An encyclopedia of Middle-earth and Numenor
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An encyclopedia of Middle-earth and Numenor |
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Vital Statistics:Race:
Hobbits
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 Martin Freeman as Bilbo in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey |
 Ian Holm as Bilbo in The Fellowship of the Ring |
Bilbo Baggins had settled into a comfortable life in the Shire when thirteen Dwarves and one Wizard showed up on his doorstep and whisked him off on an adventure. Bilbo was reluctant at first, but his adventurous spirit was awakened and he used his quick wits to help his companions out of a number of tight situations. The quest was a success, but even more important was Bilbo's discovery of the One Ring that had long been lost.
Bilbo was born on September 22, 2890 of the Third Age. His father was Bungo Baggins and his mother was Belladonna Took, a spirited Hobbit-lass who passed on her Tookish adventurousness to her only child. The family lived in Hobbiton at Bag End, a luxurious Hobbit-hole that Bungo built for his wife.
As a child, Bilbo was bright-eyed and curious and eager for news of the outside world. The Wizard Gandalf noticed these qualities in the young Hobbit on his visits to the Shire. As Bilbo grew older, he still enjoyed looking at maps and taking long walks and even talking to Outsiders who passed through the Shire. But he had also become rather complacent, and when Gandalf arrived one spring morning in 2941 talking of adventure, the Wizard did not find Bilbo as interested as he'd expected.
"We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can't think what anybody sees in them."The next day Bilbo was surprised by the arrival of Thorin Oakenshield and twelve other Dwarves named Fili, Kili, Balin, Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Oin, Gloin,Dori, Nori, and Ori. They were on their way to reclaim the treasures of the Lonely Mountain from Smaug and seemed to think that Bilbo was a Burglar who could help them achieve this goal. Bilbo was alarmed at the prospect of encountering a Dragon, but the Dwarves' story awoke something Tookish inside him. And when he heard Gloin express doubts about his fitness for the task, Bilbo was determined to prove his worth. Gandalf gave Bilbo a nudge out the door the following morning, and Bilbo found himself running down the road to meet the Dwarves without even a pocket handkerchief.
The Hobbit: "An Unexpected Party," p. 12
The first test of Bilbo's burgling abilities arose when the wet and hungry company spotted a campfire in the Trollshaws. Bilbo was sent to investigate and he found the Trolls Bert, Tom, and William Huggins. Bilbo decided to try his hand at pickpocketing and was caught; the Dwarves were also captured in quick succession. Gandalf arrived just in time and tricked the Trolls into arguing over how to eat their captives until the dawn, when the Trolls turned into stone. In the Trolls' hoard Bilbo found a long knife that made the perfect Hobbit-sized sword.
After a short rest in Rivendell where Bilbo met Elrond, the company climbed the High Pass in the Misty Mountains where they were captured by Orcs. Again Gandalf came to the rescue, and Dori carried Bilbo into the tunnels under the mountains but dropped the Hobbit when an Orc grabbed him from behind. Bilbo was knocked unconscious and when he awoke his companions were gone.
As Bilbo groped along the dark tunnels, he found the Ring lying on the ground and slipped it into his pocket. By a subterranean lake Bilbo met Gollum, the creature who had lost the Ring. Gollum was hungry and Bilbo looked tasty so he proposed a Riddle Game. If Bilbo won, Gollum would show him the way out; if Gollum won he would eat Bilbo.
Bilbo was naturally anxious, and when he ran out of riddles just as he touched the Ring in his pocket he said aloud, "What have I got in my pocket?" (Hobbit, p. 89) Though he didn't intend this as a riddle and it was technically against the rules, Gollum tried to answer and failed. Angered, Gollum went to the island in the middle of the lake to get the Ring so he could kill Bilbo, but the Ring was gone. Gollum realized that Bilbo had the Ring in his pocket and went after the Hobbit.
The Ring slipped onto Bilbo's finger and he soon realized that he'd become invisible. He followed Gollum to the exit but could not get past the creature crouching at the door. Bilbo considered killing the creature, but pity stayed his hand.
Bilbo almost stopped breathing, and went stiff himself. He was desperate. He must get away, out of this horrible darkness, while he had any strength left. He must fight. He must stab the foul thing, put its eyes out, kill it. It meant to kill him. No, not a fair fight. He was invisible now. Gollum had no sword. Gollum had not actually threatened to kill him, or tried to yet. And he was miserable, alone, lost. A sudden understanding, a pity mixed with horror, welled up in Bilbo's heart: a glimpse of endless unmarked days without light or hope of betterment, hard stone, cold fish, sneaking and whispering. All these thoughts passed in a flash of a second. He trembled. And then quite suddenly in another flash, as if lifted by a new strength and resolve, he leaped.As Bilbo fled, he heard Gollum cry, "Thief, thief, thief! Baggins! We hates it, we hates it, we hates it for ever!" (Hobbit, p. 98) When he rejoined his friends, he didn't mention the Ring but later said that Gollum had intended to give the Ring to him as a present if he won the game. Gandalf was suspicious of this tale and it disturbed him that the Hobbit appeared to be lying.
