Quote:
Originally Posted by Inky
The arrangements of the Elves (at least, the Elves of Mirkwood) in The Hobbit are even more puzzling.
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I can only assume they lived entirely off magic. The Mirkwood elves also hunted the animals in the forest (those that weren't too corrupted by Sauron's magic to be edible), but you can't run a civilisation entirely off that.
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Despite the description, they clearly engaged in trade of
some sort, what with their barrels full of provisions and sending them downriver to Lake-Town to be refilled. However, Tolkien may have been specifically referring to mercantile trade, while it could be that the Elves and Men have an arrangement where the Elves maintain the paths of Mirkwood and keep them clear of monsters (allowing trade to pass through) while the Men keep the Elves stocked with food and drink, in lieu of merchants and travelers needing to pay tolls to the Elves.