When Folk Little and Big Lived Together at Bree

The wistful part of my heart is always hoping to see a new Bree arise in our present Age and to go live there, where the Little Folk and Big Folk are good neighbors once more. There would be Men close enough to nature that they take their surnames from it, and Hobbits with enough of the green world all about the community to feel at home. But, while I continue to wait to accidentally find myself the lucky guest at some modern Prancing Pony Inn, I thought it might be encouraging of aspirations to paint this long-ago village.

"Refreshed and Encouraged" - Miriam Ellis

Most depictions I've seen of Bree in the arts focus on the four traveling hobbits arriving there in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring - and little wonder as it is such a relief to reach the welcoming inn out of the dark night, but it's only in The Return of the King that we hear of what happened to the Bree-landers since last we saw them. The truth is, they've been having a terrible and confusing time with rough folk, and so it's simply a wonderful thing to see Gandalf the White return to this crossroads with his small companions and very good tidings.

In my forthcoming second book, A Shire Walking-Party, I'm so hoping to have the chance to get to share with you some of the most important things I've learned from studying Bree, but for now, I hope you'll enjoy this interesting new scene. You can see for yourself the tall, startling and dashing figures cut by Merry and Pippin in their gear of Rohan and Gondor. Gandalf rides majestic on Shadowfax, while Barliman Butterbur has a last word with Mr. Underhill, or rather, Frodo. Sam, meanwhile, is so delighted to have been reunited with an old friend and to be getting closer and closer to home that he is hugging Bill the pony's neck in great contentment while little Nob offers a last apple.

Gandalf and the hobbits will soon part company - he to call on Tom Bombadil, while they ride on to the desperate state of affairs in the Shire. I hope it is good to have a last look at them all together.

My model for the inn, itself, is The Bell in Moreton-in-Marsh, which bears a plaque as a Tolkien landmark. One of the aspects I found the most interesting in painting this crowd scene was determining how to make the Bree hobbits just a little different than their more westerly counterparts. Many Tolkien readers have realized that there is a sense of going back in time as one moves eastward through Middle-earth and The Lord of the Rings.

Unlike Mr. Butterbur, Faramir does not have a surname, and is living in somewhat medieval circumstances. The men of Rohan don't carry "umberellas" like Lobelia Sackville-Baggins - at least, not that we hear of. It's my supposal, then, that the folk of the Shire and Buckland were living most "modernly", that is, with the most trappings that resemble 19th-century English life. What I have done here is to move the dress of the Bree hobbits slightly back in time from this to add to the sense of diversity we all enjoy so much in Middle-earth.

I also took care to make the Big Folk of Bree rather short in stature, as we read about. I wonder if their modest heights made them more comfortable companions for hobbits.

I have so much more to say about why I truly admire Old Barley, and I'm very glad that I'll have the space of a book to explore that with you. For now, I'd like to close with one little thing you might enjoy noticing in this scene. One of J.R.R. Tolkien's favorite books was a guide to British flora. One of my greatest joys in painting from the legendarium is getting to show my own love of plants by communicating parts of the plot with them. Here, the lovely fall tree is actually telling the narrative of this episode. It is the guelder rose, the folk-name of which is the "wayfaring tree", and it is a very old symbol that one is homeward bound - just like the name of this chapter. It's hard to put words to how much I appreciate my patrons who have an observant eye for these kinds of details. I think it is a good thing when Tolkien fans pay the attention that is due to trees.

Please enjoy this moment of departure and the good news it betokens for the lovely village of Bree. The King has returned, and Gandalf and the hobbits have helped bring it about!