LotR -- Book 1 - Chapter 03 - Three Is Company

[mark12_30]

Hookbill, I believe the term is "landed gentry". In other words, he (and Bilbo) were independantly wealthy. Some have referred to Bilbo as an eccentric millionaire. Perhaps that's not so far off the mark. He certainly was a big spender.

In terms of Sam and Mr. Frodo Sir, below is a tidbit which clarified the relationship for me. Thanks to Squatter and Rimbaud; their use of the phrase "officer and batman" gave me something to google on. Perhaps they have more light to shed.

And here is a link to the original article at TORn:
JRR Tolkien and World War I - Nancy Marie Ott

Sam Gamgee, British Soldier

Tolkien had a great deal of respect for the privates and NCOs (non-commissioned officers) with whom he served in France. Officers did not make friends among the enlisted men, of course; the system did not allow it and there was a wide gulf of class differences between them. Officers generally came from the upper and middle classes; enlisted men usually came from the lower classes. However, each officer was assigned a batman – a servant who looked after his belongings and took care of him.

Tolkien got to know several of his batmen very well. These men and other men in Tolkien's battalion served as inspiration for the character Sam Gamgee. As Tolkien later wrote, "My 'Sam Gamgee' is indeed a reflection of the English soldier, of the privates and batmen I knew in the 1914 war, and recognized as so far superior to myself." Sam represents the courage, endurance and steadfastness of the British soldier, as well as his limited imagination and parochial viewpoint. Sam is stubbornly optimistic and refuses to give up, even when things seem hopeless. Indeed, the resiliency of Hobbits in general, their love of comfort, their sometimes hidden courage, and their conservative outlook owe much to Tolkien’s view of ordinary enlisted men.