A hamlet or village in the northern part of the Shire's Eastfarthing, in the hilly region westward of Scary. This was one of the more outlying parts of the Shire, which was perhaps the reason that a band of Hobbit rebels hid here for a time when 'Sharkey' took control of the Shire during the War of the Ring.
The name of this place is given as 'Brockenbores' in the text of The Lord of the Rings, but as 'Brockenborings' on the map that accompanies the trilogy. Both versions of the name have the same meaning, and translate approximately as 'badger-burrowings'.
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Tolkien explains the name Brockenbores in his notes for translators of The Lord of the Rings as meaning 'badgers' borings' or 'badgers' tunnellings'. He intentionally gave it the form of an English village name, but did not believe that a place with exactly that name existed. He was correct, though there are numerous places in England with names starting with Brock-, and one case of Brocken- (specifically, Brockenhurst in Hampshire). These real place-names are, however, only rarely related to badgers; more usually they suggest the existence of a person named 'Broca' in the history of the village, or that the land there was broken or uneven.
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- Updated 2 October 2019
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