[Lady Of Light]

I just finished LOTR the second time through, and I wondered about "The Scouring of the Shire". It was never fully clear to me what initially caused those problems. I know that Saruman important, but did Lotho have anything to do with the beginning of it? It seems to me that the destruction was quite far-reaching, and I doubt that Saruman was there for long enough to start it (remember they met him on the way to Rivendell, and he was on foot.)

What, do you think, was his full purpose? Was he so far off his rocker that it was just to spite the hobbits? I'm interested to know what you think! [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img]