Where did Hobbits come from?

[Finduilas]

Iluvatar made Elves and Men, Aule made Dwarves, and I beleive that either Yavanna or Manwe made Ents, but does Tolkien ever say who made Hobbits?

I've only read the Silmarillion, ME history wise, and I don't believe it mentions hobbits till it says that Frodo and Sam destroyed the Ring. Does anyone know who made Hobbits, or did Tolkien leave them out?

--Fin--

[Morwen]

Tolkien suggests that they are related to Humans though he says the origin of Hobbits is unknown. If they are a type of human, I guess that they are also Children of Iluvatar.

It is plain that in spite of later estrangement Hobbits are relatives of ours: far nearer to us than Elves, or even than Dwarves. Of old they spoke the languages of Men, after their own fashion, and liked and disliked much the same things as Men did. But what exactly our relationship is can no longer be discovered. The beginning of Hobbits lies far bac in the Elder Days that are now lost and forgotten.

LotR, Prologue

[Finduilas]

I see. I never got through the prologue. Never thought of it.

Thanks

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Both Gildor and an Elf of Rivendell imply that from their point of view they can't even tell Men and Hobbits apart. Gandalf's discussions class Big & Little Folk together as undifferentiated Mortals.

I'm pretty sure that Hobbits belong to the Younger Children, the Firimar: just a dwarfed sport of Men, like the African Pygmies.

[The Might]

Also, they are opposite to the Giants in the Misty Mountains. Just as they are a larger version of Men, the Hobbits are a smaller one.

[Sir Kohran]

Originally Posted by The Might

Also, they are opposite to the Giants in the Misty Mountains. Just as they are a larger version of Men, the Hobbits are a smaller one.

Now that's a clever contrast.

[Finduilas]

So you think that Giants and Hobbits were created at the same time as men, and just classified as men? If so, what were they doing during the whole silmarillion debate?

--Fin--

[littlemanpoet]

There is no indication whatsoever when Giants came about. Hobbits are considered to have originated, if one can call it that, some time during the Third Age. Tolkien doesn't actually say that Giants are human. We tend to think that, but there's no indication that Giants are any more human than they are anything else.

Hobbits, however, are a different story. Their origin is shrouded in the mists of time, as Tolkien would say (and probably did), and they are believed to have had their start in the vales of the Anduin between the Misty mountains and Rhovanion (Mirkwood).

Hobbits seem to be most closely related to the Eorlings, for their speech is actually somewhat similar. (Holbytla) Both peoples came from the same region.

[Finduilas]

So did they evolve?

Just joking of course. So I gather that Tolkien never specifically(sp) said?

[littlemanpoet]

I suppose one could say there was "natural selection" after a manner of speaking, not unlike the phenomena evident in our own world, that lighter skinned people that tend towards light hair and blue eyes seem to be naturally selected to best survive in northerly climes, whereas dark skinned people with black hair and brown eyes seem to be naturally selected to best survive in tropical regions. So maybe hobbits were just a natural strain of humankind that flourished in rivervalleys with rich soil for gardening and hillocks readily available to dig a smial in.

[Bêthberry]

I think hobbits were left by the Great Eagles amongst the cabbage and turnip and beet patches. That's why there are Stoors, Harfoots, and Fallohides.

Giants, by the by, existed in the Bible. Can't recall which book they are mentioned in, but one of the Old Testament/Hebrew ones.