dietlbomb
Member
The book doesn't give us much on the history of Bree. It says that according to the tales of the Breelanders "they were the original inhabitants and were the descendents of the first Men that ever wandered into the West of the middle-world." But it's not necessary that we believe this. Note that the Breelanders have almost zero memory of the days of Arnor.
Arthedain was destroyed in TA 1974, and the hobbits arrive in Bree in TA 3018. To the characters in the story, Arnor is extremely ancient. As readers of Tolkien, we're used to taking the long view of Middle-Earth history, and seeing the the story from the perspective of people with extremely long lives and memories. But the Breelanders and the hobbits aren't exactly genre-savvy.
What I'm seeing in the Lotro adaptation of Bree is a newer city built on the ruins of an older destroyed city. The Bree buildings look old, but not ancient. It reminds me of newer buildings surrounding Roman ruins in medieval European cities.
This is compatible with Bree having existed before the arrival of the Dunedain, but in a different form. Perhaps when the Dunedain arrived, they built up the original Bree city into a big city. But that city was destroyed in the civil wars, and Bree returned to its humble roots as a trading post along the East-West road. The Breelanders gradually built a new city with a new--500 years old instead of 7000--hedge and dyke. They could have then built their buildings and walls around the ruins of the Arnorian city, and pillaged the ruins for building materials.
So Bree could be 7000 years old, but its buildings, hedge, and dyke could be much newer.
Arthedain was destroyed in TA 1974, and the hobbits arrive in Bree in TA 3018. To the characters in the story, Arnor is extremely ancient. As readers of Tolkien, we're used to taking the long view of Middle-Earth history, and seeing the the story from the perspective of people with extremely long lives and memories. But the Breelanders and the hobbits aren't exactly genre-savvy.
What I'm seeing in the Lotro adaptation of Bree is a newer city built on the ruins of an older destroyed city. The Bree buildings look old, but not ancient. It reminds me of newer buildings surrounding Roman ruins in medieval European cities.
This is compatible with Bree having existed before the arrival of the Dunedain, but in a different form. Perhaps when the Dunedain arrived, they built up the original Bree city into a big city. But that city was destroyed in the civil wars, and Bree returned to its humble roots as a trading post along the East-West road. The Breelanders gradually built a new city with a new--500 years old instead of 7000--hedge and dyke. They could have then built their buildings and walls around the ruins of the Arnorian city, and pillaged the ruins for building materials.
So Bree could be 7000 years old, but its buildings, hedge, and dyke could be much newer.
