What Type of Hobbit Is Frodo? (& Who Are Fallohides)

While we look at The Lord of the Rings as a tale of great heroes among Men and Elves, we often forget that the Hobbits were some of the greatest heroes of the entire storyline. Frodo Baggins, the one who bore the One Ring and brought it to Mount Doom, happens to be one of the greatest of heroes. Of course, while we look at Hobbits as all the same as each other, the truth is that they are actually quite different from one another because there are three subtypes of Hobbits. So, what kind of Hobbit is Frodo?

Frodo Baggins is a Fallohide, which is a type of Hobbit that is taller and leaner than the other two types of Hobbits. Fallohides are also known to be more gifted in the arts than the other Hobbits and prefer to hunt than till and fish. On top of that, Fallohides don’t grow beards.

Even among the Hobbits, there are differences between them as not all of them are the same as each other. That’s why some Hobbits tend to look different compared to others. Of course, in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the Hobbits there specifically call themselves Harfoots, which is another subtype of Hobbit. That said, let’s talk more about Frodo and Fallohides.

What Type Of Hobbit Is Frodo?

When it comes to The Lord of the Rings, we often look at the storyline as an ensemble cast of great characters that each have their own stories to tell in the grander narrative. Every character is a hero in their own right, but we can’t help but focus more on the storyline of Frodo, who is said to be the greatest hero of them all because he was the one who bore the greatest burden: The One Ring.

The thing about Frodo Baggins is that he is but a mere Hobbit or Halfling, which are the smallest race of people that live in Middle-Earth. Nevertheless, he was the one who carried the heaviest burden by bringing the One Ring to Mount Doom and contributing to its destruction. And the fact that he is a Hobbit, which is smaller and weaker than all of the other races in Middle-Earth, makes his feat much more impressive.

Of course, when we look at Hobbits, we often look at them as one and the same race of people. But the fact is that there are actually three different types of Hobbits: Harfoots, Stoors, and Fallohides. So, what kind of Hobbit is Frodo?

There was a point in time when all of the different types of Hobbits lived separately from one another due to the fact that they had different cultures and appearances compared to one another. One case in point is the fact that the Harfoots lived as a community during the events of The Rings of Power. However, during the Third Age, all of the different types of Hobbits started living with one another in different communities, such as the Shire. That’s why there came the point when the Hobbits became one people and were difficult to differentiate from one another in terms of their types.

However, Frodo Baggins is actually more of a Fallohide than any of the other types of Hobbit. That’s because they have Took and Brandybuck genetics in them, and these are two of the most prominent clans among the Fallohides. The Took clan were not pure Fallohides but were known to have a lot of distinct Fallohide qualities that made them stand out when compared to the other Hobbits.

In that regard, there came the point in time when the different types of Hobbits had already comingled with one another to the point that their bloodlines had already mixed. That’s why most of the Hobbits that existed during the latter part of the Third Age were already most likely hybrids, just like Frodo, who may be a hybrid of different Hobbits but is more of a Fallohide.

What Are Fallohides?

As mentioned, there are different types of Hobbits that exist in Tolkien’s Legendarium. Frodo, for instance, is probably the most prominent out of all of the different Hobbits and Fallohides. But what makes a Fallohide from all of the other Hobbits?

Fallohides may be small as well, but they are regarded as the tallest of all of the Hobbits, as they can actually reach four feet in height. On the other hand, the Harfoots tend to be the smallest out of all of the Hobbits. Meanwhile, Fallohides are also not like other Hobbits that tend to be plump and stout. Instead, they are slimmer and leaner than most of their counterparts and do not have the capacity to grow beards (as seen from the fact that Frodo has no beard).

Another thing that distinguishes a Fallohide from the other Hobbits is the fact that they are more skilled in the arts than Harfoots and Stoors. They are better at language, handicrafts, songwriting, and other similar arts, although the other Hobbit types can also be skilled in the arts as well. Fallohides, due to being taller and leaner, are also much more likely to hunt than to till or fish.

Fallohides are also friendlier toward the Elves compared to the other types of Hobbits, and that can be seen in the fact that both Frodo and his uncle Bilbo have a lot of different friends among the Elves. However, the Fallohides used to be the fewest among the Hobbits.

Who Are Fallohides?

As mentioned, due to the fact that the different types of Hobbits had started living with each other in mixed communities during the Third Age, most of the Hobbits already had mixed bloodline and ancestries, even though some of them were more likely to have qualities that came from certain types of Hobbits.

Frodo, for instance, was not a pure Fallohide but had more Fallohide qualities because of the fact that he had Took and Brandybuck blood in his ancestry. Of course, his uncle, Bilbo, is also more of a Fallohide because of the fact that he shares the same ancestry as Frodo.

The two other prominent Hobbits that also exhibit more Fallohide qualities are Peregrin “Pippin” Took and Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck. That’s because they both came from the Took and the Brandybuck clans, which are known for having more Fallohide qualities than the other Hobbit clans.

Another famous Fallohide is Bandobras “Bullroarer” Took, who slew an Orc leader because of his massive size. He was said to be around 4’5” (already big for a Hobbit) and was so big that he could ride an actual horse instead of a pony.