The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Lotho Sackville-Baggins adopted the title 'Chief Shirriff'1 soon after New Year III 3019 (1419 by the Shire-reckoning); he was slain sometime before November of the same year
Location
Origins
A title created by Lotho Sackville-Baggins for himself
Race
Culture
Family
Settlements
Headquartered at Bag End in Hobbiton
Pronunciation
Shirriff is pronounced 'shi'rriff'
Meaning
Shirriff comes from Old English scirgerefa ('Shire-reeve' or 'Shire-steward')
Other names
Commonly shorted to simply 'Chief'
Title of

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 7 February 2021
  • Updates planned: 1

Chief Shirriff

A title claimed by Lotho Sackville-Baggins

A title apparently invented for himself by Lotho Sackville-Baggins after he deposed Will Whitfoot as Mayor of the Shire and took power for himself. Though 'Chief Shirriff' was his official title, he was more commonly called simply 'the Chief'. After Saruman came to the Shire and took it over as 'Sharkey', the Hobbits considered him to be the 'real' Chief.


Notes

1

The Shirriffs dated back into the history of the Shire, but traditionally their leader had been known as the 'First Shirriff', a rank attached to the position of Mayor. When Lotho Sackville-Baggins overthrew Mayor Will Whitfoot and took power in the Shire, he seems to have invented 'Chief Shirriff' as a new title for himself. We're told that '...[Lotho] called himself Chief Shirriff, or just Chief, and did as he liked' (The Return of the King VI 8 (The Scouring of the Shire).

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 7 February 2021
  • Updates planned: 1

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2008, 2021. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.

Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.
Discus Invitations make it easy to run DISC personality profiling across the Web, with results available instantly.
The Encyclopedia of Arda
The Encyclopedia of Arda
Menu
Homepage Search Latest Entries and Updates Random Entry