and Bandobras defeated a band of them at the [[Battle of Greenfields]] during his Thainship. Bandobras, though, was Isumbras' younger son - the Thainship passed instead to his older brother.
* '''XXIV''' [[Ferumbras Took II|Ferumbras II]] (Thain for 42 years to [[Third Age 2801]]) - He was succeeded by his son.
* '''XXV''' [[Fortinbras Took I|Fortinbras I]] (Thain for 47 years to [[Third Age 2848]]) - At the beginning of his Thainship, the Shire would have seen much activity as Dwarves of Durin's Folk travelled westward to settle in the Blue Mountains. He was succeeded by his son.
* '''XXVI''' [[Gerontius Took Family|Gerontius]] (Thain for 72 years to [[Third Age 2920]]) - The famous Old Took, who held the office of Thain for a total of seventy-two of his one hundred and thirty years, and had a total of twelve children. During his Thainship, the Shire suffered the dreadful privations of the Fell Winter, and invasions of White Wolves. He was succeeded by the eldest of his many sons.
* '''XXVII''' [[Isengrim Took III|Isengrim III]] (Thain for 10 years to [[Third Age 2930]]) - Due to the Old Took's many years in office, his eldest son Isengrim was no less than eighty-eight years old when he inherited the Thainship. He held it for just ten years and died without leaving an heir. He was succeeded by his younger brother.
* '''XXVIII''' [[Isumbras Took IV|Isumbras IV]] (Thain for 9 years to [[Third Age 2939]]) - Like his brother Isengrim, Isumbras came old to the Thainship, being ninety-two when he took office. After his short time as the Shire-thain, he was succeeded by his son.
* '''XXIX''' [[Fortinbras Took II|Fortinbras II]] (Thain for 41 years to [[Third Age 2980]]) - Early in his time as Thain there was a sensation in Hobbiton, due to the mysterious disappearance into the Wild - and later reappearance - of one Bilbo Baggins of Bag End. Fortinbras was succeeded by his son.
* '''XXX''' [[Ferumbras Took III|Ferumbras III]] (Thain for 35 years to [[Third Age 3015]]) - He was Thain at the time of Bilbo Baggins' famous farewell feast and Birthday Party, which indeed he attended. He never married, and so left no heir. The descent of the Thainship passed to the line of Gerontius' fourth son Hildigrim, and specifically to Hildigrim's grandson.
* '''XXXI''' [[Paladin Took II|Paladin II]] (Thain for 19 years to [[Fourth Age 13]]) - Born in the time that his great uncle Isumbras IV was Thain, Paladin took up a farming life at Whitwell in the Tookland. He was Thain during the War of the Ring, and held the Tookland against the ruffians who invaded the Shire at that time. He was succeeded by his fourth child, but eldest son.
* '''XXXII''' [[Peregrin Took Family|Peregrin I]] (Thain for 50 years to [[Fourth Age 63]]) - Peregrin Took of the Fellowship of the Ring inherited the Thainship some thirteen years after his return from adventuring in the south, and held the title into his old age, serving also as Counselor of the North Kingdom. At the age of ninety-four, he gave up the office and rode away once again into the countries of the south with his friend Meriadoc Brandybuck; they were never seen in the Shire again. He was succeeded by his son.
* '''XXXIII''' [[Faramir Took I|Faramir I]] (Thain from Fourth Age 63) - Named for [[Faramir|Faramir]] the [[Prince of Ithilien]], little is known of Thain Faramir, except that he married [[Samwise Gamgee|Samwise Gamgee]]'s daughter Goldilocks. Doubtless he was succeeded by further generations of Shire-thains, but of them we have no record.


==Etymology==
Peregrin's successors continued the custom of gathering many [[Gondor]]ian manuscripts mainly copies or summaries of legends relating to [[Elendil]] and his heirs, and the libraries of [[Great Smials]] were the only place in the Shire with sources of [[Númenor]]ean interest. Pippin's great-grandson (not known if he was a Thain himself) requested a copy of the [[Thain's Book]], completed for him by [[Findegil]].<Ref>{{FR|Records}}</ref>
Thain is a [[Hobbitish]], alternative (invented by Tolkien) spelling of the word ''thane''. Both words derive from [[Old English]] ''þegn''.  
 
