Bilbo Baggins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Character from Tolkien's Legendarium | |
| Name | Bilbo Baggins |
|---|---|
| Other names | Ring-Finder, Ring-Winner, Luck Wearer, Lucky Number, Stinging Fly, Barrel Rider, Burglar |
| Titles | Ring-bearer |
| Race | Hobbit |
| Culture | Shire-hobbit, Baggins family |
| Date of birth | September 22, T.A. 2890 |
| Date of departure to Aman | September 29, T.A. 3021 |
| Date of death | Fourth Age |
| Realm | Eriador |
| Book(s) | The Fellowship of the Ring The Two Towers The Return of the King The Silmarillion The Hobbit Unfinished Tales |
Bilbo Baggins (2890 Third Age - ? Fourth Age) is an important character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.
He is the central character in the author's first novel, The Hobbit, and a minor character in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings. He is the first Ring-bearer in the history of Middle-earth to give up the One Ring voluntarily. While Bilbo is the chief protagonist in Tolkien's first published major work of fiction (The Hobbit), Bilbo later takes under his wing (and into his home) the chief protagonist of Tolkien's second published major work (The Lord of the Rings), Frodo Baggins.
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[edit] Profile
According to the Appendices of the Lord of the Rings, Bilbo was born on September 22, 2890 of the Third Age, son of Bungo Baggins and Belladonna Took. The Bagginses were sub-aristocratic landowners, quite rich and (until Bilbo's adventures) supremely respectable. In 2941, he joined Gandalf the Grey, Thorin Oakenshield and his 12 Dwarves on the quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the Dragon Smaug. This led to an adventure which takes Bilbo and his companions to Rivendell and through the forest of Mirkwood, eventually reaching Erebor. Here, after the mountain has been reclaimed by Thorin Oakenshield, the Battle of Five Armies takes place.
During his adventures in The Hobbit, Bilbo also found the One Ring, and escaped from Gollum when he won a riddle competition with the question "What have I got in my pocket?" However, during the contest, he also revealed the names of Baggins and The Shire to Gollum. Bilbo was the Ring-bearer for 60 years afterward, with no idea of its significance, and it prolonged his life beyond normal limits. He used the Ring to its fullest ability when the expedition was captured by giant spiders in Mirkwood, and also when Thorin and his companions were imprisoned by the Wood-elves. At the Battle of Five Armies, Bilbo used the Ring to prevent himself getting hurt. However, he was struck by a flying rock, leaving him unconscious and invisible, making it difficult for his companions to find him after the battle. Eventually he regained consciousness and took the Ring off himself.
In 2989, Bilbo adopted Frodo, the orphaned son of his first cousin Primula Brandybuck and his second cousin Drogo Baggins, and made him his heir. Though Frodo was actually "his first and second cousin once removed either way",[1] the two thought of each other as uncle and nephew.
As time passed, Bilbo mostly used the Ring to hide from his obnoxious cousins, the Sackville-Bagginses, when they came to visit. While the Ring didn't corrupt Bilbo as it had its previous owners, it did have some negative effects upon him; over the years, he began to obsess over it, losing sleep and feeling "stretched out and thin" when he was out of its sight. On the night of his 111th birthday party, the opening event of The Fellowship of the Ring, he reacted with panic and suspicion when Gandalf tried to persuade him to leave it. The last straw was when Bilbo referred to the Ring as his "precious" — the same name the wretched Gollum had given it — and Gandalf lost his temper with his old friend, putting some sense into him. Bilbo then admitted he would have liked to be rid of it, and left it behind.
In The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo left the Shire on the night of his eleventy-first (111th) birthday, (September 22, 3001), leaving the Ring and all the rest of his estate, including his home, Bag End in Hobbiton, to Frodo. He put on the Ring and vanished from sight at his own birthday party, and was never seen in Hobbiton again. This, coupled with his (for a hobbit) eccentric doings and a flash that Gandalf, in on the joke, set off at the moment of his disappearance, led to him being immortalized in hobbit folklore as "Mad Baggins", who disappeared in a flash and returned with gold and jewels.
He travelled to Rivendell, accompanied by three Dwarf friends, where he lived a very pleasant life of retirement: eating, sleeping, writing poetry, and working on his memoir, There and Back Again, known to us as The Hobbit. He also wrote a book called Translations from the Elvish, which formed the basis of what is known to us as The Silmarillion.
At the end of The Return of the King, Bilbo accompanied Frodo, Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel to the Grey Havens, there to take ship for Valinor across the sea, on September 29, 3021. He had already celebrated his 131st birthday, becoming the second oldest living Hobbit ever in Middle-earth (the oldest being Gollum).
