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08-29-2005, 09:56 AM | #1 |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 3,448
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Hobbits and shoes
Ok hobbits rarely wear shoes thats all well andgood but what happens in winter and it's all cold and stuff? I'm assuming they wear shoes then. and ore importantly did the hobbits of the fellowship have shoes...the Shire is nice and grassy not too many big rocks to worry about but you go on a long journey wouldn't you bring some shoes...and also in the mountains of caradrahs what did they do, walk barefoot in snow that reached nearly past there heads?
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Morsul the Resurrected |
08-29-2005, 10:31 AM | #2 |
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Well, I guess hobbits have really thick skin on their feet, and therefore they don't need shoes. If you have really thick skin under your feet, I guess that will keep away both cold and stones.
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08-29-2005, 03:07 PM | #3 |
Shadowed Prince
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Thulcandra
Posts: 2,343
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1) Hairy feet.
2) Thick soles. |
08-29-2005, 03:47 PM | #4 |
Everlasting Whiteness
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I was reading the Prologue bit of Fotr just yesterday and it said that Hobbit's very rarely wear shoes due to having very thick soles and a thick covering of hair like that on their heads. Now it seems unlikely that this would have developed due to living in the Shire as it is grassy and kind on the feet.
My theory is that these features developed during the time when they lived in harsher terrains. Therefore the members of the Fellowship would not need shoes as while they were not used to walking on rough or rocky land their feet still had these defences against it.
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08-29-2005, 03:49 PM | #5 |
Shadowed Prince
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Location: Thulcandra
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Whilst Tolkien certainly was a genius, I sincerely doubt he traced the foot-evolution of hobbits...
In any case, grass has an annoying tendency to cover small sharp stones. |
08-29-2005, 03:53 PM | #6 | |
Everlasting Whiteness
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Quote:
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08-30-2005, 12:44 AM | #7 |
Princess of Skwerlz
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Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles)
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Just think of animals - my dog walks 'barefoot' over stones, on snow in the winter and even on bits of glass occasionally, with no harm done. I think we can imagine Hobbit feet as being similarly resistant. I also remember reading about the adjustment of even modern feet to changed circumstances when someone spent time walking with aborigines in Australia.
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08-30-2005, 05:48 AM | #8 |
Shade of Carn Dūm
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: The Shire (Staffordshire), United Kingdom
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In our own world, a very large proportion of the human population have to go bare-foot in all conditions.
It might not be very comfortable sometimes, but they seem to cope, without the Hobbit genetic modification of hairy feet and thick soles. . |
08-30-2005, 11:20 AM | #9 | |
Illustrious Ulair
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties
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Letter 27 (re The Hobbit):
Quote:
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08-31-2005, 09:51 AM | #10 | ||
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
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Quote:
Quote:
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Morsul the Resurrected |
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08-31-2005, 10:06 AM | #11 |
Shade of Carn Dūm
Join Date: Jul 2003
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I still think you've gotta wonder about tramping up Caradhras. Okay sure, the hair on their feet keeps them warm because it's as thick as the stuff on their heads, but what happens when the foot-hairs get wet? Wouldn't that make things even worse for them?
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08-31-2005, 10:13 AM | #12 |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
Join Date: May 2004
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indeed it would actually...also if we are to believe they went through all that withought shoes....would pippin and merry get shoes to go along with their armor? I mean It would be kind of silly for someone to charge at you all armorred and barefoot?
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09-10-2005, 10:56 AM | #13 |
Relic of Wandering Days
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Some people just prefer to go barefoot! My husband for one, grew up mostly barefoot and has developed soles like leather in his very own lifetime. I certainal ly don't think that sort of thing takes any special sort of evolution! But though he is far from immune from the cold, (hairy feet and all!) , he will still go out in the snow without any shoes. My point is that if I thought of him going of on a journey with Frodo, I would have no trouble at all seeing him go off without shoes, or perhaps strung over his shoulder.
And I believe that that was part of the trouble at Caradhras. Even a typical dog's paws would have froze up there, though perhaps not a sled dog's. I would imagine they might have tried to wrap their feet at some point, but it would not have helped. All that I can think of is that maybe a hobbit's foot hair has some sort of undercoat. As for going to battle, I see no reason why they should not have worn footwear. Last edited by Hilde Bracegirdle; 11-02-2005 at 03:03 PM. |
10-31-2005, 06:47 PM | #14 |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
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Location: Bag-End, Under-Hill, Hobbiton-across-the Water
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No There is no mention of Bilbo having shoes in The Hobbit but consider this. My copy of the story is illustrated by the author and in several of the watercolours or whatever they are, our dear hobbit defenitely has something on his feet that look quite shoe-like!
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11-02-2005, 02:29 PM | #15 |
Sage & Onions
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Britain
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It appears from certain unpublished memoirs that the wearing of shoes amongst hobbits may be regarded as (Ahem!) 'exotic' or some such (Ahem!). For those who wish to know more, and possess a strong constitution, may I recommend the following link.....
hobbit expose
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11-02-2005, 02:30 PM | #16 |
A Mere Boggart
Join Date: Mar 2004
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I hate wearing shoes. I take the chance to walk around barefoot whenever possible, even in winter, and I will go down the road to the car or out to the bin with no shoes on, even in winter. There's a point of coldness you get to where you just don't notice it any longer, and if you walk around barefoot long enough, there are a lot of things that don't hurt if you walk on them, e.g. sharp, pointy gravel, like I have in my garden.
It's only relatively recently that people tend to own shoes; if you'd gone to Liverpool in the 1930s you'd have been hard pressed to find a kid with shoes (according to my mother ). And as has already been pointed out, shoes are still not common to all nationalities.
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