The Hobbit Flashcards
(32 cards)
The Shire
A region of Middle-earth that is the homeland of the hobbits. An idyllic, agrarian place largely removed from the politics and events of the rest of Tolkien’s world.
Hobbiton
A village in the Shire that is home to Bilbo Baggins. This is the beginning and endpoint of Bilbo’s adventure with the dwarves and Gandalf.
Rivendell
Home of the group of elves ruled by the elven leader Elrond. This place serves as a safe haven for the adventuring party.
Misty Mountains
The mountain range that the adventuring party must cross on their way from Riverdell to Mirkwood and the Lonely Mountain. In these mountains they encounter goblins, and Bilbo encounters Gollum.
Mirkwood
The dangerous, enchanted forest that Bilbo and the Dwarves (without Gandalf) must cross on their way to Lonely Mountain. The party encounters giant spiders and the wood-elves, who imprison the dwarves.
Lake-Town (or Esgaroth)
A town populated by humans on Long Lake near the Lonely Mountain, where the dragon Smaug the dragon.
Dale
A ruined city on the River Running, between the Lonely Mountain and the Long Lake, destroyed some years ago by Smaug the dragon.
The Lonely Mountain
The mountain east of Mirkwood, formerly home to the dwarves, and later inhabited by the Smaug, the dragon who killed all the dwarves, destroyed the town of Dale, and made his layer on the dwarven treasure hoard.
The Ring
The magic ring that Bilbo finds in Gollum’s cave in the Misty Mountains. Makes the wearer invisible. Later revealed in The Lord of the Rings to be the “one ring” which is central to the fate of Middle-earth.
The Arkenstone
A massive, white gemstone that is a dwarven heirloom and sought by Thorin Oakenshield. Thorin’s ancestor, Thráin the Old, originally found it. Bilbo steals it from the Smaug’s treasure pile and uses it as a bargaining chip to avert the dispute among the Dwarves, men and elves.
Sting
The magical sword that Bilbo finds in the Trolls’ treasure hoard after the trolls are defeated. Bilbo names it “Sting” after fighting the giant spiders of Mirkwood. The blade glows when orcs or goblins are present.
Hobbits
A hairy-footed race of diminutive peoples in J.R.R. Tolkien’s imaginary world of Middle-earth, approximately three and a half feet tall. Shy and fond of ale, gardening, and the quiet agrarian life, they are also capable of amazing feats of stealth and courage.
Elves
Not tiny elves of most fairy tales, Tolkien’s elves are human-sized, but more regal and wise (and aloof), more beautiful than humans, with magical abilities and skills in art and song. They are also great lovers of nature.
Dwarves
Tolkien’s dwarves are not cute garden gnomes, but great and powerful warriors, crafters and miners. Honorable and proud, they are also portrayed as being greedy for treasure, quick to anger and apt to withdraw from the world into their mines. They are taller than hobbits but shorter than humans and elves.
Wizard
Gandalf is a wizard, taking the form of an old man but, in fact, possessing great physical, mental, and magical powers. Wizards are sent to assist the peoples of Middle-earth to contest Sauron
(although this is not revealed in The Hobbit.)
Humans
Perhaps the least remarkable of al of Tolkien’s races, with no special powers or magical abilities. In The Hobbit, few humans play a key role in the plot, aside from the ones encountered in
Lake-town, notable Bard the Bowman.
Bilbo Baggins
Ahobbit and a burglar. Or, in Gandalf’s words, “If I say he is a Burglar, a Burglar he is, or will be when the time comes. There is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any ‘ idea of himself” (p. 23). The fourteenth member of Thorin’s company, which was made to return to the Lonely Mountain and reclaim the dwarves treasure. Over the course of The Hobbit, he finds his courage, bravery, and fighting skill.
Gandalf
The powerful wizard, in the guise of a man, who appears on Bilbo’s doorstep. In The Hobbit, he is described as “an old man with a staff. He had a tall pointed blue hat, a long grey cloak, a silver scarf over which his long white beard hung down below his waist, and immense black boots” (p. 5). Somewhat irascible, and apt to speak in riddles.
Elrond
Chief of the elves and Lord of Rivendell. Elrond gives shelter to Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves. Elrond and Bilbo later become friends.
Thranduil
The Elvenking who rules the northern part of Mirkwood. His guards capture the dwarves and lock them ni his dungeons.
Thorin Oakenshield
He is the leader of the 13 dwarves, and driving force behind the quest to
retake the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon and reclaim his people’s lost treasure. The son of Thráin I and the grandson of King Thrór, he’s known to be arrogant, stubborn and proper, but also a fierce warrior.
Other Dwarves
Tolkien does easily distinguish each of the other dwarves in the adventuring party. DWALIN is the second-eldest dwarf (after Thorin) and had travelled to the Lonely Mountain prior to Smaug’s arrival. BALIN is a brother of Dwalin. KILI and FiLl are the two youngest dwarves, and with the sharpest eyes, they are often used as scouts for the party. The other dwarves include: DorI, the brother of NORI and ORI (it is Dori who carries Bilbo in the tunnels of the Misty Mountains, and when escaping from the wargs with the eagles, saves Bilbo); OIN and GLOIN, also brothers; BIFUR and BOFUR, cousins; and “poor, fat” BOMBUR, Bofur’s brother and Bifur’s cousin, who makes foolish mistakes and often impedes the progress of the party.
Bard
Human archer from Lake-town who kills Smaug with a single arrow, aka the “Black Arrow.” He’s also an heir to Girion, the last king of old Dale. Also called “Bard the Bowman.”
Trolls
Three comic, cockney-speaking, bickering, and dimwitted trolls named Bill, Bert and William capture Bilbo and the dwarves. They are later tricked by Gandalf when the sunlight turns them to stone.
