J.R.R. Tolkien, John D. Rateliff (ed.), The History of The Hobbit, Return to Bag-End, "The Fifth Phase", "New Chapter III. Arrival in Rivendell", note 4, p. 804 If you did fancy stopping by the town of Bree, you only need to head to Moreton-in-Marsh. This is in the county of Gloucestershire in the Cotswolds. Well? Why did you do that? Worse than anything your friends could have said! You have put your foot in it! Or should I say your finger?" ― Strider The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: In the movie, the inn appears to be frequented only by suspicious-looking men; no hobbits are seen, and the atmosphere is more ominous than it is in the book. The chapter begins with the narrator explaining a little about the village of Bree, which lies at the end of the East Road on an ancient and well-traveled crossroads. The village is populated mostly by Men who, according to legend, are descended from the first Men to migrate to Western Middle-earth. We're also told that in the areas outside Bree-land live a different group of Men known as the Rangers, whose origins are not known; they wander the land and often bring news from outside, but are not friends of the Bree-landers.

Unlike his brother, Hilary Tolkien had an interest in agriculture over academia! So, he bought a small orchard and market garden on the outskirts of Evesham in 1922. The Prancing Pony is shown as a less pleasant and welcoming environment than in the book, and seems to be populated only by rough-looking men, with no other hobbits. According to Barliman Butterbur, the inn has existed almost as long as Bree has and has been in the possession of the Butterbur Family for many generations. [14] Tolkien, J. R. R. (1955). The Return of the King. The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. OCLC 519647821.

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It’s around a fifteen minutes drive from the popular town of Bourton-on-the-Water. Or, a 45-minute drive from Oxford. If you are reading The Lord of the Rings for the first time, or haven't read it in a very long time, or have never finished it, you might want to just read/listen and enjoy the story itself. Otherwise... Judd, Walter S.; Judd, Graham A. (2017). Flora of Middle-Earth: Plants of J. R. R. Tolkien's Legendarium. Oxford University Press. pp.342–344. ISBN 978-0-19-027631-7.

Read the chapter today or some time this week, or spread it out through the week. Discussion will continue through the week, if not longer. Spoilers for this chapter have been avoided here in the original post, except in some links, but they will surely arise in the discussion in the comments. Please consider hiding spoiler texts in your comments; instructions are here: Spoiler Marking. The Men and Dwarves have a discussion about trouble in the south. There is worry that large numbers of people may be coming up the North Road, seeking refuge from something. The local Hobbits, however, are more interested in hearing news from the Shire, and press Sam and Pippin for information about the "Shire Underhills". This week's chapter is "At the Sign of the Prancing Pony". It's Chapter IX in Book I of The Fellowship of the Ring, Part 1 of The Lord of the Rings; it's running chapter 9.Shippey, Tom (2005) [1982]. The Road to Middle-Earth (Thirded.). HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0261102750. On many occasions, while he was an academic at Oxford, Tolkien would arrange to meet his brother Hilary in Moreton-in-Marsh. Although the scene is not officially marked as an extended scene, a few lines of dialogue are in the extended edition but not the theatrical cut of the film. One is the Gate Keeper remarking that the hobbits are "out of the Shire, from your talk," and another is Butterbur stating that he is "always proud to cater to Little Folk."

Phil Dagrash has an audiobook of The Fellowship of the Ring; here is the current chapter: At the Sign of the Prancing Pony. Well, Master Underhill', said Strider, 'if I were you, I should stop your young friends from talking too much. Drink, fire, and chance-meeting are pleasant enough, but, well – this isn't the Shire. There are queer folk about. Though I say it as shouldn't, you may think', he added with a wry smile, seeing Frodo's glance. 'And there have been even stranger travellers through Bree lately', he went on, watching Frodo's face. [T 1] The Prancing Pony by Barliman Butterbur" " (PDF). ADCBooks. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2013 . Retrieved 26 September 2014. The Prancing Pony had been built long before the time of the War of the Ring, when traffic on the roads had been much greater. Despite diminished numbers of visitors the inn had remained an important centre of news, since Bree was at the crossroads of the East Road and the Greenway, which came up from the south and went onwards to Fornost. [1]The Lord of the Rings Online: The Prancing Pony is located in the north-east corner of Bree. The player meets up with Barliman Butterbur, Strider and Gandalf at various times in the inn during "Stirrings in the Darkness". Porter, Jason (22 May 2007). "Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar". GameChronicles . Retrieved 25 September 2020. At the Sign of The Prancing Pony is twelfth scene of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and the fifteenth scene of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (extended edition). Finally, we are told that Bree has an ancient inn (the Prancing Pony) which used to be a popular meeting place for travelers; so much so that the innkeeper is considered a very important person in the village. However, the North Road has become disused as the lands up north have depopulated.

In the film, the hobbits do not eat a meal in a private parlor before joining the company in the common room. They would meet up at The Bell Inn Moreton-in-Marsh and have a lengthy catch-up over a pint in a tiny corner of the pub. After Frodo takes the ring off, Strider pulls him into a private room and tells him to be more careful. He adds, as the other hobbits burst in, that there is no time to wait for Gandalf, because the Ringwraiths are coming. Frodo's conversation with Butterbur, in which Butterbur reveals that Gandalf had told him to be on the lookout for a hobbit traveling the name of Underhill, and had given him a letter to deliver to Frodo, is omitted. Bree is a meeting place for the two very different worlds of the Shire and the rest of Middle-earth. Both Hobbits and Big People (humans) live there in relative peace, and there is always a steady stream of travelers of all kinds. Frodo, therefore, feels uneasy when the gatekeeper guarding the entrance to Bree takes a curious interest in the hobbits. The hobbits enter the Prancing Pony, the local inn, and announce themselves to the innkeeper, Barliman Butterbur. The hobbits seem to remind Butterbur of something, but he cannot quite place it.On 28 October 3019, Gandalf and the hobbits returned to Bree and stayed at the Prancing Pony. [9] There they learned of the troubles Bree had had since their departure over a year before. In return they told Barliman of their adventures and the news that the King had returned, who was none other than Strider. Best of all for Sam was the news the Bill the Pony had returned safely there. [10] Other versions of the legendarium [ edit | edit source ]