Shire-thain

			THE OLDBUCK LINE
			Bucca of the Marish
			Ten Thains of the Oldbuck line
			Gorhendad Oldbuck
			THE TOOK LINE
			Isumbras I
			Eight Thains of the Took line
			Isengrim II
			Isumbras III
		Ferumbras II		Bandobras the Bullroarer
		Fortinbras I
		Gerontius The Old Took
Isengrim III	Hildigard	Isumbras IV	Hildigrim	Eight other sons and daughters
		Fortinbras II	Adalgrim
		Ferumbras III	Three daughters	Paladin II	Esmeralda
	Pearl	Pimpernel	Pervinca	Peregrin I
				Faramir I
				Further generations of Shire-thains

The descent of the office of Thain of the Shire through the Oldbuck and Took lines, from Bucca the first Thain to Faramir I the last known. Names shown in bold held the office of Thain.

For nearly four hundred years after its foundation, the Shire had been part of the lands of Arthedain, and under the rule of that land's King. Ultimately, Arthedain fell to the forces of Angmar, and its last King, Arvedui, was lost, leaving the Shire-hobbits without a ruler. They remedied this by choosing a new leader from among themselves, Bucca of the Marish, who was given the title thain, a word simply meaning 'chief'.

Bucca and his descendants, a family known as the Oldbucks, served as Shire-thain for twelve generations. The twelfth Thain, one Gorhendad Oldbuck, left the Shire and crossed the River Brandywine to found Buckland. With his departure, the Thainship passed to a new line, the Tooks, and specifically to Isumbras Took I.

From Isumbras I, the line of the Took Shire-thains continued unbroken to the time of the War of the Ring and beyond. The last recorded Thain was Faramir Took I, the thirty-fourth to hold the title of Shire-thain. The fact that both he and his father Peregrin Took are recorded as the first of that name shows that there must have been more Thains after this time, and the tradition clearly lasted well into the Fourth Age.

For a list of the Shire-thains, see the entry for Thain of the Shire