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Bilbo's April Calendar

Otaku-sempai
Immortal


Oct 5, 2:55am

Post #1 of 20 (19030 views)
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Bilbo's April Calendar Can't Post

I was recently made aware that in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey we can see a calendar page for the month of April on the wall next to Bilbo's writing desk:



The individual who brought this to my attention made the claim that the calendar showed the date of Frodo's birthday (changing it from September 22), giving it as April 4th. This proves to be incorrect, especially as this would have been years before Frodo's birth, but the calendar sill includes some interesting notations.

- April 2: Dinner with [indecipherable]
- April 4: Smoking contest at the Ivy Bush
- April 6: Appointment at Bywater
- April 7: Judging daffodils at [indecipherable]
- April 10: Drogo [Baggins]'s birthday
- April 15: Tuckborough Market
- April 21: Whitwell Spring Fair
- April 26: Michel Delving meeting about [erosion?]

Additional Notes:

[Shopping List]
- Eggs
- Flour
- Seedcakes

Get seed potatoes from from the Gaffer. Then plant them during the third week

Get wedding gift for Prisca [Baggins] and Welibald [Bolger].

“Hell hath no fury like that of the uninvolved.” - Tony Isabella

(This post was edited by Otaku-sempai on Oct 5, 2:57am)


Asger
Rivendell


Oct 5, 3:52am

Post #2 of 20 (18997 views)
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7th [In reply to] Can't Post

Must be ‘Pincup’, I think it’s on the map…

"Don't take life seriously, it ain't nohow permanent!" Pogo
www.willy-centret.dk


Otaku-sempai
Immortal


Oct 5, 4:03am

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Pincup! [In reply to] Can't Post

Yes, I think that you're right!

Pincup: Village in the Southfarthing, in the Green Hill Country. Thanks to Robert Foster, The Complete Guide to Middle-earth.

Here's the source I found for the best image of the calendar that I could find (the site is in Spanish): https://www.mundodvd.com/...bos-calendar-108410/

“Hell hath no fury like that of the uninvolved.” - Tony Isabella


AshNazg
Grey Havens

Oct 5, 8:35am

Post #4 of 20 (18965 views)
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I think April 26 says.. [In reply to] Can't Post

I think April 26 says 'Michel Delving meeting about Eurovision'

That would explain why Bilbo runs out of the house screaming "I'm going on an adventure!" that morning.


Marmoon
Bree


Oct 11, 1:29am

Post #5 of 20 (16151 views)
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Closer inspection [In reply to] Can't Post

After some eye straining on April 2, I saw “at” hiding by the 2 and deciphered “Brandy” as the next to last word, which strongly implies the last word is “Hall”. The long word in the middle seems to end with “-th”, and with the above location as context, I think this must be the name Amaranth [Brandybuck], Bilbo’s cousin. Thus:

- April 2: Dinner with Amaranth at Brandy Hall

Looks like the April 4 event was for a smoke ring competition, not merely the act of smoking. Thus:

- April 4: Smoke ring contest at the Ivy Bush


Otaku-sempai
Immortal


Oct 11, 1:20pm

Post #6 of 20 (15950 views)
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Thank you! [In reply to] Can't Post

Brilliant detective work! So, here's what we have:

- April 2: Dinner with Amaranth at Brandy Hall
- April 4: Smoke Ring contest at the Ivy Bush
- April 6: Appointment at Bywater
- April 7: Judging daffodils at Pincup
- April 10: Drogo [Baggins]'s birthday
- April 15: Tuckborough Market
- April 21: Whitwell Spring Fair
- April 26: Michel Delving meeting about erosion [barring correction]

[Shopping List]
- Eggs
- Flour
- Seedcakes

Get seed potatoes from from the Gaffer. Then plant them during the third week

Get wedding gift for Prisca [Baggins] and Welibald [Bolger].

