Title: The Red Book of Westmarch
Compiler: Bilbo & Frodo Baggins
Type of Object: Paper Manuscript
Date of Composition: T.A. 2942 – F.A. ????
Place of Composition: Bag End, Rivendell, Westmarch
Owner: Elanor Fairbairn
Status: Permanent Donation
Interpretation: In the year 2942 of the Third Age, Bilbo Baggins began to write of his adventurous journey to Erebor. What started as a small memoir quickly snowballed into the monstrous compendium it is today. Housed in a case of fine leather, The Red Book’s manuscripts include; Bilbo’s memoir, a detailed account of the War of the Ring, translations from the Elvish Books of Lore, and much supplemental material regarding The Shire.
Essay: The Red Book of Westmarch has a long and interesting history of composition dating back to Bilbo Baggins’ adventure alongside Thorin Oakenshield and company. While later residing in Rivendell, Bilbo received both written and oral accounts of the Elder Days. He worked tirelessly to revise his memoirs while simultaneously translating and transcribing a significant amount of history from the First Age. When he felt his contributions were complete, Bilbo passed The Red Book down to Frodo Baggins. In the aftermath of the Scouring of the Shire, Frodo wrote his own comprehensive account of the War of the Ring, adding it to The Red Book. Frodo’s writing puts particular focus on the bravery and heroism of his hobbit companions. Passing into the Undying Lands, Frodo left behind the book to Mayor Samwise Gamgee who in turn passed it on to his daughter, Elanor Fairbairn. Over time, having never been deemed officially completed, some hobbits have offered up additional materials for inclusion in the Red Book such as maps, genealogies, and essays on topics like pipe-weed and Shire history. These inclusions, though extraneous to the narratives contained in The Red Book, shed a deeper light on the culture of The Shire, most helpful to readers who may be less familiar with hobbits and their lifestyle. For years, The Red Book has remained in the great libraries of Elanor’s residence in the Undertowers of Westmarch where it is occasionally perused by scribes, aspiring hobbit historians, and traveling loremasters. It has often been loaned out and read aloud for entertainment at birthdays, dinners, and other social gatherings. This past year, F.A. 50, has seen the completion of The Red Book’s first official revised copy, commissioned by Shire-thain Peregrin Took. Containing numerous corrections and updates, Thain’s Book(1) has made The Red Book somewhat obselete. Elanor Fairbairn no longer has an immediate use for the book and had graciously decided that it ought to be kept in the Mathom House as an item of historical significance.
(1)J.R.R. Tolkien would (much later) come into possession of Thain’s Book, translating and publishing it for an English audience in the form of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.