Lord Of The Rings: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Hobbits

The exact origin of the hobbits was never revealed by Tolkien, but before they established the Shire, they lived in the Northern region of Middle-earth, between Mirkwood and the Misty Mountains.

It was here that they first came into contact with the 'big people' as they called them. They had several interactions with the ancestors of the Rohirrim, and in the books, Merry notices many similarities between the languages of the two people.

Several thousand years before the events of the Lord of the Rings, the hobbits were forced to leave these lands, however. Tolkien revealed that this was when Sauron first entered Mirkwood, establishing the evil stronghold of Dol Guldur. Hordes of orcs and evil men began to encroach on the hobbit settlements. Most took the difficult journey over the Misty Mountains, eventually settling in far Eriador, and naming their new home the Shire.

One group of hobbits called the Stoors remained, however. They were unique for their love of boats - something most hobbits hated. Their settlements rested near the place Isildur was slain, which accounts for how the hobbit Sméagol was able to find the One Ring.