Thain of the Shire

The Thain of the Shire was the highest traditional office among the Hobbits, created after the fall of the North Kingdom to fill the void left by the absent King. The Thain was the master of the Shire-moot and captain of the Shire-muster and the Hobbitry-in-arms, but as the Shire enjoyed centuries of peace and had no need for military mobilization, the Thainship had ceased to be more than a nominal dignity. The Took family had long been pre-eminent in this role; the office of Thain had passed to them from the Oldbucks some centuries before, and the chief Took had borne that title ever since. The Took family was still accorded a special respect, for it remained both numerous and exceedingly wealthy, and was liable to produce in every generation strong characters of peculiar habits and even adventurous temperament. The custom endured of referring to the head of the family as The Took, and of adding to his name a number, such as Isengrim the Second.

Origins and Authority

The Thainship was established after the North Kingdom ended, when the Hobbits took the land for their own and chose from their own chiefs a Thain to hold the authority of the king that was gone. The Thain was the master of the Shire-moot and captain of the Shire-muster and the Hobbitry-in-arms, but as muster and moot were only held in times of emergency, which no longer occurred, the Thainship had ceased to be more than a nominal dignity. The Shire at this time had hardly any government; families for the most part managed their own affairs. The only real official in the Shire at this date was the Mayor of Michel Delving, who was elected every seven years at the Free Fair on the White Downs at the Lithe. As mayor almost his only duty was to preside at banquets, given on the Shire-holidays, which occurred at frequent intervals. But the offices of Postmaster and First Shirriff were attached to the mayoralty, so that he managed both the Messenger Service and the Watch.

The Took Family and the Thainship

The Took family had long been pre-eminent in the Shire, for the office of Thain had passed to them from the Oldbucks some centuries before. The Took family was still, indeed, accorded a special respect, for it remained both numerous and exceedingly wealthy, and was liable to produce in every generation strong characters of peculiar habits and even adventurous temperament. The latter qualities, however, were now rather tolerated (in the rich) than generally approved. The custom endured of referring to the head of the family as The Took, and of adding to his name, if required, a number: such as Isengrim the Second, for instance. The first Shire-thain was one Bucca of the Marish, from whom the Oldbucks claimed descent. He became Thain in 379 of Shire-reckoning (1979 Third Age).

The Thain in the War of the Ring

During the War of the Ring, the Thain was Peregrin Took's father, Paladin Took. When the ruffians under Lotho Sackville-Baggins and Saruman took over the Shire, the Tooks resisted. The Thain raised all his country, and the news went like fire all ways. The ruffians that were watching Tookland fled off south, those that escaped alive. The Thain went after them, to hold off the big gang down that way, but sent Peregrin back with all the other folk he could spare. After the war, King Elessar made the Thain, the Master, and the Mayor Counsellors of the North-kingdom. Peregrin Took later became the Took and Thain, and he and Meriadoc Brandybuck handed over their goods and offices to their sons and rode away over the Sarn Ford, and they were not seen again in the Shire. They went to Gondor and passed what short years were left to them in that realm, until they died and were laid in Rath Dínen among the great of Gondor.