Posted: February 23, 1999 at 16:46:12: by Steve S
: I've read before that JRR's concept was that ME was actually our Earth in an imagined time, and that the particular Lands described in LOTR were roughly the equivalent of Northern Europe in terms of geography, climate, etc. Interesting that he would include tobacco, which is a plant native to the Americas, and whose use among Europeans dates only back to the discovery of the New World. This appears to be a rare example of JRR ignoring known history and re-writing the discovery of tobacco to take place in his imagined time. The technology of ME (aside from the magically enhanced stuff like Gandalf's fireworks) appears consistent with Midieval Europe with the curious exception of pipeweed. The inclusion of custom that was practiced by only a few Native American tribes until the 15th century seems odd.: That being said, I think including pipeweed makes the hobbits more familiar and enhances the values of "home" and "comfort" that the Hobbits recall on their journeys. Somehow a lit pipe completes the picture of a comfy chair in front of a warm fire. I would think that comes primarily of the fact that The Hobbit, being pretty much a children's tale, was not originally completely 'folded in' (or harmonized) to the rest of the Middle Earth mythology that Tolkien was developing, that was later published as The Silmarillion. There are several things that crop up other than smoking that are hard to reconcile with the rest. Gandalf speaking of finding a nice giant to stop up the goblin's hole, Beorn & his shape-shifting abilities, even the gaity of the elves' song when Bilbo arrives in Rivendell (it didn't sound to me like the sad, ancient, noble Noldor race that it was revealed as in LotR) come readily to mind. He included references to that mythology in The Hobbit (the swords' origin in Gondolin, for instance), giving it a nice, ancient feel, but I don't think he originally intended it to necessarily fit in 100% with that mythology that was still evolving. When he decided to do the sequel that turned into Lord of the Rings, he then made the connection more solid. That's my take. For reality, wait until Michael responds. His posts are more authoritative. [And I appreciate that:^) ] -Steve S.
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