Quote:
Originally Posted by Inziladun
If hobbits were accustomed to trade with dwarves, why were they 'startled', and thinking the dwarves 'outlandish'?
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You just say it yourself:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Inziladun
In fact, the Shire-folk seemed extremely insular, regarding even distant relatives living in Bree with distrust.
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That's it. For the Hobbits, anybody from the outside was queer. Hey, even farmer Maggot was queer for people from Hobbitton, and vice versa! I think just a person who had regular contact with Dwarves, like Bilbo, would be considered weird - but there had to be some trade between the Dwarves and Hobbits, it may not have been anything long-time established, but just those guys who would journey through the Shire would sell their goods, and there will be a few "a bit queer" Hobbits having long-time trade relations with the Dwarves, and those would make their goods available further in the Shire.