In Middle-earth, to the east of the Shire and the south of Fornost, there existed a village named Bree. It was a village from the Third Ages of Middle-earth, that saw significant events during the War of Rings. It was the only village in Eriador, where the Men and the Hobbits lived in peace with each other.
The Chronicle of Bree
Bree, the habitat of men, existed in the Third Age of Middle-earth in Eriador. Bree is a significant village as it was a junction connecting the north-south and east-west paths that pass through Eriador. Hence, it was often visited by inhabitants of nearby places. Bree was a small village covered with forests. After the fall of the Kingdom of Cardolan, Bree went on flourishing without the control of any government or proper central authority to control it.
In the War of the Ring, Bree turned to be the most westerly colony of Men that existed in Middle-earth. It was one among the few living settlements in the entire Eriador. As it was the meet point of the Great East Road and Greenway, there is always a constant flow of travelers in the village. An inn in Bree, meant for travelers, was the Prancy Pony, which stood as witness to essential events of Middle-earth's history.
Despite this, the residents of the village were not comfortable enough to allow many travelers. Bree was familiar with the Hobbits since they visited the village occasionally. They also know the Rangers who visit this village often, even though they felt wary of them. Gandalf and Thorin coincidentally met in Bree for the first time. They shared a similar thought about the Dragon Smaug and Lonely Mountain. Their meeting founded the seed to the Quest of Erebor, which ended with the killing of the dragon Smaug. It also leads to Bilbo Baggins holding possession to the One Ring. In the village's east roads, during the War of the Rings, laid the Forsaken Inn. Aragorn, also known as the Strider, mentioned it once in Tolkien's work.
But no other information was available about that inn. Strider brought it up while having a conversation with Frodo Baggins in the Lord of rings about the road to Rivendell from Bree. The hobbits of the Shire were quite prominent to the village as they visited it often. The Brandybucks were perceived as the adventurous visitors from the Shire, and their place was only a day's travel from Bree. The shire-people were easily identified with their peculiar accent by the local people of the village. The Bree people had their cultivated leaf yet, they were fond of the Southfarthing's Pipe-weed from the Shire.
Barliman Butterbur was the landlord of the largest inn in Bree, The Prancy Pony. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Aragorn met the ring bearer Frodo in this inn. Later that night, a group of Ringwraiths tried to kill the Hobbits. However, the Ringwraiths were fooled as they were only attacking pillows. The Hobbits were staying with Aragorn in the front parlor during the attack of the Black riders. Aragorn anticipated this after Frodo accidentally slipped on the One Ring, which alerted the Nazguls to their location. The western path of the village was covered by the Barrow-downs and the old forest.
In the War of the Ring, Bree turned to be the most westerly colony of Men that existed in Middle-earth. It was one among the few living settlements in the entire Eriador. As it was the meet point of the Great East Road and Greenway, there is always a constant flow of travelers in the village. An inn in Bree, meant for travelers, was the Prancy Pony, which stood as witness to essential events of Middle-earth's history.
Despite this, the residents of the village were not comfortable enough to allow many travelers. Bree was familiar with the Hobbits since they visited the village occasionally. They also know the Rangers who visit this village often, even though they felt wary of them. Gandalf and Thorin coincidentally met in Bree for the first time. They shared a similar thought about the Dragon Smaug and Lonely Mountain. Their meeting founded the seed to the Quest of Erebor, which ended with the killing of the dragon Smaug. It also leads to Bilbo Baggins holding possession to the One Ring. In the village's east roads, during the War of the Rings, laid the Forsaken Inn. Aragorn, also known as the Strider, mentioned it once in Tolkien's work.
But no other information was available about that inn. Strider brought it up while having a conversation with Frodo Baggins in the Lord of rings about the road to Rivendell from Bree. The hobbits of the Shire were quite prominent to the village as they visited it often. The Brandybucks were perceived as the adventurous visitors from the Shire, and their place was only a day's travel from Bree. The shire-people were easily identified with their peculiar accent by the local people of the village. The Bree people had their cultivated leaf yet, they were fond of the Southfarthing's Pipe-weed from the Shire.
Barliman Butterbur was the landlord of the largest inn in Bree, The Prancy Pony. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Aragorn met the ring bearer Frodo in this inn. Later that night, a group of Ringwraiths tried to kill the Hobbits. However, the Ringwraiths were fooled as they were only attacking pillows. The Hobbits were staying with Aragorn in the front parlor during the attack of the Black riders. Aragorn anticipated this after Frodo accidentally slipped on the One Ring, which alerted the Nazguls to their location. The western path of the village was covered by the Barrow-downs and the old forest.
Etymology
Brythonic, a Celtic language, gives the meaning of Bree as, hill. It was named Bree, representing that the regions of Bree and the Bree-land were situated around the mountains. They were concentrated in the middle. Tom Shippey said that the name was the result of Tolkien's inspiration for Brill's original town.
Representation With Altered Version
The Hobbit Movie Trilogy
In the movie of Peter Jackson, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, [1] Bree appears in the flashback. The flashback explains the meeting of Gandalf and Thorin Oakenshield, where they converse about the deadly dragon Smaug and talk about Thorin's father, who is missing. Gandalf says they need an intruder and ask over Thorin to retract Erebor.
The Lord of the Rings Movies Trilogy
Frodo, along with his escorts, reaches Bree as soon as they leave the Shire. It gives the impact that the Shire and Bree are nearby, in contrast to what Tolkien has explained. Bree is a three-day walk away from the Brandywine Bridge. [2]
Video Games
Bree is also portrayed in the famous video games and has fascinated a lot of video game players. It is mainly depicted in the video game versions of the infamous The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of Ring (Video Game), The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, [3] and The Lord of the Rings Online. [4] It is the center of attraction for the players.
References
Categories:
Bree and Bree-land
Cities
Cities of Men
Eriador
