The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
The earliest known member, Sapphira Brockhouse, was born c. III 2850 (1250 by the Shire-reckoning); the family continued at least to the end of the Third Age
Location
Members of the family were apparently found in both the Shire and in the Bree-land1
Race
Cultures
Pronunciation
bro'ckhouse
Meaning
'Badger-house'1

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 29 September 2017
  • Updates planned: 1

Brockhouse Family

A Hobbit family

A populous Hobbit-family. There were Brockhouses living in the Shire, and also among the Bree-hobbits.


Notes

1

Hobbits from the Brockhouse family were definitely to be found in the Bree-land, but the extent of the connection of the Brockhouses with the Shire is open to some debate. In early drafts of The Lord of the Rings, the Brockhouses at Bilbo Baggins' Farewell Party are said to have travelled there from Combe near Bree, and on that basis they may not have had a home in the Shire at all. It's notable, however, that this reference does not appear in the published text, and we also know of at least one Brockhouse - Sapphira - who married into the Boffin family of Shire-hobbits. In combination, these facts imply that there was a branch of the family (or perhaps a separate family that shared the same name) living in the Shire in the later Third Age.

2

The name 'Brockhouse' comes from Old English brocc hús, referring to the interconnected tunnels made by badgers as a home, more usually called a 'sett'. As the name for a family of Hobbits 'Brockhouse' connects the idea of these badger tunnels with the holes made by Hobbits.

In real surnames, the element 'Brock' can have different interpretations (for example, it sometimes means 'brook') but Tolkien is explicit that he intends it to mean 'badger' in the name 'Brockhouse'. The same element appears in the place-name 'Brockenbores', which in fact has a derivation very close to 'Brockhouse'. It might be tempting to see a connection between the family of Brockhouse and the village of Brockenbores, but we have no evidence for such a connection beyond the similarity of their names.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 29 September 2017
  • Updates planned: 1

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