A little-known family of Hobbits associated with Hobbiton in the Shire. In fact, this family is so little-known that we have only a single reference to one of its members: Daddy Twofoot, who was a neighbour of the Gamgees on Bagshot Row (and given that the Gamgees lived at Number 3 on the Row, Daddy Twofoot must have occupied Number 2). With no further history of the family available, it is impossible to say how long they had lived in Hobbiton (indeed, strictly speaking, it is conceivable that Daddy Twofoot was the only Hobbit to use this name, though the name 'Daddy' implies that he was probably a father, suggesting at least two generations of the family).
Based on the brief recorded comments made by Daddy Twofoot, he had rather a parochial attitude, disapproving of the people of Buckland (only about forty miles from his home) with their peculiar customs and attitudes. If the Twofoot family did reach back into history, then, this would seem to imply that they had not strayed far from the familiar town of Hobbiton and its environs.
The origins of the name 'Twofoot' are unclear: it may simply mean 'having two feet', though that would hardly have been a distinguishing feature. Alternatively, it seems at least as likely that it referred to the short stature of the family's members (the shortest Hobbits were said to have been approximately two feet high, so perhaps the Twofoot Hobbits were among the smallest examples of their kind).
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- Updated 2 September 2024
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