The Lord of the Rings is not just an epic tale of good versus evil. It is a story about choice — and how it can change the world. At its heart are extraordinary little beings living far from great kingdoms and wars, in the cozy holes of the Shire. Hobbits. They don’t seek power, glory, or heroism, yet they become the key to saving Middle-earth. So why did Gandalf, one of the oldest and wisest beings in this world, become so attached to them long before the great war began? And did he truly foresee their importance?
Gandalf’s interest in hobbits began centuries before the events of the trilogy. He came across them during the Long Winter, when Eriador lay frozen under snow. Instead of despair, he saw in them an extraordinary resilience, warmth, and kindness. He would later admit, "They survived because of their pity and uncomplaining courage." It was then that the wizard’s heart filled with genuine admiration — not because they were useful allies, but because they reminded him of a quiet nobility he himself aspired to.
Hobbits do not seek heroic deeds — and therein lies their strength. Power holds little sway over them; the Ring does not tempt them the way it does men or elves. Bilbo, Frodo, even Gollum — all held the Ring for long stretches of time without fully becoming monsters. In hobbits, Gandalf saw what the great peoples of Middle-earth lacked: simplicity, inner purity, and above all, the ability to say 'no' to great evil.
When Gandalf chose Bilbo to accompany the dwarves on their journey, he did not know Bilbo would find the Ring. But he sensed that only a hobbit could accomplish what no warrior could. He would later say, "I daresay he was ‘meant’ to find it, and I was meant to guide him to it."
Thus Gandalf became more than a protector of hobbits. He became a bridge between their quiet world and the storm beyond. He had no intention of using them as pawns in a game with Sauron. He truly believed that kindness and humility were a kind of real magic.
That is why in The Lord of the Rings, everything begins not in royal halls, but on the grassy hills of the Shire. That is why the ancient wizard launches fireworks for village children rather than delivering judgment in a war council. And that is why the Ring ends up in Frodo’s hands — not because he is strong, but because he is pure.
The bond between Gandalf and the hobbits is neither random nor sentimental. It reflects the very spirit of Middle-earth — its hope that salvation comes not from the sword, but from the heart. And if, in newer stories like The Rings of Power, there’s a hint that the first being to greet Gandalf on Middle-earth was a hobbit — there’s a deep truth in that.
