What on Middle-earth are Harfoots in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power? Middle-earth may be populated by elegant Elves, mighty Men, digging Dwarves and wondrous wizards, but by far the most famous species in J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy realm is the Hobbits. Famously rural and strictly reclusive, Hobbits mind their own business, preferring a humble existence of farming, parties and neighborly bickering within the Shire’s warm confines. Rarely do Hobbits take a liking to outsiders, and rarely do they involve themselves in the wider dramas befalling Middle-earth. Mention the “Tower of Barad-dûr” to most Shire-folk, and they’ll assume you’re talking about Hilda Brandybuck’s prize-winning black forest gâteau.
You won’t find traditional Hobbits in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Amazon’s big-budget Middle-earth TV series is set thousands of years before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, meaning there’s no Shire, no Baggins protagonists, and no second breakfast. The Rings of Power draws from Tolkien’s Second Age, where elves are dominant, and men are only just beginning to take a foothold in Middle-earth’s cultural pyramid.
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Absent though Hobbits may be in The Rings of Power, Amazon will introduce live-action Harfoots for the very first time. Though not Hobbits in the typical sense, Harfoots assume the same role – insular country-dwellers who show little interest beyond their own narrow borders. Book readers and movie viewers will be equally unfamiliar with Harfoots, so seldom are they mentioned in Tolkien’s tales. Nevertheless, here’s everything we know about The Rings of Power‘s Harfoots.
What Are Harfoots In Lord Of The Rings?
The index section that concludes most editions of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings contains precisely four entries regarding Harfoots – none of them within the main text. Tolkien does, at least, provide some sense of their defining characteristics and history. While the creation stories behind Elves, Men and Dwarves are meticulously recounted, Middle-earth lore leaves the Hobbits’ origins deliberately vague. In the “Concerning Hobbits” section of his Lord of the Rings prologue, Tolkien writes, “The beginning of Hobbits lies far back in the Elder Days that are now lost and forgotten.” He goes on to describe how Hobbit-folk had little interest in studying ancient times, meaning their records begin with the Shire’s founding around 1600 years into the Third Age.
The furthest The Lord of the Rings‘ Hobbit lore reaches back is to a time when the species roamed widely around the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood. During this era, Hobbits were split into three distinct breeds – Harfoots being the largest. Tolkien describes Harfoots as “browner of skin, smaller, and shorter” and writes how they were first to cross west towards Eriador, where the Shire would eventually be established. Harfoots are depicted as a barefoot, nimble people dwelling in highlands and associating with Dwarves, but otherwise remaining largely unnoticed by the prominent races of Middle-earth.
Are The Harfoots The Same As Hobbits?
For all intents and purposes in The Rings of Power, yes, but the true answer isn’t quite so straightforward. Tolkien noted Harfoots were a specific breed of early Hobbit, and even if the term wasn’t yet part of Middle-earth vernacular, they still exist firmly underneath the genealogical “Hobbit” umbrella. Indeed, Amazon’s The Rings of Power likely picked Harfoots over other early breeds because of their close proximity to the Hobbits Lord of the Rings fans already know and love. As Tolkien specifies, Harfoots were “the most normal and representative variety of Hobbit” and loved to dig tunnels and holes. Crucially, The Lord of the Rings‘ appendices state the name “Hobbit” was initially given to Harfoots by other Hobbit breeds. All of which is to say Harfoots are the most Hobbit-y of early Hobbits The Rings of Power could feasibly use.
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As you’d expect from a story set millennia earlier, Harfoots won’t represent Hobbit society and culture as seen in The Lord of the Rings. The difference between eras will prove even more obvious than for Elves, Dwarves and Men. On the other hand, expect those unmistakable rural, isolated, nature-friendly qualities to remain in place. In an interview with Vanity Fair, The Rings of Power co-showrunner, Patrick McKay, asked, “But really, does it feel like Middle-earth if you don’t have Hobbits or something like Hobbits in it?” This statement tacitly suggests The Rings of Power will treat Harfoots as if they were Hobbits, albeit wilder and less homely than those from Bilbo and Frodo’s time.
The Harfoots’ Story In The Rings Of Power
The Harfoots didn’t cross into Eriador until long into The Lord of the Rings‘ Third Age, meaning The Rings of Power should find them living peacefully and quietly in the wild, perhaps sharing rare interactions with Dwarves (and Ents, judging by promo material). With so little written about this period of Hobbit history, The Rings of Power gets a blank slate to craft a new tale for the Harfoots.
