What Are Harfoots in The Rings if Power? Are They Hobbits?
It wouldn’t be an LOTR storyline without the little people, as we did see small people during the events of the first two episodes of The Rings of Power. Of course, these little people seemed to be similar to the ones we saw in The Lord of the Rings, except for the fact that they referred to themselves as Harfoots, a term that some fans might not be familiar with. So, what are Harfoots in The Rings of Power, and are they also Hobbits?
Harfoots are actually Hobbits. In fact, there are three different breeds of Hobbits, as Harfoots are simply one of those three types. Unlike the other Hobbits, Harfoots are smaller in terms of size and browner in terms of complexion. Harfoots are also forest-dwelling Hobbits and are mostly migratory people.
Even though Harfoots are similar to other types of Hobbits in the sense that they are small and peaceful people, they are quite different in terms of their appearance and when it comes to some of their habits. Of course, Harfoots are still just as happy-go-lucky as most other Hobbits, and that is what makes them just as special. In that regard, let’s get to know more about the Harfoots.
What Are Harfoots In The Rings Of Power?
It has always been the case that The Lord of the Rings follows the story of small people that tend to be smaller than the rest of the different characters in the storyline but are just as big in terms of their hearts and courage. Even though we had great men, wizards, elves, and strong dwarves throughout the history of JRR Tolkien’s writings, the unlikely heroes came in the form of smaller people.
We saw this in The Lord of the Rings when a Hobbit named Frodo Baggins was the one who was tasked to destroy the One Ring. Accompanied by his best friend, Samwise Gamgee, they set out on a quest in a world that is far larger than they could ever imagine because they were cooped up in their small and quiet lives in the Shire.
Then, in The Hobbit, which is set decades before the events of The Lord of the Rings, we get to meet Bilbo Baggins, who is the titular Hobbit of the storyline. This story tells the tale of how Bilbo assisted a group of dwarves in their quest to take the Lonely Mountain back from the dragon named Smaug. Of course, The Hobbit is the prelude to The Lord of the Rings because it shows us how Bilbo got hold of the One Ring.
Meanwhile, even though we know that a good part of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will revolve around Galadriel and all of the other great characters that we were only able to hear from the historical stories of The Lord of the Rings, we did see little people early in episode 1. After all, no LOTR storyline will ever be complete without little people helping out in a cause that is much greater than themselves.
The little person in focus was Nori Brandyfoot, a troublemaking girl that loved to wander out in the forest to seek food and have fun. Of course, Nori is part of a larger group of little people that refer to themselves as Harfoots. So, what are Harfoots in The Rings of Power?
We didn’t hear a lot about the term “Harfoot” in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. However, this was the first time that this term was used to specifically refer to a certain breed of Hobbit. In that regard, Harfoots are actually just Hobbits. In fact, there are three breeds of Hobbits: Harfoots, Stoors, and Fallohides. They may have differences in terms of their appearances and habitats, but they are all just Hobbits.
As shown in the events of The Rings of Power, the Harfoots tend to be migratory Hobbits that move from one place to another whenever they see that there is a need for them to migrate. They often stay in forested areas because that is where they get most of their food and resources from. And like any other Hobbit, the Harfoots tend to be quite simple in terms of how they approach their lives as they prefer to keep things easy and small.
By the time of The Lord of the Rings in the Third Age, the Harfoots were already part of the entire Shire community, and that’s why we don’t often hear Frodo (a Fallohide Hobbit) and the other Hobbits distinguishing themselves from their Harfoot counterparts in terms of their breed. In a sense, the Hobbits became one collective people because the Harfoots began mingling with the Fallohides and the Stoors. In fact, the Harfoots were actually the most common Hobbits in the Third Age, as they outnumbered the Fallohides and the Stoors.
How Are Harfoots Different From The Other Hobbits?
Even though Harfoots are simply part of the entire “Hobbit” umbrella term, they are still quite unique in their own right in the sense that there are some things that make them different. So, how are the Harfoots different from the other Hobbits?
First off, Harfoots tend to be shorter and smaller than the other Hobbits. We saw this in The Rings of Power when the Harfoots were shown to be a bit smaller than the Hobbits we saw in The Lord of the Rings. But the size difference might be negligible, considering that all Hobbits are quite small.
Second, Harfoots tend to have browner skin compared to the other Hobbits. We saw this in The Rings of Power, as most of the Harfoots (save for Nori) have tan or dark skin. Of course, Frodo and his friends were all Fallohides, and we did see them having fairer skin compared to the Harfoots that we saw in The Rings of Power.
Third, while the Fallohides we saw in The Lord of the Rings were friendly towards elves and were also able to mingle with men, the Harfoots are friendlier towards dwarves, as they often travel through the High Pass because they are migratory people.
Other than that, there aren’t a lot of differences between the Harfoots and the other Hobbits. They are just as simple and humble as their cousins from the other Hobbit breeds and are also as predisposed to mischief and gossip. They represent the simple people who live simple and quiet lives in the countryside, just like any other Hobbit back in the events of The Lord of the Rings.
