Editing Hobbit (section)

=== In Rhovanion ===

In their earliest [[fable|folk tales]], hobbits appear to have lived in [[Rhovanion]], in the [[Anduin|Valley of Anduin]], between [[Mirkwood]] and the [[Misty Mountains]]. According to ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', they had lost the genealogical details of how they are related to the [[Man (Middle-earth)|Big People]]. Still, Tolkien clearly states in "Concerning Hobbits" that hobbits are not technically a distinct race from Men, the way that Elves or Dwarves are, but branched off from other humans in the distant past of the Elder Days. Many eons later, but still early in the Third Age, the ancient hobbits lived in the valley of the [[Anduin River]], close by the [[Éothéod]], the ancestors of the Rohirrim. This led to some contact between the two, and as a result many old words and names in "Hobbitish" are derivatives of words in [[Rohirric]] (which Tolkien "translated" into his text by presenting it as Old English).<ref name="Prologue on Hobbits" group=T/>

The Harfoots lived on the lowest slopes of the Misty Mountains in Hobbit-holes dug into the hillsides. They were not only smaller and shorter, but also beard- and bootless. The Stoors lived on the marshy [[Gladden Fields]] where the Gladden River met the Anduin, and were broader and heavier in build; and the Fallohides preferred to live in the woods under the Misty Mountains. They were described as fairer of skin and hair, as well as taller and slimmer than the rest of the hobbits.<ref name="Prologue on Hobbits" group=T/>