The Rings of Power may show the Harfoots taking their first tentative steps toward building the Shire. In Amazon’s first teaser trailer, Elanor Brandyfoot (played by Markella Kavenagh) is heard pondering, “There’s wonders in this world beyond our wandering.” The line hints that Elanor may strike out alone and find a more permanent home for her people, ultimately pushing them towards Eriador and the Shire. Tolkien describes Harfoots as the Hobbit breed most liable to settle in one place, but mysteriously claims, “Why they [Hobbits] later took the hard and perilous crossing of the mountains into Eriador is no longer certain.” Though The Rings of Power comes too early for that crossing to actually happen, maybe Elanor’s story becomes the spark that later inspires their migration.
As seen in The Rings of Power trailer footage, Elanor and her friend will also encounter an enigmatic, fiery stranger who falls from the sky like a meteor. Amazon is in uncharted waters here, but the Harfoots (two of them, at least) evidently share a destiny with this magical Middle-earth newcomer. His identity remains a closely-guarded secret, but taking Elanor’s adventurous nature into account, the stranger could pluck the Harfoots from their comfort zone just as Gandalf did for Bilbo and Frodo.
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Notable Harfoots In Middle-earth
J.R.R. Tolkien never mentions any early Harfoot character by name, and most famous Hobbit families from The Lord of the Rings (Baggins, Took, Brandybuck, etc.) derive more predominantly from other breeds.
The only notable Harfoots, therefore, come via The Rings of Power. As mentioned previously, Markella Kavenagh is Elanor Brandyfoot, who shares the same taste for adventure Bilbo, Frodo, and the “conspirators” will one day develop. It remains to be seen whether the similarity between “Brandyfoot” and “Brandybuck” is merely a linguistic Easter egg, or whether Elanor is an ancient ancestor of Merry from Lord of the Rings. Also appearing is Elanor’s mother, Marigold (Zwangobani), and her father, Largo (Dylan Smith). Portrayed by Lenny Henry, Sadoc Burrows serves as Harfoot elder in The Rings of Power, and trailer footage confirms his knowledge of the flaming stranger falling from the sky (“the skies are strange“). Finally, Megan Richards plays Poppy Proudfellow – Elanor’s friend who embarks on a journey of mystery when fireball-man crashes into Middle-earth.
What Happened To The Harfoots In Lord Of The Rings?
As the Harfoots departed their original home, stepping into Eriador and onto the land that would eventually become the Shire, they started intermingling with other Hobbit breeds. The term “Harfoot” ultimately fell from usage in favor of the all-encompassing “Hobbit” as bloodlines crossed over. The name might’ve faded from history, but Harfoot DNA runs strong through The Lord of the Rings‘ Shire-folk, as many of the land’s earliest settlers came from Harfoot stock. As such, it’s entirely possible that Harfoot characters audiences meet in The Rings of Power are distant ancestors of characters from The Lord of the Rings. Most family trees Tolkien provides only stretch back a few centuries.
Other Hobbit Breeds Explained – Are They In The Rings Of Power?
Back when Middle-earth’s Hobbits were still divided, the three breeds were Harfoots, Fallohides and Stoors. Fallohides crossed the Misty Mountains after the Harfoots, and were known for being natural leaders and Elf-friends. The Baggins, Took and Brandybuck families all possessed strong Fallohide traits. The Stoors were stockier, stronger and beard-ier than other variants, and migrated last. By taking a different route across the mountainous pass, Stoors wound up befriending men, which added unique traits to their culture and language that still existed during Frodo’s day, making them easier to distinguish than Harfoots during Tolkien’s Third Age history. Sméagol was the most famous Stoor-Hobbit in Lord of the Rings, and his people were known to prefer wet, swampy land.
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Since the Harfoots, Fallohides and Stoors didn’t begin shuffling until mid-Third Age, the latter breeds won’t necessarily feature in The Rings of Power‘s Second Age narrative. As Elanor and Poppy begin stretching their adventure muscles, however, the pair may encounter some Hobbit cousins, since all three breeds dwelt within a relatively narrow radius. Sadoc Burrows must be aware that Harfoots aren’t the only Hobbits in town, which means Fallohides and Stoors could get in-dialogue references at the very least.
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