Chapter Two
Bucca of the Marish
The name Bucca Oldbuck, or Bucca of the Marish, is one of great significance in Shire history. Though, as with Marcho and Blanco, the many years between his time and our own have resulted in such a name becoming lost to many. But it was he who began a long line that has lasted for over a thousand years to this very day.
As you have read in the previous chapter, Marcho and Blanco were granted the lands of the Shire by the King of Arthedain. For three hundred and seventy four years the hobbits nominally accepted the rule of the king. This was until the Kingdom of Arthedain fell to a dark power after the death of King Arvedui (so he is named in lore). Despite this defeat, the Shire was unaffected – for it was not a land that was worth conquest. But now, the Shire-folk and their country were alone with no king to defend them against threats that loomed abroad. A few years after the death of the king the hobbits convened and elected one to rule in place of the absent king. So Bucca of the Marish became the first Thain – ‘chief’. Bucca’s parentage, spouse, or even children are irritatingly unrecorded. However it takes no great deal of mind to know where his birthplace was. He was quite clearly born in the Marsh, within the Eastfarthing. Who his contenders were for the thainship is unknown, and what characteristics he possessed that made him the best choice are also not recorded. However, it is my belief (though no genealogical records exist to prove or disprove me) that he, Bucca, was descended from Marcho and Blanco – who founded the Shire. If this is the case, then he may have been elected due to his ancestry.
At this time, the Thain was a more significant position than it is today – in the days of Bucca there was no Mayor of Michel Delving, and he was recognised as the highest authority among the hobbits. The Thain Bucca saw that his country and people were well defended, now that the lands outside the boundaries of the Shire were unpredictable and dangerous. Under his rule the Shire remained peaceful and no enemy troubled them. I can only assume that it was within the Marish, on the western banks of the Brandywine, is where he continued to dwell after becoming Thain. My reasoning for such a belief is that his descendants continued to dwell there, so it is likely that it was their ancestral home. If so, then the Marish would have effectively served as the Shire’s capital – rather than Michel Delving, far to the west that many consider to be the capital today
Bucca was also the founder of the Oldbucks, a name which his descendants took – so named after him. Although he was elected as Thain democratically, the position would become hereditary after Bucca. Eleven Oldbuck Thains followed Bucca’s line, up to Gorhendad Oldbuck (who shall be written about in the next chapter). As Bucca’s thainship began in the year 379 and that of Gorhendad ended in 740, Bucca began a ‘dynasty’ that lasted for three hundred and sixty one years. An impressive legacy he left after his death. His descendants eventually became the Brandybucks, and the Masters of Buckland continue his long lineage – even today.
Much like his possible ancestors, Marcho and Blanco, there were few Shire scholars at the time who recorded the life of Thain Bucca. Therefore, even among Shire-historians there is little known about him as Thain, and even less about him as a hobbit. His date of birth and death is nowhere to be found. Today is name is scarcely remembered, apart from in Buckland where he is spoken of kindly as the oldest ancestor of the Brandybucks. It is in the library of the Brandy Hall where most can be read of him – but even there it is unfortunately scarce.
