The Bounders were an organization of Shire-hobbits charged with patrolling the borders.
History[]
Along with the Shirriffs, they were charged with responsibility of keeping strange persons and creatures from entering the Shire and making trouble. They patrolled parts of the Shire and its borders as part of their duties. They deferred to the Shirriffs and were probably deputized able-bodied hobbits that were charged with helping them in their job.[1]
By about the time just before the War of the Ring, their numbers had increased due to reports of "queer folk" entering the Shire and were busier than ever before.[2]
References[]
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Prologue, III: "Of the Ordering of the Shire"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, Chapter II: "The Shadow of the Past"