The Shire was a country in northwestern Middle-earth, inhabited by the hobbits. It was located in the region of Eriador, and was under the control of the Reunited Kingdom as a Free Land. By the late Third Age it was one of the few heavily-populated areas left in Eriador. Its name in Westron was Sûza, "Shire," or Sûzat, "The Shire." Contrary to popular misconception, the Shire was not the birthplace of Frodo Baggins, as he was born in Buckland, which at the time was not formally part of the…
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