A Hobbit, one of two famous Fallohide brothers, the other being Marcho, who dwelt in Bree during the late sixteenth century of the Third Age. At that time the Fallohides and many other Halflings had been living in Bree for some three hundred years, and the brothers were said to have been among the largest and boldest of these people. Together, Blanco and his brother Marcho set about leading these Halflings to a new home.3
The place they chose was a wide green land some forty miles westward of Bree, which was at that time a royal hunting park of the Kings of Arthedain, within whose lands it lay. The brothers obtained permission from King Argeleb II4 to occupy this land, and in the year III 1601 they gathered a host of Halflings and set out along the East-West Road from Bree. Eventually they reached the river Baranduin, and crossed over the Bridge of Stonebows to become the first Hobbits of the Shire. (The Shire-hobbits would later rename these features, with Baranduin becoming the 'Brandywine', and the Bridge of Stonebows becoming known as the 'Brandywine Bridge').
After the founding of the Shire, Blanco and his brother Marcho vanish from historical accounts. We might expect that they would have been de facto leaders of the new Shire-hobbits but, if so, no such role is recorded. The Shire-hobbits do seem to have had some kind of chieftain during this early period, but no named leader appears in history until the appointment of the first Thain, Bucca of the Marish, nearly four centuries after Blanco's time.
Notes
1 |
Blanco and his brother Marcho mirror the historical characters Hengest and Horsa, who spearheaded the Anglo-Saxon influx into Britain (so Marcho and Blanco founded the Shire as Hengest and Horsa founded the nation that would become England). This relation explains the names Marcho and Blanco, which are both related to horses, as are Hengest and Horsa. |
2 |
It is not stated whether Blanco left any descendants in the Shire, but it is perhaps notable that his name recurs in the Bracegirdle family. This might be taken as a (rather tenuous) hint that the Bracegirdles could claim descent from the Shire's founder. However, Blanco Bracegirdle was born more than a thousand years after the original Blanco's lifetime, and it may be that he was simply named for a famous historical figure, with no particular family connection.
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3 |
The reasons that Marcho and Blanco chose to seek a new home are not elaborated upon. Given that they were able to gather a great number of followers, it would seem that the Bree-land must have become rather crowded with Halflings by this time, which perhaps explains their eagerness to settle a new land of their own.
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4 |
We're told no more than the fact that the King granted the brothers' request, but in practical terms this does seem to imply that Marcho and Blanco must have made the journey northward from Bree to the royal city of Fornost, and been granted an audience with King Argeleb.
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See also...
Argeleb II, Bree, Bree-hobbits, Bridge of Stonebows, Fallohides, Four Farthings, Hobbits, King of Arthedain, Marcho, River Baranduin, Shire-hobbits, Shire-reckoning, The Shire
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- Updated 27 May 2026
- This entry is complete
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