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Any Lord of the Rings fan will recall that Middle Earth has an interesting history, that spans thousands and thousands of years. There have been several ‘Ages’ of the world, but the story of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place during the Third Age.
In the introductory scene of the extended edition of the 2001 film adaptation of the Fellowship of the Ring by Peter Jackson, the audience can see old Bilbo sitting at his desk, writing the opening of his book ‘There And Back Again.’ He starts with the sentence: ‘22nd day of September, in the year 1400, by Shire reckoning.’ But what is Shire reckoning, and why is it different to the timelines of the surrounding areas?
It is little known that there was a vast long period of time before which any hobbits ever came to rest in The Shire. Hobbits, being of a homely nature and loving their beautiful holes beyond all else, dislike to remember this fact, for they see those days as terrible days, before the comfort of a simple life was discovered. By the time Bilbo and Frodo’s journeys take place, there are none alive who wish to admit to the hobbits' past roaming ways. However, the Shire was not in fact discovered until the year 1601 of the Third Age, when two brothers by the name of Marcho and Blanco set out with a host of hobbits from their settlement in Bree. The brothers were Fallohides, one of the three different denominations of hobbit, and as such, they were known to be particularly adventurous and wild.
They sought the permission of the king of Men, to be allowed to claim ownership of the lands between the Brandywine Bridge and the Far Downs, which can be found on a map of Middle Earth in the center of Eriador. They were granted this request on the condition that they kept maintenance of the Great Bridges so that the king's men could always pass through unhindered, and took care of the lands, helping nature regenerate there. This may be where the hobbits' love of gardening and things that grow began. From this point onwards, the hobbits began keeping records of their new beloved home, starting a calendar from the first year living in the Shire. Thus, they created Shire reckoning, the timescale upon which the history of Hobbiton is based, 1601 years behind the almanacs of the other races, including elves and dwarves.
Although the beings in Eriador were at first governed by the king, they also developed their own democracy, and were eventually left to their own devices. They soon passed out of the minds of the other races, and existed in a place detached from the comings and goings of the rest of the world. However, according to the early chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring, ‘The Shadow Of The Past’ and ‘Three's Company’, all sorts of trouble began to stir around the time that the War of The Ring began, and strange creatures began crossing through the borders.
There were rumors of Ents, who had strayed far beyond their natural home in Fangorn Forest to the south, as well as Elves, which are also portrayed in the films, passing to the West. In addition, the uncomfortable presence of the Ring-wraiths and their horses, who are seeking Frodo and the ring. Even the Bounders, the hobbits who control the borders (known as beating the bounds) and deny access to the lands of anyone deemed a threat, are not able to keep out the strange beings who suddenly begin taking an interest in the lands and their generations-long unnoticed people.
The four hobbits who later become members of the fellowship have no choice but to flee their homes as quickly as possible, disappearing under the cover of night to The Prancing Pony in Bree, where they meet Aragorn and Bill The Pony, who take them safely to Rivendell. In one of the final extended edition scenes of the Return of the King, Frodo is found sitting in the same chair at Bilbo’s desk as aforementioned, writing in the same book. He speaks to Sam of his troubled wound that has never really healed, and describes it as "four years to the day since Weathertop." He makes the difficult decision to leave his companions and sail to the Undying Lands in the year 3021 by Shire reckoning.
Not long after the War of The Ring, the Fourth Age of Middle Earth, the Age of Men, starts. After their involvement in the victory and the destroying of the ring, hobbits and The Shire rejoin the rest of Middle Earth and become far more involved in the world outside their borders, but it is unknown whether or not they keep Shire reckoning, or amalgamate with the timelines of the other races.