The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
The only known member, Will Whitfoot, was extant at the time of the War of the Ring
Race
Culture
Settlements
Probably associated with Michel Delving1
Pronunciation
whi'tfoot
Meaning
'White foot'

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About this entry:

  • Updated 31 May 2014
  • This entry is complete

Whitfoot Family

The family of Old Will

A family of Shire-hobbits. The family name means simply 'white foot', and suggests a connection with the chalky White Downs around Michel Delving in the Westfarthing of the Shire. That connection certainly existed for the only named member of the family, Will Whitfoot, who was Mayor of the Shire at the time of the War of the Ring. He presided over the Shire from the Town Hole at Michel Delving, which at one time collapsed, covering Will in chalk dust and earning him the nickname 'Flourdumpling'. Some time later, after Sharkey took over, Old Will was imprisoned for a time in the Lockholes, the old storage tunnels cut into the chalk of the White Downs.


Notes

1

Many Hobbit families are explicitly associated with their own 'folklands' (such as the Tooks with the Tookland, the Boffins with the Yale, and so on). There is no such explicit association established for the Whitfoots, but there is circumstantial evidence to link the family with the Shire's chief town of Michel Delving in the Westfarthing. Not only was there a direct connection between Mayor Will Whitfoot and the town, but the source of the family name ('white foot') implies a more historical connection with the chalky White Downs around Michel Delving.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 31 May 2014
  • This entry is complete

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