The Shire

The Shire is the country of the hobbits, lying in the north-west of Middle-earth in the wide land of Eriador, and it is where both The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring begin. It covers something over twenty thousand square miles and is bounded on the east by the Brandywine River; northward and westward it fades out into vague country rather than any drawn border. Much of it is farmed and closely settled, with villages, a few small towns, and stretches of wood and marsh between. The weather is much like England's: wet often, cold in winter without being severe, warm enough in summer. Government sits lightly. The Thain holds an office that is now mostly ceremonial, and the busiest official is the Mayor of Michel Delving, elected every seven years, who is also Postmaster and First Shirriff.