What does "they were in name his subjects" mean? > While there was still a king they were in name his subjects, but they were, in fact, ruled by their own chieftains and meddled not at all with events in the world outside. What does "they were in name his subjects" mean in this passage from _The Lord of the Rings_?

**They were _de jure_ (officially, supposedly, on paper, in theory) ruled over by the king.**

There are many terms to express this meaning. From Merriam Webster on "in name":

> used with a following statement to say that something is so by name or title but that is not the way things really are

Nowadays, the Latin term _de jure_ (as opposed to _de facto_ meaning "in fact") is still commonly used to express such a situation. Terms such as "officially" and "on paper" are also used.

In this context, Tolkien is telling us about the history of Hobbits. While the Kingdom of Arnor was still functioning, they were still _subjects_ (noun, meaning 3) of its king, citizens of the kingdom according to the laws of the kingdom - but in reality, they did their own thing and cared little for the kingdom or the world outside of their own domain.