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The Purple Path  by Dreamflower 2 Review(s)
LarnerReviewed Chapter: 15 on 4/20/2017
I agree with a good deal of this, but think that in the larger families such as among the Brandybucks and Tooks, there might have been someone actually hired to do the teaching, and that one reason young Hobbits might choose or be sent to work for these families was because they would be expected to learn to read, write, learn basic arithmetic skills, and learn to keep records and do basic bookkeeping while they were working within Brandy Hall or the Great Smials. Thus they would be more likely to be successful once they were out living on their own and perhaps running businesses or farms of their own.

Good thoughts here!

Author Reply: Well, in the Brandybuck and Took families, there sort of were--only they were *always* relatives. In Brandy Hall, it so happened to be Uncle Dinny for the last few decades of the Third Age, and the senior servants who may have also taught the new servants answered to him.

And among the Tooks, being more numerous, there were usually three or four cousins who were tutors. And one of those was directly responsible for teaching young servants.

With the exception of Bilbo and his father (who WERE Family Heads themselves) the family members who tutored were always given a special stipend, so I guess you could call them hired.

I agree that many families might have used your reasoning for sending their young ones to service among the Great Families.

KathyGReviewed Chapter: 15 on 4/13/2017
Such lessons would consist of basic reading, writing and arithmetic, and not much more. For the majority of Shire hobbits that would be as far as lessons went, especially among the working class hobbits.

Had anybody but Bilbo taught Sam, that's probably as far as his education would have gotten, too. However, given what we see in The Lord of the Rings of his knowledge, I have a feeling that his education ended up going much further than that. In fact, I suspect that he had the privilege of learning much that a young member of the gentry would have been taught. That would have stood him in good stead when he became the mayor. What do you think, Dreamflower?

I hope that one day, you'll write about Sam's beginning lessons under Bilbo! And about how his education progressed before it finally came to an end.


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