Bree

[katya]

I was just re-reading book one, and when the hobbits got to Bree, I started to wonder what it's like there. When I think of what it's like for men in Middle Earth, I think of Gondor, or Rohan. And when I think of hobbits, I think of the Shire. However, it doesn't seen like either of these cultures could exist quite the same in a place with a men/hobbits mix. And there are even others, like dwarves. What do you think it would be like, living with men and hobbits and others in harmony? Like a melting pot, or salad bowl, or some degree of assimilation? How would it be different than, say, Gondor, or the Shire?

[LeniFreak]

I always figured Bree as sort of Shire-on-the-frontier. So basically, in my mind it's just like the Shire (English countryside type environment/lifestyle) except a little...tougher, maybe. Like American settlers off the coast in the late 1700s--they lived just like farmers ON the Eastern Seaboard, except a little less refinedly/comfortably.

[Lizra]

Bree seems like the most "real" place in ME. (IMO) Gondor sounds nice, but I really don't ....believe....it! I can believe in Bree in a heartbeat. Gondor seems a bit too grand.

[Dolenloteiel]

I remember Bree, the Prancing Pony especially described as having dwarves, Men and Hobbits. Hmmmmm. I don't know if Bree is believable for me.

[Thorin II]

I think of Bree as a mixing bowl. All of the races seem to be accepted, and people are allowed to keep to themselves pretty much.

[katya]

good thoughts. LeniFreak-I can see that. Tougher, seems to me like more like a city than various towns in the Shire.
Lizra- I think so too. It's more like a real town, disregarding teh fact that it's full of hobbits and even dwarves like Dolenloteiel said. If not for that though I can imagine it as real.
Thorin II actually gave an answer like I was looking for. I agree that the different races didn't seem to mind each other too much.
It just seems to strange to have everyone together...

[Rosie Gamgee]

When I think of Bree, it seems to me that maybe the town sprung up along the road-way, because it was the last civilized place before going into the Wild. It's a place where dwarves stop on their way from the Blue mountains to the Lonely Mountain. It's a place where maybe Men who desire to keep a low profile (either because they like the wilderness, or maybe their seedy-eyed characters avoiding the law. Up until Aragorn came to power, you get the idea that law or Men did not exist as far north as Bree). It a place where more out-going hobbits have settled down. That's my 'melting pot' idea, I guess.
When I picture Bree, it's rather as it's depicted in the movie (sorry to be so droll)- kind of Tudor-y- like it was built by Gondorians using Rohan materials. Thatched rooves, but a lot of white-washing to remind them of Minas Tirith, maybe. Sunny, most of the time, but in a soggy, kind of it-rains-all-the-time kind of way. Definately not unfriendly, as it is in the movies, but rather a very busy place- men and hobbits alike peddling wares along the streets, troops of dwarves trundling in and out of the inns and coming in or out of the town, hobbit quartets singing on street-corners (don't know where that came from..), some old, bearded guy enthralling a bunch of kids with a tall-tale in front of the baker's shop, a butcher pounding away at a chopping-block outside his own shop. Lots off stuff going on at once, so although it itsn't unfriendly, it's just a little to busy to notice you, so you may feel unwanted. But show up at night when the inns are booming and everyone's had some ale- it's a whole other place- in a good way!

[Thorin II]

Rosie, I think that's a great description (and much more detailed than I had in my head...)!

[katya]

I agree. I like it. Sounds nice.

[durin's bane]

Whoa. @_@ That almost makes me want to live in Bree. ^_^

Well, my picture of Bree was similar to what the movies showed, except it was a bit more friendly-looking. As for the Men-and-Hobbit relationship, well, the Men aren't exactly like the Men of Gondor or Rohan. The book describes them as being more Hobbit-ish, even though I think they were the last desendants (sp?) of Numenor.

[katya]

Originally posted by durin's bane
Whoa. @_@ That almost makes me want to live in Bree. ^_^

Well, my picture of Bree was similar to what the movies showed, except it was a bit more friendly-looking. As for the Men-and-Hobbit relationship, well, the Men aren't exactly like the Men of Gondor or Rohan. The book describes them as being more Hobbit-ish, even though I think they were the last desendants (sp?) of Numenor.

Well, to me the hobbits seem more man-ish too, so I guess if they are both kind of more like each other...I guess that would be melting pot, really, but at the same time they do seem to keep to themselves...

[Attalus]

Tolkien said of Bree: "Both {men and Hobbits} rightly thinking of themselves as necessary parts of the Bree-folk. Nowhere else was this peculiar (but excellent) arrangement to be found."

[Thorin II]

As nice as the social mixing of Bree was, keep in mind they had their share of shady folk (Ferny and the rest). Otherwise, Frodo & Co. would've been much safer there.

[Anglorfin]

Originally posted by Thorin II
As nice as the social mixing of Bree was, keep in mind they had their share of shady folk (Ferny and the rest). Otherwise, Frodo & Co. would've been much safer there.

Aye, well that goes along with Bree being on the outskirts of a kingdom long unclaimed and another region with very little martial law. It was perfect for his type of folk and I am under the impression that the other Bree-folk couldn't care less as long as it wasn't specifically threatening to their own way of life.

[Snowdog]

As a crossroads town, Bree had a diverse population. There were Hobbits and men for sure, and the dwarf, wizard or elf may be seen passing through as well. I think it would be a most interesting place to visit and hang out for a time. Another place I could see as a crossroads and multi cultural is Pelegir.

[Erkenbrand Of Rohan]

Bree was originally a settlement founded by the more adventurous Hobbits that came from over the Misty Mountains. Before the Shire was granted to them by Argeleb II, the Chetwood area was the Western frontier for Hobbit settlements. (There were many other settlements founded by the Hobbits in this area but almost all are forgotten. Bree was the primary settlement of this area).

It was in this time when Bree was first founded, that the Northern Kingdom of the Dúnedain was still strong and the men of Westernesse were numerous. Therefore, this was when the Hobbits began to learn of the craft of the Númenoreans, in particular the language of Westron, the common speach. It is fair enough to presume that the Hobbits and the Men of Arnor met in Bree most frequently as this was the chief town at the time.

Once the Hobbits crossed the Brandywine, the settlements to the east began to dwindle as they fell in love with thier new Western lands. At roughly this period the Dúnedain began to disappear from the view of the Hobbits as the Northern Kingdom fell into decay. It can be presumed that many more different divisions of lesser Men began to visit and settle in Bree due to the fact that the land in the North was quickly becoming a Wilderland.

Of course, throughout the history of Bree the Dwarves visited there on journeys from Erebor to the Blue Mountains and it was in Bree that the fateful first meeting of Gandalf and Thorin Oakenshield, Heir of the Kingdom under the Mountain.

So, you can safely assume that the Hobbits settled in Chetwood first, founding Bree and meeting the Dúnedain initially then many other lesser Men and always the Dwarves. In terms of lesser Men, you could say that these were Men that came from the Greenway in the South, so they could have been Dunlendings or Men of similar stature.