The poem "Bilbo's Last Song" was published after Tolkien's death.
[edit] Translations
The name "Baggins" has often been changed for translated versions of the books, although most translations keep the bag part of the name.
- In the Slovak he is called Bilbo Bublik
- In the Czech it is Bilbo Pytlík (pytlík = small bag)
- In the Danish translation he is called Bilbo Sækker (sæk = bag)
- In the Estonian translation he is called Bilbo Paunaste (paun = bag)
- In the German translation he is called Bilbo Beutlin (created from Beutel=bag).
- In the French translation he is called Bilbo (or Bilbon) Sacquet (sac = bag).
- In the Icelandic translation he is called Bilbó Baggason (Bilbo, son of Baggi, baggi = sack, pack), see Icelandic name. In later translations, Bilbó does not have a patronym but a family name.
- In the Norwegian translation he is called Bilbo Lommelun. (lomme = pocket)
- In the Finnish translation he is called Reppu Reppuli. (reppu = backpack)
- In the Dutch version he is called Bilbo Balings. (baal = bag)
- In the Catalan version he is called Bilbo Saquet.
- In the Brazilian Portuguese translation he is called Bilbo Bolseiro (but Bilbo Bolsin in the first edition of The Hobbit).
- In the Spanish translation he is called Bilbo Bolsón. (bolso = handbag)
- In the Hungarian translation he is called Zsákos Bilbó. (zsák = bag)
- In one of three Polish translations of The Lord of the Rings he is called Bilbo Bagosz. In the other two translations and in The Hobbit he keeps his original name.
- In Åke Ohlmarks' 1959-1961 Swedish translation he is called Bilbo Bagger (bagge = male sheep). In Erik Andersson's 2004-2005 translation he is more appropriately called Bilbo Secker (säck = sack/bag).
- In the Russian translation he is also called Торбинс or Сумкинс (торба, сумка = handbag).
- In the Ukrainian translation he is called Торбинс, Торбінз) or Злоткінс. (торба = handbag).
- In the Slovene it is Bilbo Bogataj (bogat = rich)
- In the Bulgarian translation he is called Билбо Торбинс (торба = bag).
Going by the conceit that Tolkien's books were translated from the Red Book of Westmarch, his true name in Westron was Bilba Labingi. Labingi is related to the Westron laban, bag.
[edit] Portrayal in adaptations
In the 1966 BBC Radio serialization of The Hobbit, Bilbo was played by Paul Daneman.
In the 1977 Rankin/Bass animated version of The Hobbit, Bilbo was voiced by Orson Bean. Bean also voiced both the aged Bilbo and Frodo in the same company's 1980 adaptation of The Return of the King.
In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo was voiced by Norman Bird. Billy Barty was the model for Bilbo, as well as Frodo and Sam, in the live-action recordings Bakshi used for rotoscoping.
In the BBC's 1981 radio serialization of The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo is played by John Le Mesurier.
In the Peter Jackson films The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) Bilbo is played by Ian Holm, who had played Frodo in the BBC radio series 20 years earlier.
[edit] The Line of Bilbo
Balbo Baggins
= Berylla Boffin
_____________________________________|____________________________________
| | | | |
Mungo Pansy Ponto Largo Lily
= Laura Grubb = Fastolph Bolger = Mimosa Bunce = Tanta Hornblower = Togo Goodbody
|_______________________________________ |
| | | | | |
Bungo Belba Longo Linda Bingo Fosco
= Belladonna = Rudigar = Camellia = Bodo = Chica = Ruby Bolger
Took Bolger Sackville Proudfoot Chubb |___________________
| | | | | |
Bilbo Otho Sackville-Baggins Falco Dora Drogo Dudo
= Lobelia Bracegirdle Chubb- = Primula = Tulip
| Baggins Brandybuck Longhole
| | | |
Lotho Poppy Frodo Daisy
= Filibert Bolger = Griffo Boffin
| Preceded by Sméagol |
Bearer of the Great Ring 2941 Third Age – 3001 TA |
Succeeded by Frodo Baggins |
[edit] Appearances in popular culture
In 1968, Leonard Nimoy released a record, "The Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy," which contained the song "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins."
[edit] References
- ^ J. R. R. Tolkien (1987). The Fellowship of the Ring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, "A Long-expected Party". ISBN 0-395-08255-2.
[edit] External links
- For an alternate, fuller, version of Bilbo's family tree see Rodovid Engine.
