Why Genealogies?

[Marlowe221]

Originally Posted by Selmo

The Hobbits of The Shire lived in a society modelled on that of Nineteenth Century rural England. In such a system, a person's identity depended not so much on his character or abilities as on the relative importance of his family and his "class".

Geneology becomes very important to you if your position in society and your prospects in life depend on how closely related you are to the more powerful, land-owning families.

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I agree.

I will also say that, from personal experience, living in a very small town in the American South, that who you are related to matters to other people. I am not from this town or county - work brought me here and I am, thus, an outsider. People here are always asking me who my "kin people" are and where they (and I) are from. They care. Rural societies have not changed much in that regard.

Genealogy is how you keep track of that.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Marlowe221

I will also say that, from personal experience, living in a very small town in the American South, that who you are related to matters to other people. I am not from this town or county - work brought me here and I am, thus, an outsider. People here are always asking me who my "kin people" are and where they (and I) are from. They care. Rural societies have not changed much in that regard.

Genealogy is how you keep track of that.

I live in the same area, though I was born here. I will confirm what you say, that rural living tends to keep family members in closer proximity, and relationships are indeed a means by which people recognize one. I have a very common surname, and I still get asked occasionally if I'm related to so-and-so.

The Shire Hobbits, being such a closed community, would naturally have been the same way. That's also evidenced in Bree, where the Underhills from Staddle were convinced Frodo was a relative, and took him to heart as such.

[Marlowe221]

Not only that but in a small community, as the communities of The Shire no doubt were, the same families would have known one another, intermarried with each other, and done business with each other for generations.

We're talking hundreds of years here. In a society with few (if any) written laws, no real government, and relatively low populations, those family histories and relationships would matter A LOT.

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

I live in the same area, though I was born here. I will confirm what you say, that rural living tends to keep family members in closer proximity, and relationships are indeed a means by which people recognize one. I have a very common surname, and I still get asked occasionally if I'm related to so-and-so.

The Shire Hobbits, being such a closed community, would naturally have been the same way. That's also evidenced in Bree, where the Underhills from Staddle were convinced Frodo was a relative, and took him to heart as such.

Surnames and the inevitable genealogical derivations and attendant assumptions regarding one's place in society were a long-standing issue in many insular communities.

An excellent example is the Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker character in Joyce's "Finnegan's Wake". Although his family has resided in the environs of Dublin for well over 1200 years, his surname is of Danish derivation and recalls the Viking invasion of Ireland; thus, Earwicker is accused of "Scandiknavery".