Shire-thain

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The Shire-thain, also known as the Thain of the Shire, was the title given to the traditional military leader of the Hobbits in the Shire after the fall of Fornost and the Dúnedain Kingdom of Arthedain in the mid-Third Age. The Shire-thain was the master of the Shire-moot and the captain of the Shire-muster.

History

The Hobbits first chose a Shire-thain to rule them in TA 1979 (Shire-reckoning 379), four years after Arvedui, last King of Arthedain, perished. Over time, the Shire-thain became a hereditary position, originally held by the Oldbuck Clan. Since TA 2340 (SR 740), the Thainship remained within the powerful Took-clan.

Other office-holders of the Shire included the Master of Buckland and the Mayor of Michel Delving, as well as in the Fourth Age the Warden of Westmarch, a position created by King Aragorn II Elessar. The Shire-thain's traditional duties involved the defence of the Shire from external attacks and presiding over meetings of the Shire-moot and Shire-muster. By the time of the War of the Ring most of the Shire-thain's duties were ceremonial and the practical duties, such as maintaining the Messenger Service, were handled by the Mayor of Michel Delving.

Etymology

"Thain" is a variant spelling of the Old English "thegn", an Anglo-Saxon designation for a minor noble, probably best known for its use in Shakespeare's Macbeth. While more commonly spelled "thane" in modern English, J.R.R. Tolkien used the older variant to represent the ancestral speech of the Hobbits.

In other versions

In earlier drafts, the Shire-thain was called the Thane before being change to the Shirking, short for Shire-king. After which, it was changed to Shire-thain.

List of Shire-thains

The following table is a list of all known thirty-three Shire-thains. All dates are given in the Shire-reckoning (SR) that lags behind the Third Age by 1600 years and passes ahead the Fourth Age by 1421 years. Thus, to convert SR to TA 1600 must be added, while to convert SR to FO 1421 must be subtracted (SR 1422 is the first year of the Fourth Age).

#	Name	Rule	Lifespan	Note
I	Bucca	379 — ?	Unknown	First Oldbuck Shire-thain, who was elected by the Hobbits after the dissolution of Arthedain
II—XI	10 unnamed Oldbuck Shire-thains
XII	Gorhendad	? — 740	Unknown	Last Oldbuck Shire-thain, who abdicated Thainship after the removal to Buckland, becoming its first Master
XIII	Isumbras I	740 — ?	Unknown	First Shire-thain of the Took-clan, who was elected by the Hobbits after his predecessor's abdication
XIV—XXI	8 unnamed Shire-thains of the Took-clan (including Ferumbras I, Isengrim I, Paladin I and Isumbras II)
XXII	Isengrim II	1083 — 1122	1020 — 1122	Direct descendant of Isumbras I
XXIII	Isumbras III	1122 — 1159	1066 — 1159	Eldest son of Isengrim II
XXIV	Ferumbras II	1159 — 1201	1101 — 1201	Eldest son of Isumbras III
XXV	Fortinbras I	1201 — 1248	1145 — 1248	Eldest son of Ferumbras II
XXVI	Gerontius	1248 — 1320	1190 — 1320	Eldest son of Fortinbras I
XXVII	Isengrim III	1320 — 1330	1232 — 1330	Eldest son of Gerontius and Adamanta Chubb, who died childless
XXVIII	Isumbras IV	1330 — 1339	1238 — 1339	Younger brother of Isengrim III, second son of Gerontius and Adamanta Chubb
XXIX	Fortinbras II	1339 — 2980	1278 — 1380	Eldest son of Isumbras IV
XXX	Ferumbras III	1380 — 1415	1316 — 1415	Eldest son of Fortinbras II and Lalia Clayhanger, who died childless
XXXI	Paladin II	1415 — 1434	1333 — 1434	Eldest son of Adalgrim, first cousin of Ferumbras III, great-grandson of Gerontius
XXXII	Peregrin	1434 — 1484	1390 — after 1484	Eldest son of Paladin II and Eglantine Banks, who abdicated Thainship to his son
XXXIII	Faramir	1484 — ?	1430 — ?	Son of Peregrin and Diamond of Long Cleeve, who inherited Thainship after his father's abdication
XXXIV—?	Unknown number of unnamed Shire-thains of the Took-clan, who continued their line in the Fourth Age

Translations

Foreign Language	Translated name
Danish	Thain (herredsfoged)
Dutch	Dinghoofd
Hebrew	תאין
Italian	Conte della Contea
Polish	Than
Russian	Тан