==List of Thains==
It is known that there were at least thirty-three Shire-thains, from [[Bucca of the Marish]], who became Thain in {{TA|1979}}, to [[Faramir Took I|Faramir I]], who took on the title in {{FoA|63}}, more than a thousand years later.
{| rules="all" align="center" style="border:1px solid darkgreen; border-collapse:collapse; cellpadding:5; cellspacing:0; width:80%"
| colspan="5" style="background:green; color:white; text-align:center" | '''The Line of Thains'''
|-
| style="background:lightgreen; text-align:center; width:5%" | '''#'''
| style="background:lightgreen; text-align:center; width:15%" | '''Name'''
| style="background:lightgreen; text-align:center; width:15%" | '''Rule'''
| style="background:lightgreen; text-align:center; width:15%" | '''Lifespan'''
| style="background:lightgreen; text-align:center; width:40%" | '''Note'''
|-
| align="center" | '''I''' || align="center" | [[Bucca of the Marish|Bucca]] || align="center" | {{SR|379}}<ref>{{App|TA}}</ref> - ? || align="center" | Unknown || The first Thain of the [[Oldbuck Family|Oldbuck line]], who was [[Shire-moot|elected]] by the [[Hobbits]] after the dissolution of [[Arthedain]]
|-
| align="center" | '''II-XI''' || colspan="4" align="center" | '''10 unnamed Thains of the Oldbuck line'''
|-
| align="center" | '''XII''' || align="center" | [[Gorhendad Oldbuck|Gorhendad]] || align="center" | S. R. ? - {{SR|740|n}}<ref name="TA"/> || align="center" | Unknown || The last Thain of the Oldbuck line, who abdicated Thainship after the removal to [[Buckland]] and became its first [[Master of Buckland|Master]]<ref name="Conspiracy"/>
|-
| align="center" | '''XIII''' || align="center" | [[Isumbras Took I|Isumbras I]] || align="center" | S. R. 740<ref name="TA"/> - ? || align="center" | Unknown || The first Thain of the [[Took Family|Took line]], who was elected by the Hobbits after his predecessor's abdication
|-
| align="center" | '''XIV-XXI''' || colspan="4" align="center" | '''8 unnamed Thains of the Took line ''(including [[Isumbras Took II|Isumbras II]], [[Isengrim Took I|Isengrim I]], [[Ferumbras Took I|Ferumbras I]], and [[Paladin Took I|Paladin I]])'''''
|-
| align="center" | '''XXII''' || align="center" | [[Isengrim Took II|Isengrim II]] || align="center" | {{SR|1083}}<ref name="TA"/> - {{SR|1122|n}}<ref name="Took">{{App|Took}}</ref> || align="center" | {{SR|1020}} - 1122 || The direct descendant of Isumbras I
|-
| align="center" | '''XXIII''' || align="center" | [[Isumbras Took III|Isumbras III]] || align="center" | S. R. 1122 - {{SR|1159|n}}<ref name="Took"/> || align="center" | {{SR|1066}}<ref name="Took"/> - {{SR|1159|n}} || The eldest son of Isengrim II
|-
| align="center" | '''XXIV''' || align="center" | [[Ferumbras Took II|Ferumbras II]] || align="center" | S. R. 1159 - {{SR|1201|n}}<ref name="Took"/> || align="center" | {{SR|1101}}<ref name="Took"/> — 1201 || The eldest son of Isumbras III
|-
| align="center" | '''XXV''' || align="center" | [[Fortinbras Took I|Fortinbras I]] || align="center" | S. R. 1201 - {{SR|1248|n}}<ref name="Took"/> || align="center" | {{SR|1145}}<ref name="Took"/> - 1248 || The eldest son of Ferumbras II
|-
| align="center" | '''XXVI''' || align="center" | [[Gerontius Took|Gerontius I]] || align="center" | S. R. 1248 - {{SR|1320|n}}<ref name="Took"/> || align="center" | {{SR|1190}}<ref name="Took"/> - 1320 || The eldest son of Fortinbras I
|-
| align="center" | '''XXVII''' || align="center" | [[Isengrim Took III|Isengrim III]] || align="center" | S. R. 1320 - {{SR|1330|n}}<ref name="Took"/> || align="center" | {{SR|1232}}<ref name="Took"/> - 1330 || The eldest son of Gerontius I and [[Adamanta Chubb]], who died childless
|-
| align="center" | '''XXVIII''' || align="center" | [[Isumbras Took IV|Isumbras IV]] || align="center" | S. R. 1330 - {{SR|1339|n}}<ref name="Took"/> || align="center" | {{SR|1238}}<ref name="Took"/> - 1339 || The younger brother of Isengrim III, second son of Gerontius I and Adamanta Chubb
|-
| align="center" | '''XXIX''' || align="center" | [[Fortinbras Took II|Fortinbras II]] || align="center" | S. R. 1339 - {{SR|1380|n}}<ref name="Took"/> || align="center" | {{SR|1278}}<ref name="Took"/> - 1380 || The eldest son of Isumbras IV
|-
| align="center" | '''XXX''' || align="center" | [[Ferumbras Took III|Ferumbras III]] || align="center" | S. R. 1380 - {{SR|1415|n}}<ref name="Took"/> || align="center" | {{SR|1316}}<ref name="Took"/> - 1415 || The eldest son of Fortinbras II and [[Lalia Clayhanger]], who died childless
|-
| align="center" | '''XXXI''' || align="center" | [[Paladin Took II|Paladin II]] || align="center" | S. R. 1415 - {{SR|1434|n}}<ref name="Later"/> || align="center" | {{SR|1333}}<ref name="Took"/> - 1434 || The eldest son of [[Adalgrim Took|Adalgrim]], first cousin of Ferumbras III, great-grandson of Gerontius I
|-
| align="center" | '''XXXII''' || align="center" | [[Peregrin Took|Peregrin I]] || align="center" | S. R. 1434 - {{SR|1484|n}}<ref name="Later"/> || align="center" | {{SR|1390}}<ref name="Took"/> - after 1484 || The eldest son of Paladin II and [[Eglantine Banks]], who abdicated Thainship to his son
|-
| align="center" | '''XXXIII''' || align="center" | [[Faramir Took I|Faramir I]] || align="center" | S. R. 1484 - ? || align="center" | {{SR|1430}}<ref name="Took"/> - ? || Son of Peregrin and [[Diamond of Long Cleeve]], who took Thainship after his father's abdication
|-
| align="center" | '''XXXIV-?''' || colspan="4" align="center" | '''Unknown number of unnamed Thains of the Took line, who continued it in the [[Fourth Age]]'''
|}
 
