A village at the crossroads
of the Great East Road and the Greenway in Eriador. Bree was unique
in that the Big Folk (Men) and Little Folk (Hobbits) both dwelled
there on friendly terms. Bree was also a meeting place for travelers,
particularly at the famous local inn called the Prancing Pony.
The art of smoking
pipe-weed was said to have begun in Bree.
Bree was an ancient settlement. The Men of Bree claimed to be the
descendants of the first Men to inhabit western Middle-earth. Bree
was located in Bree-land, a small area that also included the villages
of Archet, Combe, and Staddle. Bree was on the western side of Bree-hill
near the southwestern corner of the Chetwood. There were about 100
stone houses by the hillside where Men lived; Hobbits tended to live
farther up the slopes. A deep dike and a hedge formed a semi-circular
fence enclosing the village against the hill. There were gates on
the western and southern sides of the hedge. The gates were closed
and guarded at night, though the traffic on the roads had lessened
over the years. The gathering place for Bree-landers and travelers
alike was the Prancing Pony, an inn run by Barliman Butterbur. The
inn was known as a place where one could hear news from the outside
world. "Strange as News from Bree" was an old saying in
the Shire. On September 29, 3018, Frodo Sam Merry and Pippin arrived
in Bree and there encountered the Ranger known as Strider, whose true
name was Aragorn.
Aragorn became the Hobbits'
guide and protector. After the Prancing Pony was attacked in the night,
he led the Hobbits away from Bree and into the Wild, hoping to evade
the Nazgul
who pursued the Ring-bearer.
Bree In depth (Book
version)
"The Pancing Pony
"
Inn at Bree.
The Prancing
Pony was a meeting place for both Bree-folk and travelers on the Great
East Road and the Greenway. The inn was a place to hear news of the
outside worlds and was frequented by Men, Hobbits, Dwarves, and the
occasional Wizard. The art of smoking pipe-weed was said to have begun
in Bree and from the Prancing Pony it spread among the races of Middle-earth.
The inn was also noted for its fine beer.
The Prancing Pony was located on the Great East Road at the base of
Bree-hill. The front of the inn faced the Road and an archway led to
a courtyard between two wings that ran back into the hill. The main
door was to the left of the archway. A sign hung over the door with
a painting of a rearing pony and the words The Prancing Pony by Barliman
Butterbur. Inside there was a large Common Room, several private parlours,
and a number of bedrooms, including a few rooms in the north wing designed
for Hobbits that were low to the ground and had round windows. The inn
also had stables.
At the time
of the War of the Ring, the proprietor was Barliman Butterbur. The inn
had been in his family for generations. Two Hobbits who worked for Butterbur
were Nob, who was a servant in the inn, and Bob, who worked in the stables.
Two important
events leading up to the War of the Ring took place at the Prancing
Pony. The first was the chance meeting on March 15, 2941, of Gandalf
and Thorin Oakenshield, who concocted a plan to set out to recapture
the Lonely Mountain from Smaug with a company of thirteen Dwarves and
one Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins.
The second
event occurred in 3018. On Mid-year's day of that year, Gandalf had
stopped at the Prancing Pony to give Barliman Butterbur an urgent letter
to be delivered to Frodo Baggins warning him to leave the Shire at once.
But Barliman forgot about the letter and Frodo did not set out until
September, when the Black Riders were already on his trail.
Frodo and
his companions, Sam, Merry and Pippin arrived at the Prancing Pony on
September 29. The Prancing Pony had been recommended to them by Tom
Bombadil and Merry was familiar with the inn because Brandybucks occasionally
traveled to Bree and stayed there. Barliman told them they were lucky
since the inn was full and only the Hobbit-sized rooms were available.
Frodo, Sam,
and Pippin decided to go the the Common Room while Merry took a walk.
The Common Room was crowded with Hobbits, a party of Dwarves, and a
number of Men, included a squint-eyed Southerner and a hooded Ranger
sitting alone. The Ranger introduced himself to Frodo as Strider and
called Frodo's attention to Pippin, who was telling amusing stories
about the Shire and was coming close to mentioning Bilbo's disappearance
at his Farewell Party. Frodo jumped onto a table and started singing
to distract the crowd, but he fell and the Ring slipped onto his finger.
Among those who witnessed his sudden disappearance were the squint-eyed
Southerner and Bill Ferny of Bree.
Strider revealed
himself as Aragorn and Gandalf's letter was produced by an apologetic
Barliman. Aragorn offered to protect the Hobbits from the Black Riders
and lead them to Rivendell. He warned the Hobbits not to return to their
rooms, and Nob made up the Hobbits' beds with bolsters to make it appear
that they were sleeping. The inn was attacked in the night and the Hobbits'
empty beds were slashed and their rooms ransacked. The stable doors
were opened and Merry's five ponies were lost. The Hobbits left Bree
the next morning, and when Gandalf arrived later that day and learned
that Aragorn had gone with them he placed a seven-year enchantment of
excellence on the inn's beer.
Despite this,
business at the Prancing Pony declined over the next year because of
an influx of rough Men from the South who terrorized Bree and the surrounding
countryside. But Gandalf and the Hobbits stopped at the Prancing Pony
on their way home in October of 3019 to tell Barliman that the war was
over and that people would soon be traveling up the road to his inn
once more.
View:-
Bree Movie Script
