Author: Julia Cornwall

The impact that Bilbo Baggins had on the shire is clear and impressive. As a formerly reserved and well respected hobbit, Bilbo set all of this aside to join a group of Dwarves on an adventure to their homeland. This eventually led to inspiring the new generations of Hobbits to pursue actions and ideas that were previously thought of as improper and unwanted.

During the length of Bilbo’s adventure to reclaim The Lonely Mountain, he survived many perilous events and dangerous situations. Escaping the Goblin tunnels, traveling through Mirkwood, and conversing with Smaug himself. And throughout it all, he kept a journal to document his interactions first hand. This journal, depicted in both fig 1 and fig 2 above, was brought back to The Shire and stored in Bilbo’s home for many years. It was used by Bilbo when retelling his tales to house guests, and often requested by the children of nearby households to read over and over again. It was only until Bilbo had left the continent with the Elves that Samwise Gamgee, a close friend to the Baggins family and inheritor of their belongings, decided to donate it to the Mathom-House.

Upon donation, Samwise had noted that this very journal was used as a reference during Bilbo’s writing of his published novel The Hobbit. When his memory escaped him, Bilbo would turn to the journal to insure that he had the event written correctly. He had also mentioned that members of The Company had often read through this journal when visiting Bilbo, as if to reminisce on old memories and old friends. 

The journey Bilbo went on shaped the shire into a different environment than before. In previous years, Hobbits kept to themselves and had a distaste for change. And though the entire community hasn’t gone on their own respective adventures, there is a clear influence in the younger generations of the shire. The children enjoyed hearing Bilbo’s stories, and long to go on an adventure of their own. This has only been heightened after Bilbo’s nephew, Frodo, undertook a journey of his own. The elder Hobbits of The Shire do not support this longing, and very audibly at that. But with frequent visits from old friends of Bilbo and Frodo, like Gandalf, this new way of life is slowly taking over the peaceful shire.

Along with this, Bilbo has inspired the Hobbits to not only seek out their own adventures, but to respect literature much more than any generations before. There is a notable amount of Hobbits buying and reading books both locally and from faraway lands. Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck have actively promoted Bilbo’s book The Hobbit and all worked to donate the treasures and artifacts left behind for Samwise in the Baggins home. 

As for the Journal, it is also part of the Mathom-House collections indefinitely. After the large donation of Bilbo’s treasure to the museum, there has been a spike in visitors who have come to see the objects. There are even a handful of Hobbits claiming that the King of Gondor himself had once visited the Mathom-House, though it was never confirmed. As time goes on, the positive effect Bilbo and Frodo had on the shire is slowly showing itself in the new generation. No one would expect a simple act of writing about one’s experiences could change the ways of Hobbits, but in contrast it seems like the actions of Hobbits have changed the way of the world for the better.

Copyright Information: Photograph, ‘Bilbo’s Journal.’ Photographer: Julia D. Cornwall. Medium: Ink on Paper. Date Created: November 21st, 2024 License: May not be reproduced without the permission of this page’s creator.