“Hell hath no fury like that of the uninvolved.” - Tony Isabella

(This post was edited by Otaku-sempai on Oct 11, 1:22pm)


GreenHillFox
Bree


Oct 11, 5:30pm

Post #7 of 20 (15864 views)
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Nicely spotted ! [In reply to] Can't Post

This guy Bilbo was clearly a very very busy person ! Laugh


Marmoon
Bree


Oct 12, 2:09am

Post #8 of 20 (15773 views)
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“Appointment at Bywater” [In reply to] Can't Post

I realize the calendar and events thereon are far from canon, but I’m curious about Bilbo’s vague Bywater appointment on April 6. If it was a social appointment, it seems he would’ve named the other party, as he did for other such occasions that month. What businesses were located in Bywater that would’ve necessitated an appointment? Hobbiton had its own post office, and in any case he shouldn’t’ve needed an appointment to visit. Were the offices of Messrs Grubb, Grubb, and Burrowes located in Bywater? Did hobbits have dentists?


Marmoon
Bree


Oct 12, 5:44am

Post #9 of 20 (15742 views)
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Incredible detail [In reply to] Can't Post

So many years later, I remain in awe of the effort and skill invested into every detail in the films. At first I wondered whether this would be the calendar of young or old Bilbo, since I'm not sure where in the film it appears, if at all. But the inclusion of Drogo’s birthday and the impending wedding of Prisca and Wilibald put this squarely in the young Bilbo era.

It looks like the referenced image was cropped from a slightly larger photo, though unclear if it’s the original. No apparent difference in image quality.
https://themovieblog.com/...ds/2012/11/hx5la.jpg

There’s no discernible point of reference in the photo to confirm if it’s hanging by the writing desk, as purported. Anyone know if this prop actually appears in the film, and, if so, the exact timestamp? The earliest upload of this photo online I found was November 2012 - right around the time of the Wellington premiere, some weeks before the global release. If not the film itself, could it have been taken from some promotional or behind-the-scenes material? Or maybe someone in the art department shared it independently?

I appreciate that the artist / prop maker (Daniel Reeve?) resisted the urge to include a note about Gandalf’s unexpected arrival and proposition (April 25) and his threat to return to Bag-end (April 26). Not only because the movie left Gandalf’s return plans vague, though I think a minor continuity error could’ve been excused for a background prop that few would ever bother to analyze; but rather because Gandalf’s absence from the calendar is consistent with the text:


Quote
“[Bilbo] did not remember things very well, unless he put them down on his Engagement Tablet: like this: Gandalf Tea Wednesday. Yesterday he had been too flustered to do anything of the kind.”

The Hobbit, “An Unexpected Party”


One last note - Assuming the film's opening scenes took place on/around April 25-26 (though there's no evidence of any attempt to maintain the established timeline of events, but just for the sake of speculation), then Bilbo's plans were likely interrupted. In the film, we only saw him visit the market, fearful of bumping into Gandalf again, before the dwarves' arrival that evening and his spontaneous departure in the company of Thorin Oakenshield the next morning. Hopefully Bilbo's input was not missed at the erosion meeting in Michel Delving!


(This post was edited by Marmoon on Oct 12, 5:47am)


Otaku-sempai
Immortal


Oct 12, 11:24am

Post #10 of 20 (15674 views)
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Hobbiton to Michel Delving [In reply to] Can't Post


In Reply To
One last note - Assuming the film's opening scenes took place on/around April 25-26 (though there's no evidence of any attempt to maintain the established timeline of events, but just for the sake of speculation), then Bilbo's plans were likely interrupted. In the film, we only saw him visit the market, fearful of bumping into Gandalf again, before the dwarves' arrival that evening and his spontaneous departure in the company of Thorin Oakenshield the next morning. Hopefully Bilbo's input was not missed at the erosion meeting in Michel Delving!


