Hobbit-hole

From the One Wiki to Rule Them All, the Lord of the Rings Encyclopedia.

Hobbits preferred to dwell in holes called Hobbit-holes; they felt most at home in underground tunnels. Their belief was that all Hobbits had once dwelt underground but by the time of the War of the Ring, it was primarily the very wealthy and the very poor who did so. The wealthy built luxurious tunnels, called "smials." Brandy Hall, as an example, had three front doors, many side doors, and around a hundred windows. Bag End, home of Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggins could be called a smial. The Took family lived in the Great Smials. On the other hand, the poor lived in basic burrows, with perhaps only a single window. Hobbit-holes usually had round windows and doors.