==Note==
 
{{References}}
{{thains}}
[[Category:Hobbitish titles]]
[[Category:Thains| ]]


Thane in Anglo-Saxon England is a lord holding lands from the king in his own jurisdiction, much like the thain of the Hobbits who kept the Shire instead of the King of Arnor. The title of thane was more or less equivalent to a baron.
[[Category:shire]]
[[de:Thain]]
[[de:Thain]]
[[fr:encyclo/personnages/hobbits/thain]]
[[fi:Thain]]
[[fi:Thain]]

Latest revision as of 23:24, 6 November 2021

Gregor Roffalski - Thain Peregrin I

The Thain was an office of great respect in the Shire. The Thain was master of the Shire-moot and captain of the Shire-muster and Hobbitry-in-arms.[1]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

Thain is an alternative spelling, found in Middle English texts, of the Early Modern English word thane. The word is derived from Old English þegn, which meant a person holding lands from the king in exchange for military service. The spelling "thane" appears in the verse from “The Muster of Rohan” which begins "From dark Dunharrow in the dim morning/with thane and captain rode Thengel’s son."

History[edit | edit source]

For nearly four hundred years after its foundation, the Shire had been part of the lands of Arthedain, and under the rule of that land's King. Ultimately, Arthedain fell to the forces of Angmar, and its last King, Arvedui, was lost in T.A. 1975,[2] leaving the Shire-hobbits without a ruler. They remedied this by choosing a new leader from among themselves, Bucca of the Marish, who was given the title thain, a word simply meaning "chief" in their dialect.

In origin a military office, Thainship passed strictly through the male line.[3]

Bucca and his descendants, a family known as the Oldbucks, served as Shire-thain for twelve generations. The twelfth Thain, one Gorhendad Oldbuck, left the Shire and crossed the River Brandywine to found Buckland.[4] With his departure, the Thainship passed to a new line, the preeminent Tooks, and specifically to Isumbras Took I.[1]

As a rule, the Thain was also the head of the Took clan (known as "The Took") and the Great Smials, but the two offices were not identical; one example illustrating the difference was the case of Thain Ferumbras III: He inherited the Thainship from his father, Fortinbras II, but his mother Lalia Clayhanger remained the head of the Tooks.[3]

But as the times of emergency in the Shire were rare, as the need for the muster and the moot (the only battle was fought in T.A. 2747 and the last emergency in T.A. 2912), the title ended up as nothing more than nominal. Indeed, there was no "government" in the Shire as the clans managed their own affairs.[1]

From Isumbras I, the line of the Took Shire-thains continued unbroken to the time of the War of the Ring and beyond with Peregrin I when thainship became also a Counsellor office of the North Kingdom.[5]

The last recorded Thain was his son, Faramir Took I, the thirty-fourth to hold the title of Shire-thain.[5] The fact that both he and his father Peregrin Took are recorded as the first of that name shows that there must have been more Thains after this time, and the office clearly lasted well into the Fourth Age.

