living and written. But since they were little used by Frodo, being
almost entirely concerned with the Elder Days, no more is said of them
here.
     Since Meriadoc and Peregrin became the heads of their great families,
and at the same time kept up their connexions with Rohan and Gondor,
the libraries at Bucklebury and Tuckborough contained much that did
not appear in the Red Book. In Brandy Hall there were many works
dealing with Eriador and the history of Rohan. Some of these were
composed or begun by Meriadoc himself, though in the Shire he was
chiefly remembered for his Herblore of the Shire, and for his
Reckoning of Years m which he discussed the relation of the calendars
of the Shire and Bree to those of Rivendell, Gondor, and Rohan. He
also wrote a short treatise on Old Words and Names in the Shire,
having special interest in discovering the kinship with the language
of the Rohirrim of such 'shire-words' as mathom and old elements in
place names.
     At Great Smials the books were of less interest to Shire-folk, though
more important for larger history. None of them was written by
Peregrin, but he and his successors collected many manuscripts written
by scribes of Gondor: mainly copies or summaries of histories or