AWESOME LADIES

OF THE SHIRE
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AWESOME LADIES OF THE SHIRE
THE THREE REMARKABLE
DAUGHTERS OF THE OLD TOOK
One of the more famous historical figures of
the Shire is Gerontius Took, also called the
Old Took (since he boasted the longest life-
span of any hobbit, after his grandson
Bilbo.) The Old Took had many several
claims to fame, least of which was his twelve
children. Three of these were girls, referred
to as “the three remarkable daughters of the
Old Took”: Belladonna, Donnamira, and Mira-
bella.
Unfortunately, the only one we have any sort
of detailed history for is Belladonna, mother
of Bilbo Baggins. But what we know of her
implies a fair amount about what would have
made her sisters equally remarkable. Bella-
donna was, like her father, a lifelong friend
of Gandalf the Grey. She is also strongly im-
plied to have gone on adventures (like a few
of her brothers.) Later she married the re-
spectable Bungo Baggins, who built the
most luxurious hobbit-hole on record: Bag
End. Belladonna raised one child (Bilbo),
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and served as head of the Baggins family
for eight years after her husband’s death un-
til her own death in 2934TA.
As mentioned, we know very little about the
other two remarkable daughters, Donnamira
and Mirabella, besides who they married
(Donnamira married Hugo Boffin, and Mira-
bella married Gorbadoc Brandybuck.) But
there is the interesting matter of their names.
Traditionally, many hobbit women are named
after flowers (or, in the case of the wealthier
families, jewels.) But the Old Took’s three
daughters follow a different pattern, thanks
to their creator’s linguistic humor. All three
names are based on three Italian words:
“bella” (meaning “beautiful”), “donna”
(meaning “woman”), and “mira” (meaning
“sight”, “look at”, or “aim”). It just so hap-
pens that “Belladonna” is also the name of a
flower (belonging to the poisonous Deadly
Nightshade), but her sisters’ names are
more word-play than anything, really.
 AWESOME LADIES OF THE SHIRE

THE SISTERS OF PEREGRIN TOOK

Pippin Took, a member of the fellowship of the Ring and future
Thain of the Shire, grew up with three older sisters. I don’t know
what it is about the Took ladies, but they continue to impress me
with their awesomeness.

PEARL TOOK
The oldest child of Paladin and Eglantine Took, Pearl was born 15
years before her famous little brother. As was sometimes com-
mon among the more well-to-do families, she was named for a
jewel instead of a flower (not that pearls are jewels, but you get
what I mean.)

Pearl served as caretaker to Lalia the Fat, a mighty matriarch that

you’ll learn more about in the next segment of this series. Part of
Pearl’s job was to wheel Lalia out to her front step each morning
for some fresh air. However, one day there was an accident and
Lalia fell down the steps to her death. What might have been writ-
ten off as a tragic accident takes an interesting turn, though.
Pearl was excluded from the celebration of Lalia’s son’s acces-
sion to head of the family, but later she was seen wearing a pearl
necklace from the Took treasury. And as you’ll see in Lalia’s bio,
the idea that somebody wanted her dead isn’t completely ridicu-
lous. Basically, I’m not saying that Pippin’s oldest sister was a po-
litical assassin, but Pippin’s oldest sister was probably a political
assassin.

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PIMPERNEL & PERVINCA TOOK
Pimpernel was 11 years older than Pippin, and Pervinca 5. Unfortu-
nately, we don’t really know anything more about them - in this Pip-
pin’s family definitely follows the pattern we see with Belladonna
Took and her sisters. But I can tell you a little bit of what their life
would have been like.
Their father, Paladin, was a farmer. Though he was a descendant of
the Old Took, he wasn’t of the direct line, and so had no expectation
of becoming Thain or head of the family. However, in 1415 (when
Pearl was 40, Pimpernel 36, Pervinca 30, and Pippin 25) the Thain
died without an heir (this was, by the way, the son of Lalia the Fat.)
And so Paladin the farmer became Paladin the Thain, military leader
of the Shire and head of the Took Family. So while Pippin and his sis-
ters ended their life as Shire “royalty”, they grew up as the children
of a farmer.
Also, a quick note on their names (for anyone who’d like to try deriv-
ing personality or symbolism from such things): “Pimpernel” is a
flower from the primrose family. The Latin origin of the name (which
Tolkien no doubt knew) is “little pepper” because the fruits look like
peppercorn. And “Pervinca” is another name for the periwinkle
plant.
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AWESOME LADIES OF THE SHIRE

THE GREAT
MATRIARCHS
In a letter written in 1958 Tolkien said of hobbit families: “The government of
a 'family', as of the real unit: the 'household', was not a monarchy (except by
accident). It was a 'dyarchy', in which master and mistress had equal status,
if different functions. Either was held to be the proper representative of the
other in the case of absence (including death). There were no 'dowagers'. If
the master died first, his place was taken by his wife, and this included (if he
had held that position) the titular headship of a large family or clan. This title
thus did not descend to the son, or other heir, while she lived, unless she vol-
untarily resigned.” This custom gave rise to a couple of the strongest hobbit
ladies you’ll ever hear about: the great matriarchs of the Shire.

