0385: The Lord of the Rings » Prologue » Concerning Pipe-weed and the Ordering of the Shire

Why did Tolkien devote part of The Lord of the Rings Prologue to pipe-weed and the government of the Shire?

In this episode of Do Not Be Hasty, we continue through the Prologue with “Concerning Pipe-weed” and “Of the Ordering of the Shire,” exploring Tolkien’s love of small details, the history of Hobbit smoking, and the surprisingly simple political structure of the Shire.

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CHAPTERS

00:00 — Introduction: Why the Little Details Matter

01:37 — Why Tolkien Wrote About Pipe-weed

02:22 — The Hobbit Invention of Smoking

04:03 — Tobold Hornblower and the Southfarthing

05:31 — Bree, the Prancing Pony, and the Spread of Pipe-weed

06:21 — Did Pipe-weed Come from Númenor?

07:19 — Gandalf Takes Up the Art

08:30 — Of the Ordering of the Shire