The Hobbit: "Riddles in the Dark," p. 97
That night the company were attacked by Wargs and rescued by Eagles and the next day they visited a strange Man named Beorn who could turn into a bear. They proceeded to the edge of Mirkwood where they parted company with Gandalf. Despite the Wizard's warnings they strayed from the path and the Dwarves were captured by Great Spiders. Bilbo rescued his friends using his wits and his new sword, which he then named Sting.
Still lost and hungry, the company followed the lights of the Wood-Elves through the forest and were taken prisoner in the Elvenking's Halls. Bilbo used the Ring to evade capture and to steal the keys to the Dwarves' cells. He packed the Dwarves into empty barrels that were dropped into the Forest River. Bilbo rode on one of the barrels and they floated down the river to Lake-town.
From Lake-town the company continued to the Lonely Mountain. On the doorstep, Bilbo solved the riddle on Thror's map when he heard a thrush knocking and he told Thorin to hurry with the key as the light of the setting sun of Durin's Day illuminated the hidden keyhole on the door.
Inside, Bilbo mastered his fear and crept down the tunnel to Smaug's lair. While the dragon slept Bilbo took a great two-handled cup from the hoard. The second time Bilbo ventured into the dragon's lair Smaug was awake. Bilbo, wearing the Ring, bandied words with Smaug and tricked the dragon into showing his underbelly where Bilbo noticed a weak spot. Bilbo later mentioned this bare patch in the hearing of the thrush who in turn told Bard the Bowman. This inside information enabled Bard to kill Smaug when the dragon, angered by the intrusion into his domain, left the Mountain and attacked Lake-town.
Bard and the Men of Lake-town, accompanied by the Elves of Mirkwood, came to the Lonely Mountain seeking reparations and the share of the treasure that had been stolen from them by Smaug. But Thorin refused to listen to their claims while their armies were camped outside.
Bilbo thought that the claims made by Bard were reasonable. Hoping to prevent a battle and to end the matter so he could go home, Bilbo came up with a plan. The Hobbit had found the Arkenstone - the treasure that Thorin most desired - and had hidden it without telling anyone. Now he took the Arkenstone to Bard and Thranduil the Elven-king so they could use it to negotiate with Thorin. Gandalf had returned in time to witness Bilbo's ploy and said, "Well done! Mr. Baggins! There is always more about you than anyone expects!" (Hobbit, p. 284-85)
Thorin was enraged when he discovered what Bilbo had done and would have thrown him to the rocks had Gandalf not stopped him. As Thorin's kinsman Dain approached with an army of reinforcements, trouble seemed imminent. But then an army of Orcs and Wargs led by Bolg arrived and the Dwarves, Elves, and Men had to join forces to face them. At the Battle of the Five Armies, Bilbo made his stand with King Thranduil and Gandalf. He saw the Eagles coming to the rescue just before he was knocked unconscious.
Thorin was mortally wounded in the battle and asked to see Bilbo in order to part with the Hobbit in friendship.
"There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. But sad or merry, I must leave it now. Farewell!"Bilbo was ready to return home. He had forfeited his fourteenth share in the treasure when he gave the Arkenstone to Bard, and in the end he took only two small chests, one of gold and one of silver, as well as the mithril shirt that Thorin had given him. When he arrived in Hobbiton, Bilbo learned that he had been declared dead and that the Sackville-Bagginses were preparing to move into Bag End. They were sorely disappointed.
The Hobbit: "The Return Journey," p. 301
Bilbo continued to receive visits from Gandalf and various Dwarves including Balin and he took long walks in the woods and spoke to Elves. He studied the Elvish language and the legends and lore of Middle-earth. Bilbo shared his love of learning and adventure with his young cousin Frodo Baggins. When Frodo was orphaned, Bilbo invited him to live at Bag End.
By 3001, when Bilbo was turning 111, the Ring had begun to have an effect on him. Outwardly he had not aged, but inside he felt "thin, sort of stretched ... like butter that has been scraped over too much bread." (FotR, p. 41) He decided he wanted to roam once more and then find a quiet place to finish his memoirs. On September 22, he held a final birthday party at which he announced his intention to leave the Shire for good.
