The Shire

I’m a little confused…is the Shire part of Rivendell? Is the Shire ruled by elves? And for that matter, the does the ruler rule over everyone in their territory in an elvish kingdom or just the elves?

I would like to imagine that after the events of Lord of the Rings, a Hobbit that remembers the Ents will one day find the Entwives in the Shire, and inform Treebeard of such. I know Tolkien never meant that story to be completed, but I can imagine the Ents finding their way to the Shire and living for years with the Entwives, only to eventually go back to the forest they loved, and settling down forevermore, contented. It would be a happy end to such a sad tale, and one I think it needs.

If you've read The Fellowship of The Ring, you'll know that actually many years passed before he set off on his adventure (and buying a new Hobbit-hole) to destroy the Ring. Yes, I know it would have made the movie more tedious and boring but he waited YEARS for Gandalf to come back to his door. Smart cutting, or Lazy Film making? You tell me - in the comments!

Christopher Tolkien tells us in HoME vol. 6 that he created a map of the Shire in 1934 that included several locations we have not seen noted on the final version(s) used for publication. Do you think we'll ever see a copy of this map? Or am I ignorant of an existing copy?

the shire 

the shire

weta workshop

weta workshop