Of Hobbits and Boots

[Alfirin]

Hi all

In the Annotated Hobbit when commenting on the illustration of Bilbo facing Smaug Tolkien makes mention of an otherwise obscure fact; that, while in Rivendell, Bilbo was fitted with a pair of boots, but left them behind when he passed throgh Rivendell again on his way home after his adventure, presumably by choice (I cannot think of any good reason why the Elves would compell him to return boots they had made specifically for him. Especially as Bilbo's foot measurments would likey be so out of the norm for elves as to make his boots unwearable by anyone else in Rivendell!).
My question is as follows, if one assumes that this statement is canon (and, as it is by Tolkien himself and not contradicated by anything else Tolkine said, I see no reason why it should not be considered so) was the same courtesty extended to Frodo, Sam and the other hobbits when they were being prepped for the Fellowship's journey? It seems to me it would. There would have been plenty of time (it would be a matter of a few hours to take the Hobbit's foot measurments and make the lasts, a week or two at most to put the four pairs of boots together) and they would have likey been considered a good idea (if the Dwarves journey was considered sufficient to justify booting a hobbit, the Fellowship's which was going to be far longer and more arduous would certainly have been so.)

[Kuruharan]

Maybe it wasn't because Bilbo returned his and hobbits didn't like shoes very much.

[Galin]

Tolkien's statement [from a letter but noted in the Annotated Hobbit] is curious here, as there is seemingly no [surviving?] reference to this booting in the drafts, now that we have The History of The Hobbit in print... but as you note, in any case Bilbo is booted in illustrations made by JRRT himself.

As for The Lord of the Rings, can we find some later reference[s) to Hobbit feet that would suggest no bootings for Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin?

I can't recall any at the moment, but it's a relatively long tale. It is noted [I think] that some Stoors wore boots in muddy weather, so in general it's not like no Hobbits ever wore boots.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Galin

As for The Lord of the Rings, can we find some later reference[s) to Hobbit feet that would suggest no bootings for Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin?

I can't recall any at the moment, but it's a relatively long tale. It is noted [I think] that some Stoors wore boots in muddy weather, so in general it's not like no Hobbits ever wore boots.

I don't remember any references in LOTR to any of the hobbits ever wearing any footwear.
That said, I've always wondered just how they got along barefoot in the snow while climbing to the Redhorn Gate.

[Galin]

I actually meant: are there any references to suggest that the Hobbits in The Lord of the Rings are not wearing boots, or something, after Imladris... in other words, to set against the possibility that they might have been booted [as Bilbo in his tale] although the texts do not certainly refer to boots [as in The Hobbit I think].

Like a description of Sam looking at his toes... or something like that maybe

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Galin

I actually meant: are there any references to suggest that the Hobbits in The Lord of the Rings are not wearing boots, or something, after Imladris... in other words, to set against the possibility that they might have been booted [as Bilbo in his tale] although the texts do not certainly refer to boots [as in The Hobbit I think].

Like a description of Sam looking at his toes... or something like that maybe

Right. However, since barefoot was the default state for hobbits. I would think that a presence of footwear would have been more noteworthy than the lack thereof, especially since the "authors" of LOTR were ostensibly hobbits themselves.

I do note that when Frodo and Sam were dressing as orcs at Cirith Ungol, there is no mention of either putting on any orc-boots or shoes.

[MisterMelkor]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

I don't remember any references in LOTR to any of the hobbits ever wearing any footwear.
That said, I've always wondered just how they got along barefoot in the snow while climbing to the Redhorn Gate.

That´s an interesting Topic. Well I guess they never had cold feet. Maybe like ducks which have a Counter-currant heat Exchange systhem (ha, I always wanted to Quote that!) and so get very well along...

Also anatomical: Maybe there is a reason that they don´t wear boots. Sweaty feet? In that case it would have been catastrophal the Moment Bilbo took his off!

[Alfirin]

Originally Posted by MisterMelkor

That´s an interesting Topic. Well I guess they never had cold feet. Maybe like ducks which have a Counter-currant heat Exchange systhem (ha, I always wanted to Quote that!) and so get very well along...

Also anatomical: Maybe there is a reason that they don´t wear boots. Sweaty feet? In that case it would have been catastrophal the Moment Bilbo took his off!

As for the cold, it's the thick soles again, they'd block the cold. There are groups of people who have no trouble walking barefoot on snow all the time, like some Tibetan ascetics (whose footprints are sometimes cited as a possible "real" origin for yeti tracks.)
As for the sweat thing, it's hard to tell. Thick calluses tend to block the openings of sweat glands so probably not on the soles. But the insteps could have quite a few, and they probably do smell a bit worse than mannish ones (if only because the fur like hair would catch a lot more of the sweat.) Though that would only apply on the trail; at home, I'm sure Hobbits are very careful about making sure their foot fur is well washed.