Harry Goatleaf

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Character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Legendarium
Name Harry Goatleaf
Other names Gatekeeper of West Bree
Titles Gatekeeper
Race Men
Culture Bree
Realm Bree
Book(s) The Fellowship of the Ring,
The Return of the King

In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Harry Goatleaf is the first man encountered by Frodo Baggins and his companions on their journey to Mordor. He was the keeper of the West Gate, which was itself located within a great hedge surrounding the township of Bree. His greeting toward Frodo was gruff, but he seemed interested and suspicious when he learned that the Hobbits came from the Shire. He inquired as to their names and their business, but Merry Brandybuck evaded his questions.

Later Harry was in the Common Room of the Prancing Pony and he witnessed Frodo's disappearance when the Ring slipped onto his finger. Harry left the Common Room after Bill Ferny and a squint-eyed Southerner. Aragorn later told Frodo that he suspected that the Black Riders might use Bill Ferny and Harry Goatleaf and others for evil work. Later that night the inn was attacked and the Hobbits' empty room was ransacked.

Early in the New Year of 3019, fighting broke out between the Southerners and the Bree-folk. Harry Goatleaf and Bill Ferny sided with a group of brigands from the south, and participated in trouble that caused the death of five Men of Bree. He left Bree with the group, presumably to join Sharkey's Men in the Shire. His fate is unexplored in the remainder of the novel.

[edit] Adaptations

In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Harry Goatleaf is played by Martyn Sanderson. Although he is still the gatekeeper of the West Gate of Bree, his character is not developed with the same level of intrigue present in the books. While on watch, the Nazgûl knock over the West Gate, presumably killing the film adaptation of Harry.

[edit] External links

[edit] Sources

  • Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: "At the Sign of the Prancing Pony," pp. 163-64, 172; "Strider," p. 186
  • Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: "Homeward Bound," pp. 269, 271
  • Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings, pp. 166-67