Bilbo intended to leave the Ring behind for Frodo, but he found himself strangely reluctant to do so. With the help of his old friend Gandalf, Bilbo was able to voluntarily give up the Ring. He felt better at once, though without the Ring he soon began to age.
Bilbo journeyed to Dale and the Lonely Mountain and then settled in Rivendell. There he met Aragorn, a Ranger who was heir to the throne of Gondor. Between 3003 and 3018, Bilbo worked on the memoirs of his journey - later part of the Red Book of Westmarch - and he also compiled a three-volume history of the Elder Days called Translations from the Elvish.
Frodo arrived at Rivendell in October of 3018. Bilbo asked to see the Ring one last time, but when Frodo showed it to him Bilbo came to understand something of the nature of his desire for the Ring. At the Council of Elrond, Bilbo volunteered to take the Ring to Mordor, but that burden was now Frodo's to bear.
After Frodo returned from his quest, Bilbo had become sleepy and forgetful and yet a desire for the Ring remained even then.
"... what's become of my ring, Frodo, that you took away?"Because Bilbo had also been a Ring-bearer, he was allowed to pass into the West to keep Frodo company. Bilbo set out from Rivendell and with Gandalf, Elrond and Galadriel he met Frodo in the Woody End on September 22, 3021. That day he turned 131 and passed the Old Took as the longest-lived Hobbit. They rode to the Grey Havens and on September 29 they boarded the ship that would take them away from Middle-earth. It is believed that Bilbo lived the remainder of his days with Frodo on Tol Eressea, an island in the Undying Lands.
"I have lost it, Bilbo dear," said Frodo. "I got rid of it, you know."
"What a pity!" said Bilbo. "I should have liked to see it again. But no, how silly of me! That's what you went for, wasn't it: to get rid of it?"
The Return of the King: "Many Partings," p. 265
As for Frodo or other mortals, they could only dwell in Aman for a limited time - whether brief or long. The Valar had neither the power nor the right to confer 'immortality' upon them. Their sojourn was a 'purgatory', but one of peace and healing and they would eventually pass away (die at their own desire and of free will) to destinations of which the Elves knew nothing.
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien: Letter #325
Additional
Sources:
Unfinished
Tales: "The Quest for Erebor" discusses Gandalf's reasons for
selecting Bilbo and the Dwarves' reactions.
Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien: Letter #246 discusses Bilbo's continuing desire for the Ring and his passage into the West with Frodo. Letter #27 gives a description of Bilbo for illustrators including hair color and height.
The Atlas of Middle-earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad provides a chronology of Bilbo's journey to the Lonely Mountain.
The Annotated Hobbit by Douglas A. Anderson provides a wealth of anecdotal information.
Third Age:
2890
September 22: Birth of Bilbo.
2926
Death of Bilbo's father Bungo.
2934
Death of Bilbo's mother Belladonna.
2941
April 25: Gandalf visits
Bag End.
April 26: An unexpected party
at Bag End with thirteen Dwarves and one Wizard. Bilbo learns of Smaug
and the Lonely Mountain.
April 27: Bilbo sets out
for the Lonely Mountain with Thorin and Company.
Late May: Bilbo encounters the Trolls Tom, Bert and William in the Trollshaws and acquires Sting.
June: Bilbo visits Rivendell and meets Elrond.
Summer: Bilbo and the Dwarves are captured by Orcs in the Misty Mountains. Bilbo becomes separated from his companions. He finds the One Ring and meets Gollum. Bilbo escapes and is reunited with Gandalf and the Dwarves.
Autumn: Bilbo and the Dwarves become lost in Mirkwood. Bilbo rescues his companions twice: Once from the Great Spiders and again from the Elven-king's prison.
September 22: Bilbo arrives in Lake-town with a bad cold.
Durin's Day: Bilbo solves the riddle on Thror's map when he hears a thrush knock and sees the keyhole to the secret door appear in the light of the setting sun. The company enters the Lonely Mountain. Bilbo sneaks into Smaug's lair and takes a cup. The next day he again enters the dragon's lair and speaks to Smaug. Smaug leaves the Mountain and attacks Lake-town and is killed by Bard.
Late Autumn/Early Winter: Men and Elves come to the Lonely Mountain seeking a share of the dragon's hoard. Thorin refuses. Bilbo tries to break the stalemate by taking the Arkenstone to Bard and King Thranduil. Orcs and Wargs from the Misty Mountains attack and the Dwarves, Elves and Men unite to fight the Battle of the Five Armies.
Mid-winter to Yule: On the return journey, Bilbo and Gandalf visit Beorn.
