The Tooks and the Brandybucks were the two most influential families in the Shire. Both families contained a strong Fallohide strain, a fact that might account for why they were more adventurous than most hobbits. Some would even claim great reknown in the far away realms of Rohan and Gondor.

The Brandybucks traced their descent from Gorhendad Oldbuck who moved to Buckland from the Marish and changed the family name. There the Brandybucks dwelt in Brandy Hall, an enormous Smial beneath Buck Hill. The head of the family was the undisputed Master of Buckland, ruling what was essentially a small country of its own on the border of the Shire.

The Tooks lived in the Tookland of the Westfarthing. The thainship was hereditary in the family and the Thain of Tookland was probably the most powerful hobbit in the Shire. We shall discuss the families, their roles in the Shire and the doings of some of the family members among which we find the most colorful personalities the little hobbit realm produced. Some became leaders, adventurours and even sailors. The most famous are of course Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took who most appropriately excelled in the War of the Ring.

Join us this weekend in #thehallofire as we explore the Took and Brandybuck families.

Upcoming Topics:
July 26-27: What fascinates you most about LoTR and Middle-earth?
August 2-3: RoTK, Book 6, Chapter 1: The Tower of Cirith Ungol.
August 9-10: Tolkien and Canon
August 16-17: Colours in Tolkien’s World
August 23-24: RoTK, Book 6, Chapter 2: The Land of Shadow.

Times:

Saturday Chat:
5:30pm ET (17:30)
[also 11:30pm (23:30) CET and 7:30am Sunday (07:30) AET]

Sunday Chat:
7:00 pm (19:00) CET
[also 1:00pm (13:00) ET and 3:00am (03:00) Monday morning AET]

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CET = Central European Time, Central Europe
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