Peregrin's successors continued the custom of gathering many Gondorian manuscripts mainly copies or summaries of legends relating to Elendil and his heirs, and the libraries of Great Smials were the only place in the Shire with sources of Númenorean interest. Pippin's great-grandson (not known if he was a Thain himself) requested a copy of the Thain's Book, completed for him by Findegil.[6]

List of Thains[edit | edit source]

It is known that there were at least thirty-three Shire-thains, from Bucca of the Marish, who became Thain in T.A. 1979, to Faramir I, who took on the title in Fo.A. 63, more than a thousand years later.

The Line of Thains
# Name Rule Lifespan Note
I Bucca S.R. 379[7] - ? Unknown The first Thain of the Oldbuck line, who was elected by the Hobbits after the dissolution of Arthedain
II-XI 10 unnamed Thains of the Oldbuck line
XII Gorhendad S. R. ? - 740[2] Unknown The last Thain of the Oldbuck line, who abdicated Thainship after the removal to Buckland and became its first Master[4]
XIII Isumbras I S. R. 740[2] - ? Unknown The first Thain of the Took line, who was elected by the Hobbits after his predecessor's abdication
XIV-XXI 8 unnamed Thains of the Took line (including Isumbras II, Isengrim I, Ferumbras I, and Paladin I)
XXII Isengrim II S.R. 1083[2] - 1122[8] S.R. 1020 - 1122 The direct descendant of Isumbras I
XXIII Isumbras III S. R. 1122 - 1159[8] S.R. 1066[8] - 1159 The eldest son of Isengrim II
XXIV Ferumbras II S. R. 1159 - 1201[8] S.R. 1101[8] — 1201 The eldest son of Isumbras III
XXV Fortinbras I S. R. 1201 - 1248[8] S.R. 1145[8] - 1248 The eldest son of Ferumbras II
XXVI Gerontius I S. R. 1248 - 1320[8] S.R. 1190[8] - 1320 The eldest son of Fortinbras I
XXVII Isengrim III S. R. 1320 - 1330[8] S.R. 1232[8] - 1330 The eldest son of Gerontius I and Adamanta Chubb, who died childless
XXVIII Isumbras IV S. R. 1330 - 1339[8] S.R. 1238[8] - 1339 The younger brother of Isengrim III, second son of Gerontius I and Adamanta Chubb
XXIX Fortinbras II S. R. 1339 - 1380[8] S.R. 1278[8] - 1380 The eldest son of Isumbras IV
XXX Ferumbras III S. R. 1380 - 1415[8] S.R. 1316[8] - 1415 The eldest son of Fortinbras II and Lalia Clayhanger, who died childless
XXXI Paladin II S. R. 1415 - 1434[5] S.R. 1333[8] - 1434 The eldest son of Adalgrim, first cousin of Ferumbras III, great-grandson of Gerontius I
XXXII Peregrin I S. R. 1434 - 1484[5] S.R. 1390[8] - after 1484 The eldest son of Paladin II and Eglantine Banks, who abdicated Thainship to his son
XXXIII Faramir I S. R. 1484 - ? S.R. 1430[8] - ? Son of Peregrin and Diamond of Long Cleeve, who took Thainship after his father's abdication
XXXIV-? Unknown number of unnamed Thains of the Took line, who continued it in the Fourth Age

Note[edit | edit source]

References

Thains of the Shire
Bucca of the Marish (from S.R. 379) · 10 unknown Oldbucks · Gorhendad Oldbuck (until S.R. 740) · Isumbras I (from S.R. 740) · 8 unknown Tooks (includes: Isengrim I · Ferumbras I · Paladin I · Isumbras II) · Isengrim II (S.R. 1083 - 1122) · Isumbras III (1122 - 1159) · Ferumbras II (1159 - 1201) · Fortinbras I (1201 - 1248) · Gerontius (1248 - 1320) · Isengrim III (1320 - 1330) · Isumbras IV (1330 - 1339) · Fortinbras II (1339 - 1380) · Ferumbras III (1380 - 1415) · Paladin II (1415 - 1434) · Peregrin I (1434 - 1484) · Faramir I (from 1484)