Fans Share Obscure 'Lord of the Rings' Lore On Bilbo Baggins

From Redditoru/DeCoder68W:

Bilbo was a gentleman farmer. He owned the hill and surrounding lands, including farmland he rented to farmers and people like the Gamgees. His own property was Bag End and the garden. He was a landlord to other families besides the Gamgees. He faced few costs because he inherited the properties and there were no property taxes. Farmers who worked his land paid him rent, usually after the season ended.

The Sackville-Bagginses wanted everything, but Bag End itself was the best home. It was implied to be the nicest house nearby.

From Redditoru/cacafogo:

When Bilbo was younger, he showed more curiosity than other Hobbits. He asked Gandalf many questions about the world outside the Shire. Later, Gandalf heard from Shire folk that Bilbo often vanished for days, sometimes talking to dwarves and other strange things. His family history included some Took traits, but not too much Baggins. His parents died young, and he never married. Smaug did not recognize a hobbit's smell, and hobbits are naturally stealthy; this was a clear choice. Gandalf needed speed, so he pushed things along.

From Redditoru/ClickerMonkey:

Hobbits do not seek power like men do. This makes Bilbo less tied to the ring.

From Redditoru/naner00:

In the early drafts ofThe Hobbit, Bilbo kills Smaug using the power of the Arken Stone.

I like imagining Tolkien told this oral story to his child this way.

Later, he had to change it to fit a book.

From Redditoru/harabanaz:

Inheritance. Perhaps it was also a tenant system. Gaffer Gamgee dug the garden for Bilbo, and Holman dug it before him. I do not know if he got payment from the Master of the Manor's money, or if it was a tenant's job.

From Redditoru/zebrake2010:

This is how I understood it. I would call it 'lack of bills' more than wealth.

Bag End was a family home. There were no car, electric, or internet bills. Thoreau wrote about how little work needed to keep a garden for one person. I would say Bilbo did some things, but he had the free time he wanted.

Then, a midlife crisis. Adventures! Dwarves. Sadly, his reputation was ruined.

From Redditoru/FredAstaireTappedTht:

Tolkien, as the narrator, credits Bilbo with creating the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle the Cat and the Fiddle." The song appears inFellowship of the Ring this way.

From Redditoru/Catullan:

Bilbo's actions after finding the Ring—the first being an act of pity and mercy—might have changed the Ring's hold on him.

Isildur faced a different choice than Bilbo. He chose to destroy the Ring instead of giving it up. Few hobbits would choose that action at that moment.

Redditor.u/amarie54:

Bilbo Baggins thought of bacon first when he picked up the Ring.