In Reply To

According to the map of the Shire that I have framed above me right now, the distance from Bag End to Michel Delving is about 17 leagues (by road) or approximately 48 miles. That comes to a 2-day journey on foot--3 days if Bilbo took his time! Mister Baggins would have needed to leave Bag End no later than 24 April in order to keep his appointment.

For a slightly different perspective, I found this chart for Travel Times in Middle-earth: https://www.beckyburkheart.com/...eltimesinmiddleearth.
It suggests a somewhat longer distance of approximately 65 miles (as opposed to 45 miles) from Hobbiton to Michel Delving. The scale on my map (from Free League's The One Ring Roleplaying Game) might be off.

“Hell hath no fury like that of the uninvolved.” - Tony Isabella

(This post was edited by Otaku-sempai on Oct 12, 11:31am)


Marmoon
Bree


Oct 14, 9:16am

Post #11 of 20 (15149 views)
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Erosion [In reply to] Can't Post

Thanks for this reference. I hadn’t considered the distance. With that in mind, below are some additional thoughts that apply to this adaptation speculation.

If Bilbo initially planned to travel to Michel Delving on the indicated date but later decided against it, then it further raises the stakes on his recruitment to Thorin’s company, for Gandalf narrowly missed being good-morninged by Belladonna Took’s son for a second time. Their paths had already failed to cross once a few weeks earlier on the wizard’s first attempt to check in on the hobbit.

However, assuming we’re correct in reading the word “erosion,” I think it’s more likely that Bilbo never intended to go to that meeting. Rather, he marked it on his calendar so he could remember to follow-up on the outcomes. Talk of erosion may have primarily concerned the farmers, not so much the residential areas of Hobbiton. But if anyone in Bilbo’s orbit was in attendance, I imagine it would have been Holman Greenhand, whose gardening services were employed at Bag End. During the meeting, perhaps Holman and his new apprentice, Hamfast Gamgee, were given responsibilities to engineer and deploy some erosion control measures in Hobbiton.

Because Bilbo did not stick around long enough to find out, it would be more than a year before he could learn about the meeting in Michel Delving. Any outcomes affecting Bag End must’ve been handled by Holman and Hamfast, who together tended the gardens during Bilbo’s absence on the Quest of Erebor. Of course, it’s unlikely that Bag End was subjected to much erosion, given that the property sat high on The Hill and had plentiful vegetation securing the soil. But the smials and gardens down below, such as those of Bagshot Row built from the remnants of Bag End’s excavation, would have been at much higher risk of erosion.

Erosion along Bagshot Row might have been what inspired Hamfast to abandon his father’s roper trade and seek the apprenticeship with Holman.


Marmoon
Bree


Oct 14, 9:59am

Post #12 of 20 (15143 views)
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Yestarë [In reply to] Can't Post

In my last post, I mentioned Gandalf missing Bilbo on a prior trip through the Shire. That reminded me of a glaring omission from the April calendar: Yestarë, or the Elven new year. We know Bilbo knew of the occasion and, in his own way, observed it that year. In the Shire Calendar, it was approximated with April 6 (LOTR, Appendix D).

As Gandalf explained (in Unfinished Tales):


Quote
“I went off at once to have a look at Bilbo... But he was not at home. They shook their heads in Hobbiton when I asked after him. ‘Off again,’ said one hobbit. It was Holman, the gardener, I believe. ‘Off again. He’ll go right off one of these days, if he isn’t careful. Why, I asked him where he was going, and when he would be back, and I don’t know he says; and then he looks at me queerly. It depends if I meet any, Holman, he says. It’s the Elves’ New Year tomorrow!’”


Thus there’s no need to invent a vague “Appointment at Bywater” on April 6 - or thereabouts - since that date already had significance to Bilbo. It’s highly unlikely he would have scheduled a conflicting appointment.

The inclusion of Yestarë would really help sell the calendar’s authenticity. Pending a rights issue, maybe even another little note scribbled on the margin recording the visitor Bilbo had received while away. As far as we know, Gandalf’s next visit weeks later would still be a surprise since he neither identified himself to Holman nor said he would try again to see Mr. Baggins.


