The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Location
In the Shire's Northfarthing, northward of Hobbiton
Race
Culture
Settlements
The nearest village was Needlehole, some miles westward of the wood
Meaning
Presumably named in reference to the tangled boles or trunks of its trees (but see the text for a discussion of the alternative spelling Bindbale)
Other names
Sometimes spelt Bindbale Wood

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 7 March 2022
  • This entry is complete

Bindbole Wood

A northern wood of the Shire

Map of Bindbole Wood
Bindbole Wood in the Shire's Northfarthing (slightly conjectural)1
Bindbole Wood in the Shire's Northfarthing (slightly conjectural)1

A woodland area lying some fifteen miles to the north of Hobbiton, across the border of the Northfarthing. A 'bole' is a tree-trunk, so the wood's name 'Bindbole' suggests a dense and tangled forest. The northern limit of Bindbole Wood is not shown on any map, so it is hard to be sure how extensive it was. However, given that much of the Northfarthing was either farmland or moorland, the wood was presumably relatively small in size.

Note that many sources give the name of this wood as Bindbale, but 'Bindbole' is definitely the original spelling. However, Tolkien himself seems to have interpreted the name 'Bindbale' on at least one occasion, and apparently considered it to be somehow meaningful. In this sense, the name possibly refers to the nearby croplands in some way (to 'bind a bale' is to bring harvested crops together into a bundle or package).


Notes

1

No canonical map shows the northern extent of Bindbole Wood, and so the map for this entry shows only its southern parts. In fact the northern sections of this map, especially the location of Needlehole, are nonetheless slightly conjectural in nature. Needlehole is not shown on any map, but the known route of the road that runs toward it seems to imply that it lay relatively close to Bindbole Wood.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 7 March 2022
  • This entry is complete

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