LALIA CLAYHANGER (AKA “LALIA THE FAT”)

Lalia Clayhanger married Fortinbras Took, grandson of the Old Took. They
had a son, Ferumbras, and Fortinbras became the Thain of the Shire and
head of the Took family. Things get interesting, though, when Fortinbras died
before Lalia. While the position of Thain went immediately to her son, Lalia
remained head of the Took family in her husband’s place. So she ruled the
Tooks and the ancestral home of the Great Smials for 22 years. As a leader
Tolkien says she was “great and memorable, if not universally beloved.”
Ferumbras never married, and it was rumored that he was “unable... to find
anyone willing to occupy apartments in the Great Smials under the rule of
Lalia.” So Ferumbras was still a bachelor at age 64 when his mother tragi-
cally (and accidentally??) fell down the stairs to her death, ending “a reign
and life that might well have rivaled that of the Great Took.”
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LOBELIA SACKVILLE-
BAGGINS (NEE BRACE-
GIRDLE)
The ambition of the Sackville-Bagginses is a
famous side plot in Bilbo’s stories. But in his
discussion of hobbit family politics, Tolkien
explains a bit of what made Lobelia and
Otho so determined to claim Bag End. While
the headship of the family followed patrilin-
eal lines, there was a system in place for
families with no sons. In this case, the oldest
son of the oldest daughter would become
head of his mother’s family, and would likely
hyphenate his name to reflect this. So while
Otho’s father was a Baggins, his mother
(Camelia Sackville) had no brothers, and so
Otho Sackville-Baggins was already head of
the Sackville family.
Meanwhile, Bilbo - head of the Baggins fam-
ily - was still a bachelor at age 51. So when
he went missing for a year (during his adven-
ture with the dwarves) Otho saw his chance.
As Tolkien says: “It was his rather absurd am-
bition to achieve the rare distinction of being
'head' of two families (he would probably
then have called himself Baggins-Sackville-
Baggins) : a situation which will explain his
exasperation with the adventures and disap-
pearances of Bilbo, quite apart from any
loss of property involved in the adoption of
Frodo.”
Now, since Lobelia would inherit whatever
titles her husband managed to earn in life,
it’s no wonder that she was equally eager to
claim leadership of the Baggins family as
well - along with ownership of Bag End and
Bilbo’s fortune, of course. Unfortunately, Lo-
belia was not a very lucky character. Bilbo
didn’t die, and then he adopted Frodo. It
looked like things were looking up when
Frodo sold her Bag End in 3018 (Otho had
already died by this point), but then the War
of the Ring got in the way. Lobelia’s son
Lotho got involved with Saruman and basi-
cally became a bit of a dictator in the Shire -
until he was replaced by Saruman himself,
and then murdered by Grima Wormtongue.
Lobelia spent much of this time locked up,
as she’d attacked a few of Saruman’s min-
ions with an umbrella. The hobbits admitted
that she “showed more spirit than most.”
When the Shire was liberated, Lobelia was
rescued from the lock-holes, and Tolkien
says “She insisted on hobbling out on her
own feet; and she had such a welcome, and
there was such clapping and cheering when
she appeared, leaning on Frodo's arm but
still clutching her umbrella, that she was
quite touched, and drove away in tears. She
had never in her life been popular before.
But she was crushed by the news of Lotho's
murder, and she would not return to Bag
End. She gave it back to Frodo, and went to
her own people, the Bracegirdles of Hardbot-
tle.”
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AWESOME LADIES OF THE SHIRE

ELANOR FAIRBAIRN: A
CATEGORY OF HER OWN
Elanor goes by many names. The daughter of Samwise Gamgee and
Rosie Cotton, she is sometimes called Elanor Gamgee, or Elanor Gard-
ner (the last name given to Sam in the Fourth Age for his efforts in re-
planting the trees of the Shire), Elanor the Fair (for her rare golden hair),
or Elanor Fairbairn (the last name given to her and her husband later in
life.) And her first name is, according to tradition, a flower - the elanor
flowers Sam admired in Lorien.

Though she was born after all the action of the War of the Ring, Elanor is
undoubtedly one of the most significant hobbits of the Fourth Age.
When she was fifteen she became a handmaiden to Queen Arwen.
While Tolkien doesn’t go into detail about this, we have to assume that
this meant she spent several years in Gondor and Arnor, socializing with
all sorts of important people. Later she married Fastred of Greenholm.
When Aragorn gave more land to the Shire, creating the Westmarch, Pip-
pin and Sam (who were Thain and Mayor, respectively) name Fastred
the Warden of the Westmarch, and he and Elanor move west.

They establish a new hobbit town near the Tower Hills, called Undertow-
ers, and Tolkien tells us that eventually the Fairbairns of the Towers (as
Elanor and Fastred’s descendants were called) became as influential as
the Tooks and Brandybucks. Elanor especially remained very important
- when her father decided to sail west to Valinor after Rosie’s death, he
left the Red Book (in which was recorded all of Bilbo’s adventures, as
well as Frodo’s account of the War of the Ring) in Elanor’s care.