Otaku-sempai
Immortal


Oct 14, 1:12pm

Post #13 of 20 (15111 views)
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Yestare [In reply to] Can't Post


In Reply To
In my last post, I mentioned Gandalf missing Bilbo on a prior trip through the Shire. That reminded me of a glaring omission from the April calendar: Yestarë, or the Elven new year. We know Bilbo knew of the occasion and, in his own way, observed it that year. In the Shire Calendar, it was approximated with April 6 (LOTR, Appendix D).

As Gandalf explained (in Unfinished Tales):


Quote
“I went off at once to have a look at Bilbo... But he was not at home. They shook their heads in Hobbiton when I asked after him. ‘Off again,’ said one hobbit. It was Holman, the gardener, I believe. ‘Off again. He’ll go right off one of these days, if he isn’t careful. Why, I asked him where he was going, and when he would be back, and I don’t know he says; and then he looks at me queerly. It depends if I meet any, Holman, he says. It’s the Elves’ New Year tomorrow!’”


Thus there’s no need to invent a vague “Appointment at Bywater” on April 6 - or thereabouts - since that date already had significance to Bilbo. It’s highly unlikely he would have scheduled a conflicting appointment.

The inclusion of Yestarë would really help sell the calendar’s authenticity. Pending a rights issue, maybe even another little note scribbled on the margin recording the visitor Bilbo had received while away. As far as we know, Gandalf’s next visit weeks later would still be a surprise since he neither identified himself to Holman nor said he would try again to see Mr. Baggins.



Would the Shire-hobbits have observed Yestarë on the first day of Spring, though? The Shire calendar was based on the King's Reckoning where the first day of the year fell at the winter solstice. That's not to say the the hobbits wouldn't have observed the first day of Spring, but they probably had a different name for it. Unless you have a good source that says otherwise?

“Hell hath no fury like that of the uninvolved.” - Tony Isabella


Hamfast Gamgee
Tol Eressea

Oct 16, 8:30am

Post #14 of 20 (14793 views)
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Might take even longer if Bilbo visited a tavern or three! [In reply to] Can't Post

 


Hamfast Gamgee
Tol Eressea

Oct 16, 8:31am

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Would Bilbo be participating or watching the smoke ring contest? [In reply to] Can't Post

 


Marmoon
Bree


Oct 16, 11:42am

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Just Bilbo [In reply to] Can't Post

No, I don’t believe the average Shire-hobbit was aware of the Elves’ new year. All the evidence points to them knowing or caring very little about places or peoples beyond their borders. But Bilbo was an exception, as Tolkien made abundantly clear. How much he knew about Elves and the Reckoning of Rivendell can, I think, be inferred from descriptions of his Tookishness. As a hobbit-lad, he pestered Gandalf with questions about Hobbits who had “gone off” and he absorbed the wizard’s tales about the wide world, which surely involved Elves and enhanced Bilbo’s interest in them; as he grew older, he gleaned information from Dwarves and other travelers he met on his days-long wanderings (per Gandalf, Unfinished Tales). From this I infer Bilbo knew enough to accurately mark yestarë on his personal calendar and to have departed Hobbiton for the occasion.

Perhaps I should have used a modifier to specify the glaring omission is apparent to me. This is how I’ve always understood Bilbo’s knowledge of Elves before ever visiting Rivendell.


Otaku-sempai
Immortal


Oct 16, 1:42pm

Post #17 of 20 (14725 views)
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Entrant? [In reply to] Can't Post


In Reply To
Would Bilbo be participating or watching the smoke ring contest?



It could have been either! I can imagine Bilbo entering the contest. His smoke rings seemed to be quiite fine.

