AUTHOR'S NOTES -
CHAPTER 15: FATE
He opened his eyes, and the sight of the red ink reminded him that he needed to make a new will, now that Sam was married. He yawned and shuffled his papers around aimlessly. He was finding it difficult to get back into his writing.
The Fellowship of the Rings, A Long Expected Party: Otho would have been Bilbo’s heir, but for the adoption of Frodo. He read the will carefully and snorted. It was, unfortunately, very clear and correct (according to the legal customs of the hobbits, which demanded among other things seven signatures of witnesses in red ink).
‘He said as how he were glad Sam had someone to look after him, ‘cause he were taken ill when he were staying with ‘em. ‘Bout the middle of Rethe he said when I pressed him on it, and he thought a Trewsday.’
Return of the King, Appendix D: “In the Shire calendar, Midyear’s day, and in leap years, Overlithe, were outside the named days of the week. In this way, the hobbits ensured the same date fell on the same day each year, a system they found tidier and more convenient.” and “Every year began on the first day of the week, Saturday.”
Rethe 13 would therefore always fall on a Trewsday (Tuesday)
He had been led by fate all the way to Mount Doom. Gandalf had insisted he was meant to have the Ring, and Elrond had also believed this.
The Fellowship of the Ring, The Shadow of the Past: Gandalf: “‘Behind that there was something else at work, beyond any design of the Ring-maker. I can put it no plainer than saying Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and not by its maker. In which case you also were meant to have it. And that may be an encouraging thought.’” and “‘But you have been chosen, and you must therefore use what strength and heart and wits as you have.’”
The Fellowship of the Ring, The Council of Elrond: Elrond: “‘If I understand aright all that I have heard, I think this task is appointed to you, Frodo; and that if you do not find a way, no one will.’”
His joy was tempered by a new sense of loss. By death or departure, he would lose Sam and the Shire; would he also lose a daughter?
Reading the Epilogue, in The History of Middle-earth, vol. 9, Sauron Defeated, I was forcibly struck by the description of Elanor. I actually gasped as the idea that she was not Samwise’s daughter leapt out of the page at me. Of course, she could be his daughter: the dust from Galadriel’s orchard could have influenced the children born in the Shire that year - many of whom had rich golden hair - and that is how I have always read The Return of the King in the past. But is it also possible that one Baggins (of Took/Brandybuck descent) and one promiscuous Took were responsible for the golden haired children born in 1420 and 1421? (And yes, I do know that two of Sam’s other children also had golden hair). It was an intriguing enough idea for me to want to see if I could work it into a convincing story.
That I have made fair hair a Tookish/Brandybuck trait is based on The Fellowship of the Rings, The Prologue :
The Fallohides were fairer of skin, and also of hair, and they were taller and slimmer than the others... They were more friendly with Elves than the other hobbits were, and more skilled in language and song than in handicrafts... but being somewhat bolder and more adventurous, they were often found as leaders or chieftains among clans of Harfoots or Stoors. Even in Bilbo’s time the strong Fallohidish strain could still be noted among the great families, such as the Tooks and the Masters of Buckland.
The following passages appear in History of Middle-earth, vol. 9, Sauron Defeated, The Epilogue:
“...and on a stool beside him sat Elanor, and she was a beautiful child more fair-skinned than most hobbit maids and more slender... “
“‘not bigger than Mr. Peregrin of Tuckborough,’ said
Pippin, ‘and he's got hair that is almost golden.’”
Version 2 of the Epilogue:
“She was a beautiful girl, more fair of skin than most hobbit maids, and more slender, and the firelight glinted in her red-gold hair. To her, by gift if not by inheritance, a memory of elven-grace had descended.”
The passage does not say “by gift and not by inheritance”, but “by gift if not by inheritance”. What a tease that Tolkien is. In version one of The Epilogue, Elanor calls Sam 'daddy', but in version 2, she calls him Sam-dad. It seems an unusual name to call her father. Maybe Sam and Rosie taught Elanor to say this when she was a small child, to make the distinction from her Frodo-dad. Just a thought.
The Return of the Kings, Appendix B. Elanor is the only one of Sam's children invited to be maid of honour to Queen Arwen in Minas Tirith. The invitation is given during the Royal Visit to the borders of the Shire. Why is she the only one so honoured?
I must add here that this is not an attempt to insist that Elanor is Frodo’s daughter. My motivation is simply to explore the possibility that she might be. As long as you find it believable within All That I Had, I am content. Apart from that, I am quite happy to read Lord of the Rings and believe Elanor was Sam’s eldest child.