The prologue of the Lord of the Rings entitled ‘Concerning Hobbits’ reveals that they have developed an unusual tradition of giving out gifts on their birthdays, and as there are so many different hobbits in the shire, thus so many birthdays, they are therefore guaranteed to receive a great number of gifts every week. This is particularly noticeable at the start of the story as Bilbo approaches eleventy-one.
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Within The Shire, there is a certain type of gift known as a mathom, and in order to understand what makes them different from the usual celebratory presents given at birthdays and special occasions, the reader must delve into the little-known and barely recorded history of Hobbit war-fare. Being told from the offset that they are a particularly peaceful kind of creature, it is hard to believe that Hobbits were ever involved in the great battles of Middle Earth, but there was a time long before the establishment of The Shire, where Hobbits were roaming creatures, and had to fight to defend themselves on their travels.
In these times, the Hobbits developed skills in all manner of weaponry, including the use of daggers and flails, but predominantly archery. By the time Bilbo’s adventures with the dragon take place in the Third Age of the world, the last known battle of the hobbits in which a band of Orcs invading the shire was taken down, has passed beyond all recall.
However, the weapons of these long-ago days still linger in the shire, often being relegated to ornaments on the mantlepiece, or decorations hanging on the wall. Every now and then, one of them is bought out, dusted off, and given as a peculiar offering - a mathom. This is the name reserved for all things in the shire that have a unique or sentimental history so that the hobbits cannot get rid of them, but which no longer serve any purpose in modern-day Eriador. There is even an entire museum of sorts dedicated to these strange artifacts, known as the Mathom-house.
Although their battling days are long over, perhaps there are still some ingrained skills that come in handy for the four hobbits who become members of the fellowship. Indeed, Merry and Pippin seem particularly deft at handling swords as they practice fighting with Boromir just before the Crebain of Dunland, the flying spies of Saruman interrupt them and force them across the mountain and into the mines of Moria. They then harness and refine these skills between Pippin joining the citadel defenders in Minas Tirith, and Merry riding into battle with Eowyn, the shield-maiden of Rohan. Frodo and Sam also have a knack for wielding blades, as can be seen in their fights against Shelob.
The random store of weapons certainly comes greatly in handy during the ‘Scouring of the Shire’ after the hobbits return home from their quest. During this chapter, one of the last chapters of Return of The King, the heroes find that the shire has been invaded by Orcs with the help of Saruman and Wormtongue. They have managed to wrangle Lotho, son of Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, who has taken up residence in Bag-end in Frodo’s absence, into helping them enslave the other hobbits, and many battles ensue during which the museum is broken into, and the weapons are used to reclaim their homelands. A group of archer-hobbits eventually shoot Wormtongue in a bid to prevent him from stabbing his master the white wizard, but it is too late, and both die. Lobelia Baggins is then forced to surrender the hobbit hole back to its rightful master Frodo.
Mathoms are uniquely hobbit-related, but the art of gift-giving is practiced by many of the races across the lands. For example, Frodo’s life is saved from being impaled by a spear-wielding Cave-troll, by a mithril jacket that was given to Bilbo by the Dwarves of Erebor. When the companions escape the screeching orcs in Moria, and seek refuge in Lorien, they are given a host of rare gifts by the elves, including the light of their most beloved star, cloaks woven of a magical elven thread that helps disguise them when in danger, and several loaves of Lembas bread which sustains them throughout their journey across Mordor and its surrounding lands.
With that said, it is often in the kindness of friends and strangers alike, and in their willingness to help the members of the fellowship along the way, that the true gifts of the people of Middle Earth lie.
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