The Longetivity of Hobbits.

[Firefoot]

The first thing that jumped to my mind was how smaller dogs live longer than big ones, and I found a pretty interesting explanation for that here. So regardless of the literary symbolism, it also seems scientifically valid for hobbits to live longer. Though I guess that might get into a discussion of whether Men and Hobbits biologically belong to the same species...

[Nerwen]

Hobbits may be part of the human race, but they're not exactly *standard* humans- I would have said a slower biological clock is just one of the differences. Certainly a healthy lifestyle would help- but it wouldn't, in itself, extend adolescence past the age of thirty.

[Mithadan]

I was thinking more in terms of why, in terms of the mythos, Hobbits might be longer lived than average humans. I do not disagree with any of the "clean living" comments above, other than to note that the Hobbits lived in a primarily agrarian culture which sometimes is less conducive to longevity.

The Dunedain were longer lived in part as a reward for their loyalty and service during the First Age. Could there have been some merit inherent in the Hobbits that justified their longer lives? Or perhaps their role in events could have somehow been foreseen, or even planned by Eru? There is, to my knowledge, no direct textual evidence of this, so I am speculating.

Letters provides some very slight insight. Hobbits are described as a branch of the human race that had gone entirely unnoticed by the "great" until the Third Age. Letter no. 131. So it could not be said that they were involved in any of the great events of the First Age (a certain RPG to the contrary). However, Bilbo is later described as having been "selected by the authority and Gandalf" (because he was abnormal) and they were "ordained individuals inspired and guided by an Emissary." Letter no. 281.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Mithadan

Hobbits are described as a branch of the human race that had gone entirely unnoticed by the "great" until the Third Age. Letter no. 131. So it could not be said that they were involved in any of the great events of the First Age (a certain RPG to the contrary). However, Bilbo is later described as having been "selected by the authority and Gandalf" (because he was abnormal) and they were "ordained individuals inspired and guided by an Emissary." Letter no. 281.

As you say, it can only be speculation, but maybe Hobbits were allotted a greater span to afford them a decent sized population, in order to provide for a greater selection from which a "suitable" individual could be chosen as Ring-bearer.
If so, that seems a bit calculating on behalf on the race's "maker", though it certainly does not seem to have caused any distress to them.

On a tangential note, it's really amazing that Gollum the Stoor was able to live to such an advanced age with the help of the Ring. Was that too a product of his innate longevity?

[Belegorn]

That was the Ring itself. Otherwise he was still some remnant of himself after possessing it for so long. He did not always wear it when under the mountain so that may have helped in his not being totally bound to the Ring.

[Faramir Jones]

I was interested to read what you had to say here, Inziladun, then Belegorn:

On a tangential note, it's really amazing that Gollum the Stoor was able to live to such an advanced age with the help of the Ring. Was that too a product of his innate longevity?

That was the Ring itself. Otherwise he was still some remnant of himself after possessing it for so long. He did not always wear it when under the mountain so that may have helped in his not being totally bound to the Ring.

I agree that Gollum's longevity was due to his hobbit nature plus the Ring. While I don't have LotR to hand, I recall Gandalf telling Frodo, after recounting the story of Gollum, how he got the Ring, and how he had it for so long, that hobbits seemed as soft as butter, but as tough as old tree roots. He was honestly admitting that while he was interested in hobbits, and had known them for a long time, there was a lot about them he did not know.

Gandalf said that while he was always suspicious about the Ring, because of Bilbo lying about how he got it, he let things pass, even though that hobbit continued to look youthful for his age, by saying to himself that he was from a long-lived (for hobbits) family on his mother's side. This was a reference to the Old Took, his maternal grandfather, who lived to 130.

What I've always liked about Tolkien is that he never explicitly called Gollum a hobbit. All he was prepared to say was once that Gollum looked like a very ancient hobbit. This was to ask the question that if something like the Ring makes a mortal being from a particular race live far longer than his or her normal time span, is that person still a member of that race?

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Faramir Jones

This was to ask the question that if something like the Ring makes a mortal being from a particular race live far longer than his or her normal time span, is that person still a member of that race?

The keeper of the Ring is not fundamentally altered in what they are. A Man remains a Man, a Hobbit (or quasi-Hobbit), a Hobbit. He "borrows" Sauron's natural immortality while he bears it, and when that influence is removed, nature takes its course.
Witness how Bilbo was affected. At the time of the Council of Elrond, Bilbo was old, but still sound in mind and body. After the Ring was destroyed, he very quickly showed his age by sleeping a great deal and becoming very forgetful.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Originally Posted by Nerwen

Hobbits may be part of the human race, but they're not exactly *standard* humans- I would have said a slower biological clock is just one of the differences. Certainly a healthy lifestyle would help- but it wouldn't, in itself, extend adolescence past the age of thirty.

I'm not sure however that that's the case. I have always thought (with partial support from CRT, although he doesn't "know" the correct answer), that the Shire-Hobbit coming of age at 33 had nothing to do with physical maturity, but rather the university professor's droll observation that no sensible society would consider young people in their tweens to be "adults."

Heck, even for us 21, or 18, are not really tied to physical (sexual) maturity, which hits at about 13-14 years, but rather represent the minimum age at which we think kids might have a lick of sense.

Bilbo and Frodo just before they set out each at the age of 50 were described as "middle-aged bachelors."

Note that despite the long lifespan of the Dunedain, they matured no more slowly than ordinary men: they came of age at 21 (that was when Elrond revealed "Estel's" true identity to him and gave him the Sword and the Ring.)

[Ivriniel]

Seems to me that the longevity implies something about sinew, will and resistance to evil (of greed). The longevity of Numenorean seems somehow not accidental.

I don't think the longevity to be attributable to environment (nurture). 31 is the age of maturity of hobbit.

It seems also unsurprising suddenly that Hobbit and Dunedain were the two races most implicated in resistance to the Nazgul/Sauronic purpose. The presence of Hobbits seemed 'ordained', 'fated', or that wildcard that Sauron had not anticipated and of the mysterious will of Eru.