Butturbur's Worst Customers

[Tuor in Gondolin]

And Bilbo's parents didn't drown, did they? That was Frodo's parents Drogo Baggins and Primula Brandybuck.

Yep! You're correct.

But evil water creatures could explain a subconscious
hobbit fear of water, eh?

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Tuor in Gondolin

But evil water creatures could explain a subconscious hobbit fear of water, eh?

I guess that would do it. Especially if they're amphibious and capable of 'marching' to Bree.

[Sarumian]

As a good narrator, Tolkien usually tells us only a part of the things he "knows" about Middle Earth. It might be that Aragorn's words initially referred to Andrath, but as that part of the story was abandoned, the most suitable explanation of the dwellings of

foes that would freeze his heart

seems to be Barrow Downs. When he says:

foes that would freeze his heart, or lay his little town in ruin

'or' doesn't need to mean 'and', so the latter can be ruffians. It is also possible that Wights can travel (as they once came to Downs) and that, on the other hand, rangers can withstand their 'chill' and keep them at bay. After all, Aragorn was able to withstand even the terror of five Nazgul in the night at Weathertop.

[Galadriel55]

The only thing that I want to say is that there might be more small-scale evil or just wild things hiding in the emptiness around the Shire and Bree than the 4 hobbits encountered. This leaves it open to imagination and makes it inclusive.

[Juicy-Sweet]

I don't think it takes more than a few ruffians to freeze Butterbur's heart.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Juicy-Sweet

I don't think it takes more than a few ruffians to freeze Butterbur's heart.

I don't know, he seemed pretty capable of dealing with the ones in Bree sent by Saruman.

'Mr. Butturbur! Master!' [Nob] shouted. 'They've come back!'
'Oh have they? I'll learn them,' came Butturbur's voice, and out he came with a rush, and he had a club in his hand.

ROTK The Scouring of the Shire

Notably, The Prancing Pony was still in business, unlike the inns in the Shire. Butturbur, and Bree in general, seem to have been more successful in resisting the ruffians.

[Tuor in Gondolin]

Originally posted by Inziladun
Notably, The Prancing Pony was still in business, unlike the inns in the Shire. Butturbur, and Bree in general, seem to have been more successful in resisting the ruffians.

But the ruffians were Saruman's method of just messing with the Shire, to get some revenge on Frodo et. al. He wouldn't have had much of an interest in Bree-beyond just causing more mayhem, but he wanted to destroy as much of the Shire as he could.

As for general threats, didn't The Fellowship take the (magical?) wolves who attacked them to be at first an "ordinary" wolfpack, implying that such attacks in The Wild were not unknown or unexpected? That and roving orc bands, perhaps riding on wolves, could be some of the dangers---sort of the way Medieval people (and Grimm's Fairy Tales) saw the forests and lands outside settled areas.

[Joat1513]

Originally Posted by Sarumian

As a good narrator, Tolkien usually tells us only a part of the things he "knows" about Middle Earth. It might be that Aragorn's words initially referred to Andrath, but as that part of the story was abandoned, the most suitable explanation of the dwellings of



seems to be Barrow Downs. When he says:



'or' doesn't need to mean 'and', so the latter can be ruffians. It is also possible that Wights can travel (as they once came to Downs) and that, on the other hand, rangers can withstand their 'chill' and keep them at bay. After all, Aragorn was able to withstand even the terror of five Nazgul in the night at Weathertop.

I sincerely doubt the threat Aragorn had mentioned referred to the Barrow Wights. While it is entirely unclear to what lengths Barrow Wights could travel or otherwise leave their "Barrow", one does seem to leave to ensnare Frodo & Co, they require the safety of their barrows for continual existence. This implies that they can't or wouldn't leave their barrows for any length of time. Especially as they cannot survive the daylight in which they'd simply wither away. So to travel to Bree & back would seem far too unlikely for them IF they could even travel.

You inferred that they could travel because hey, they got down to the downs somehow right..... Except the Barrow Wights only appeared in the downs directly by the Witch King of Angmar's magic. The Witch King is responsible for putting the Barrow Wight's spirits there. So they didn't necessarily have to travel anywhere. While they certainly seem capable of "freezing" Butterbur's heart..... I definitely have a hard time seeing them "sack" a whole town.

So I have a hard time thinking Aragorn meant the Barrow Wights as a day's march from Bree.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Y'all are overlooking the Nameless Things.

That's only halfway a joke, Tolkien in many places implies that "There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in your philosophy."