2942
May 1: Bilbo and Gandalf
come to Rivendell.
June 22: Bilbo returns to Bag End and learns he has been declared dead.
2989
Bilbo invites his orphaned cousin
Frodo to live with him at Bag End around this time.
3001
September 22: Bilbo turns
111 and throws a Farewell Feast at which he announces his intention to
leave the Shire. Bilbo voluntarily leaves behind the One Ring and departs
from Bag End.
3002
After journeying to Dale and the
Lonely Mountain, Bilbo settles in Rivendell as a guest of Elrond.
3003
Bilbo begins work on his Translations
from the Elvish.
3018
October 20: Frodo arrives
at Rivendell.
October 24: Frodo awakes
and is reunited with Bilbo. Bilbo asks to see the Ring again.
October 25: At the Council
of Elrond, Bilbo volunteers to take the Ring, but Frodo is chosen as the
Ring-bearer.
December 25: Bilbo gives Sting and his mithril shirt to Frodo and watches him depart on his quest.
3019
September 21: Frodo stops
at Rivendell on his way home.
October 4: Bilbo gives Frodo
the manuscript of his memoirs and the Translations from the Elvish.
October 5: Frodo leaves Rivendell
but Bilbo remains there.
3021
September 22: Bilbo turns
131 and passes the Old Took as the longest-lived Hobbit. He meets Frodo
in the Woody End and they set off for the Grey Havens.
September 29: Bilbo and Frodo
board a Grey Ship and sail over the Sea into the West.
Bilbo Baggins:
Bilbo was a name that had
no meaning in the Hobbits' daily language. This type of name was customary
for male children.
Appendix
F of The Lord of the Rings, p. 413
For the name Baggins, Tolkien
intended to recall the word "bag." The associated name Bag End was meant
to imply "cul-de-sac." This was the local name of Tolkien's aunt's farm
in Worcestershire, which was located at the end of a lane that led no further.
"Nomenclature
of The Lord of the Rings," entries for Baggins and Bag
End
Baggins may also be a reference
to bagging, a term used in northern England for eating between meals.
The Annotated
Hobbit: "An Unexpected Party," p. 30, note 3
Burglar:
Gandalf left a mark on Bilbo's door
indicating that the Hobbit was a Burglar seeking work.
The Hobbit:
"An Unexpected Party," p. 27
Thief:
Gollum called Bilbo this when he
realized that Bilbo had his precious Ring. Smaug also called Bilbo Thief
and Thief in the Shadows after the Hobbit stole a cup from his hoard.
The Hobbit:
"Riddles
in the Dark," p. 98; "Inside Information," p. 234, 238
Clue-finder,
Web-cutter, Stinging Fly, Ringwinner, Luckwearer, and Barrel-rider:
These are among the titles Bilbo
used to describe himself to Smaug.
The Hobbit:
"Inside Information," p. 235
Barrel-rider
and Mr. Lucky Number:
Smaug addressed Bilbo by these names.
The Hobbit:
"Inside Information," p. 236, 237
Child of
the Kindly West:
Thorin called Bilbo this as the
Dwarf lay on his deathbed.
The Hobbit:
"The Return Journey," p. 301
Bilbo the
Magnificent:
King Thranduil called Bilbo this
when they Bilbo presented him with the silver-and-pearl necklace given
to him by Dain after the Battle of the Five Armies.
The Hobbit:
"The Return Journey," p. 306
Elf-friend:
King Thranduil of Mirkwood also
named Bilbo Elf-friend when they parted after the Battle of the
Five Armies.
The Hobbit:
"The Return Journey," p. 306
Mad Baggins:
Rory
Brandybuck called Bilbo "that mad Baggins" after Bilbo's sudden disappearance
at his Farewell Feast. Later, Mad Baggins "who used to vanish with a bang
and a flash and reappear with bags of jewels and gold" became a legendary
figure among Hobbits.
The Fellowship
of the Ring: "A Long-Expected Party," p. 39; "The Shadow of the Past,"
p. 51
Ring-bearer:
As one who bore the Ring for 60
years, Bilbo was also called Ring-bearer, though Frodo was the Ring-bearer.
The Return
of the King: "The Grey Havens," p. 309
Bilba Labingi:
This is the original Hobbit name
of Bilbo Baggins. In Hobbit names, -a was a masculine ending;
this has been changed to -o in translation. Appendix
F of The Lord of the Rings: "The Languages and Peoples of the Third
Age," p. 413
The History
of Middle-earth, vol. XII, The Peoples of Middle-earth: "The Appendix
on Languages," p. 48, 50
Family Tree of Bilbo Baggins
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