On the other hand, the Gaffer (Sam’s father) was more likely acknowledging the “class difference” between his family and Frodo’s family when talking about Frodo’s parents (Mr. Sam wasn’t merely being polite, but he was acknowledging Frodo’s station. When Master Samwise reported the ‘departure over Sea’ of Bilbo (and Frodo) in 1421, it was still held impossible to presume death and when Master Samwise became Mayor in 1427, a rule was made that: ‘if any inhabitant of the Shire shall pass over Sea in the presence of a reliable witness, with the expressed intention not to return, or in circumstances plainly implying such an intention, he or she shall be deemed to have relinquished all titles rights or properties previously held or occupied, and the heir or heirs thereof shall forthwith enter into possession of these titles, rights, or properties, as is directed by established custom, or by the will and disposition of the departed, as the case may require.’ Presumably the title of ‘head’ then passed to the descendants of Ponto Baggins – probably Ponto (II). Otho died in 1412, his son Lotho was murdered in 1419, and his wife Lobelia died in 1420. Otho Sackville-Baggins was heir to this title – quite apart from questions of property that would have arisen if his cousin Bilbo had died intestate but after the legal fiasco of 1342 (when Bilbo returned alive after being ‘presumed dead’) no one dared to presume his death again. The Baggins headship then, owing to the strange events, fell into doubt. Bilbo did not succeed, until the death of his Took mother. As she was 7 years younger than her husband (who died at the age of 93 in SY 1300), she held this position for 16 years, until SY 1316 and her son Bungo did not become ‘head’, until he was 70, ten years before he died at the early age of 80. Laura Baggins (née Grubb) remained ‘head’ of the family of ‘Baggins of Hobbiton’, until she was 102. This title thus did not descend to the son, or other heir, while she lived, unless she voluntarily resigned.* It could, therefore, happen in various circumstances that a long-lived woman of forceful character remained ‘head of the family’, until she had full-grown grandchildren. If the master died first, his place was taken by his wife, and this included (if he had held that position) the titular headship of a large family or clan. Either was held to be the proper representative of the other in the case of absence (including death). It was a ‘dyarchy’, in which master and mistress had equal status, if different functions. But the government of a ‘family’, as of the real unit: the ‘household’, was not a monarchy (except by accident). In the case of large powerful families (such as the Tooks), still cohesive even when they had become very numerous, and more what we might call clans, the head was properly the eldest male of what was considered the most direct line of descent. …the titular head of the family was usually the eldest male. Tolkien shared some insight into how Hobbit family leadership worked in the Shire in Letter No. Frodo was, in fact, Master of Bag End and (clan) Head of the Baggins family, which was a position of some prominence within Shire society and actually made Frodo a local leader. There is no question that Sam is being respectful toward Frodo but the Shire’s aristocratic hierarchy is often overlooked by readers, no doubt because Tolkien rarely mentions it. “Mister Frodo” is Sam’s way of showing respect to his employer. Frodo” usually note that in English (British) usage Mister is a rustic or - as the Etymology Dictionary Online says - “unaccented variant of master“. Is he being merely respectful or is there more to their relationship? Q: Why Does Sam Call Frodo Mr?ĪNSWER: People trying to answer the question “Why does Sam call him Mr. Sam Gamgee always refers to Frodo Baggins as “Master Frodo” or “Mister Frodo”.
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