After a month-long World Cup break (congrats Germany!) Hall of Fire will return this weekend with a topic that explores two of the great hobbit families of the Shire — Tooks and the Brandybucks. Please note that, for this Saturday, we’ll be starting an hour earlier than normal, at 5pm ET.
“Dear me! We Tooks and Brandybucks, we can’t live long on the heights.”
Tooks and Brandybucks
The Tooks and the Brandybucks were the two most influential families in the Shire. Both families contained a strong Fallohide strain, something that might account for their more adventurous nature.
Leaders, adventurers and, supposedly, even sailors. Two of the most famous are, of course, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took. However, ancestors such as Bullroarer Took, Gorhendad Brandybuck, Gerontious (The Old Took), and Bucca of the Marish also played extraordinary roles in the history of the Shire.
The Brandybucks traced their descent from Gorhendad Oldbuck who moved to Buckland from the Marish and changed the family name. There the Brandybucks dwelt in Brandy Hall, an enormous Smial beneath Buck Hill. The head of the family was the undisputed Master of Buckland, ruling what was essentially a small country of its own on the border of the Shire.
The Tooks lived in the Tookland of the Westfarthing. The Thainship was a hereditary post within the Took family, and the Thain of Tookland was arguably the most powerful hobbit in the Shire — a surely the most wealthy.
We shall discuss these two families, their roles in the Shire and the doings of some of their more colourful family members. What makes them tick? How are they similar? What makes them different?
Join us at 5pm ET Saturday the Hall of Fire as we explore Tooks and Brandybucks!
Upcoming topics
July 26: Hall of Fire Comic-con round-up
August 2: ROTK Bk 6: Ch 1: The Tower of Cirith Ungol
Time zone conversions
Not sure what time the chat will be where you are? Check this little conversion table out for some help. Alternatively, check our handy Event Announcer over on Time and Date for the correct time in your area.
America:
5.00pm EDT (New York)
4.00pm CDT (Chicago)
3.00pm MDT (Denver)
2.00pm PDT (Los Angeles)
Europe:
10.00pm BST (London)
11.00pm CEST (Paris)
Midnight EEST (Helsinki)
Asia-Pacific
7.00am AEST (Sunday) Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne
9.00am NZST (Sunday) Wellington
How long do your topic chats go for?
Our chats usually last from an hour to ninety minutes, and are very newbie friendly. Simply drop in and join the conversation! However, our main room, #theonering.net is open 24 hours a day. We don’t always talk Tolkien there, but if you have a burning question, you’ll usually find one or two of “the regulars” up for a chat!
Where — connection details
Chat happens on #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net — the TORn IRC server. You can connect instantly via our embedded Mibbit client that works inside your web browser.
Alternatively, you can install a dedicated chat program such as mIRC on your computer and just plug in the following connection details.
Server: irc.theonering.net
Port: 6667
Channel: #thehalloffire