“Hell hath no fury like that of the uninvolved.” - Tony Isabella


Otaku-sempai
Immortal


Oct 16, 2:13pm

Post #18 of 20 (14720 views)
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New Year versus Spring [In reply to] Can't Post


In Reply To
No, I don’t believe the average Shire-hobbit was aware of the Elves’ new year. All the evidence points to them knowing or caring very little about places or peoples beyond their borders. But Bilbo was an exception, as Tolkien made abundantly clear. How much he knew about Elves and the Reckoning of Rivendell can, I think, be inferred from descriptions of his Tookishness. As a hobbit-lad, he pestered Gandalf with questions about Hobbits who had “gone off” and he absorbed the wizard’s tales about the wide world, which surely involved Elves and enhanced Bilbo’s interest in them; as he grew older, he gleaned information from Dwarves and other travelers he met on his days-long wanderings (per Gandalf, Unfinished Tales). From this I infer Bilbo knew enough to accurately mark yestarë on his personal calendar and to have departed Hobbiton for the occasion.

Perhaps I should have used a modifier to specify the glaring omission is apparent to me. This is how I’ve always understood Bilbo’s knowledge of Elves before ever visiting Rivendell.



I don't think I expressed my point well enough. It's not that Bilbo and other hobbits wouldn't have observed Yestarë, but for them it would have been Yule, the last day of the old year and the first day of the new. I do imagine that they observed the beginning of spring (ethuil) around the time of the vernal equinox, though the date of the equinox would vary from one year to another. According to Tolkien Gateway (citing Appendix D), spring in the Shire "corresponded more or less to the 54 days between 7 April and 30 May in the Shire Calendar." Which doesn't mean that Bilbo couldn't have had a notation for 6 April as the elven New Year, or that 6 April might not mark the official start of spring in the Shire in some years.

“Hell hath no fury like that of the uninvolved.” - Tony Isabella

(This post was edited by Otaku-sempai on Oct 16, 2:15pm)


Marmoon
Bree


Oct 17, 1:10am

Post #19 of 20 (14615 views)
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Ethuil and Mettarë [In reply to] Can't Post

Thanks, I appreciate the further explanation. I agree most Shire-hobbits, assuming they kept similar calendars, would’ve had Yule marked. I still imagine Bilbo’s Elvish fondness leading him to use their word for April 6. But on your point about recognizing spring, I would gladly see Ethuil added to Bilbo’s calendar on April 7, as well. (Almost wrote “Tuilë” here because I was still looking at Quenya after reviewing “Yestarë”, and I hadn’t realized before this is one of three days with no Sindarin equivalent!)

While I’m at it, I could also see Mettarë added to April 5. Seems only fitting that Bilbo would know both the first and last days of the Elven year, not just one of them.


Marmoon
Bree


Oct 17, 2:13am

Post #20 of 20 (14601 views)
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Flowers [In reply to] Can't Post

Looking into names and the timing of spring sent me down an interesting rabbit-hole — er, hobbit-hole. Thinking about spring in the Shire led me to thinking about the appropriateness of the April 7 daffodil event in Pincup. According to my quick research, April is the traditional peak bloom for daffodils in England (though trending earlier due to shorter winters and earlier springs resulting from warmer temperatures).

This brought me to Bilbo’s reminder to get a wedding gift for Prisca and Wilibald. Reflecting on a somewhat obscure note from Letter 214:


Quote
“No presents were given at or during the celebration of Hobbit weddings, except flowers (weddings were mostly in Spring or early Summer).”


However, while an arrangement of daffodils would’ve made a fine and convenient wedding gift after Bilbo finished judging them, they might’ve wilted by the wedding. Without a wedding date on his calendar, I’ll have to assume it was set for early May; otherwise picking up flowers in April would probably be premature. Personally, I’d recommend he have Holman Greenhand dig up and pot perennial flowers (daffodil or other) from Bag End that could be transplanted into the married couple’s garden and enjoyed for years. #HolmanForHire


(This post was edited by Marmoon on Oct 17, 2:16am)

 
 

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