An encyclopedia of Middle-earth and Numenor
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An encyclopedia of Middle-earth and Numenor |
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Race:
Hobbits
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Sean Astin as Sam in the New Line film |
Sam battling Shelob by John Howe |
Samwise Gamgee, Frodo Baggins' loyal servant, was determined to follow his master wherever he went even when he was not invited. Sam proved to be a brave and loyal companion and became Frodo's closest friend. His Hobbit-sense and his love for Frodo saw them both through danger and hardship to the end of the quest. Sam's unwillingness to give up hope even when things seemed darkest ensured that not only did they reach their goal, they also survived.
Sam Gamgee was born on April 6, 2980 of the Third Age (see note). Unlike his three companions, Sam was not a gentlehobbit. His father Hamfast, known as the Gaffer, had been the gardener at Bag End for over 40 years, and Sam was his assistant. They lived at Number 3 Bagshot Row at the bottom of the Hill in Hobbiton.
Hamfast and his wife Bell Goodchild had five other children. Sam's oldest brother Hamson went to work for their uncle Andwise Roper, from whom Sam also learned a thing or two about rope. Sam's youngest sister Marigold married Tom Cotton, whose sister Rosie had caught Sam's eye.
Sam had learned to read and write from Bilbo Baggins and he listened eagerly to Bilbo's tales about his adventures, particularly the ones about Elves. The Gaffer found his son's preoccupation with Elves and such a bit worrisome.
"Elves and Dragons! I says to him. Cabbages and potatoes are better for me and you. Don't go getting mixed up in the business of your betters, or you'll land in trouble too big for you, I says to him."By the time Frodo Baggins inherited Bag End in 3001, Sam had taken over most his old Gaffer's duties. In the spring of 3018, Sam noticed that Frodo seemed restless with his life in the Shire. He agreed to help Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took learn what was troubling their friend. When Gandalf came to Bag End in April of 3018, Sam was trimming the grass under the window (or so he claimed) and overheard the Wizard telling Frodo that Bilbo's magic ring was the One Ring lost by the Dark Lord Sauron long ago. Sam could not help but cry out in dismay when he learned that Frodo would have to leave the Shire. Gandalf discovered him and decreed that Sam should accompany Frodo when he went.
The Fellowship of the Ring: "A Long-Expected Party," p. 32
Sam set out with Frodo from Bag End on September 23 on the pretense that he was going to be the gardener at Frodo's new home in Crickhollow. When the Hobbits left Crickhollow and journeyed into the Old Forest, Sam was the only one to keep his wits about him when the others succumbed to the spell of the Withywindle valley and fell asleep. Sam saved Frodo from drowning in the river, and Tom Bombadil came along to save Merry and Pippin from Old Man Willow.
At the Prancing Pony in Bree, Sam was suspicious of the Ranger called Strider who offered to guide the Hobbits into the Wild.
... Sam was not daunted, and he still eyed Strider dubiously. "How do we know you are the Strider that Gandalf speaks about?" he demanded. "You never mentioned Gandalf, till this letter came out. You might be a play-acting spy, for all I can see, trying to get us to go with you. You might have done in the real Strider and took his clothes. What have you to say to that?"In the end, Frodo decided to trust Strider, and they departed from Bree the next morning. Merry's ponies had been set loose during an attack on the inn the night before, and Barliman Butterbur bought him a pony as compensation. Sam became quiet attached to the pony and named it Bill.
"That you are a stout fellow," answered Strider ...
The Fellowship of the Ring: "Strider," p. 183
After Frodo was wounded by the Witch-king at Weathertop, Sam was anxious for his master. But when Frodo requested a story, Sam complied by reciting a humorous poem about a Troll.
"Where did you come by that, Sam?" asked Pippin. "I've never heard those words before."Frodo became gravely ill as a result of the Morgul-wound, and as he recovered at Rivendell Sam hardly left his side. Later when Frodo went to the Council to discuss the fate of the Ring, Sam attended too, uninvited and unobtrusively, until Frodo volunteered to take the Ring to Mordor.
Sam muttered something inaudible. "It's out of his own head, of course," said Frodo. "I am learning a lot about Sam Gamgee on this journey. First he was a conspirator, now he's a jester. He'll end up by becoming a wizard - or a warrior!"
"I hope not," said Sam. "I don't want to be neither!"
The Fellowship of the Ring: "Flight to the Ford," p. 220
"But you won't send him off alone surely, Master?" cried Sam, unable to contain himself any longer, and jumping up from the corner where he had been quietly sitting on the floor.After the Fellowship left Rivendell, Sam quickly proved his usefulness. At the Moria Gate, Sam was first to react when the Watcher in the Water attacked Frodo. Although his beloved Bill bolted from the Watcher in fear, Sam let the pony go and ran to his master's side, slashing at the tentacle that grabbed him. During the battle in the Chamber of Mazarbul, Sam killed an Orc and was wounded on the head.
"No indeed!" said Elrond, turning towards him with a smile. "You at least shall go with him. It is hardly possible to separate you from him, even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not."
The Fellowship of the Ring: "The Council of Elrond," p. 284
The Fellowship escaped to Lothlorien, where the Lady Galadriel offered Sam and Frodo a look into her Mirror. Sam first saw Frodo lying pale and unconscious; then he saw his beloved Shire being destroyed. His first thought was to go home, but though it grieved him he said, "No, I'll go home by the long road with Mr. Frodo, or not at all." (FotR, p. 378) When the Fellowship left Lorien, the Lady gave Sam a box of earth from her own orchard.
At Amon Hen, when Frodo went off to think on his own, Sam was the only one who truly understood what his master was going through. He realized that Frodo intended to go to Mordor, and that he would want to spare his friends and go alone. When the Fellowship went off in all directions looking for Frodo, Sam realized that Frodo had gone to the boats to row across to the eastern side. He caught up with Frodo and together they headed east toward Mordor.
In the Emyn Muil, Frodo and Sam met Gollum. Frodo spared Gollum's life and accepted his guidance to the Black Gate and, when that proved impassable, to Gollum's secret way into Mordor. But Sam remained suspicious of the creature's two personalities: the submissive Smeagol side Sam called "Slinker" and the devious Gollum side he called "Stinker."
In Ithilien, Frodo and Sam encountered a company of Rangers led by Captain Faramir of Gondor. They witnessed a battle between the Rangers and a group of Southrons on their way to Mordor. To his joy, Sam saw an Oliphaunt, but Sam was saddened also to see a dead Southron and wondered about the man's home and family. Then Faramir revealed that he was the brother of Boromir and questioned Frodo about his death. Sam stood up to Faramir, looking him sternly in the eye while Faramir sat on the ground, much to the amusement of the Rangers. Later Sam let slip that Frodo was carrying the Ring, but Faramir vowed that he would not take it and instead helped the Hobbits on their way.
Gollum led the Hobbits to the Stairs of Cirith Ungol. There they slept briefly. When Sam awoke he found Gollum "pawing" at his master, and he accused Gollum of sneaking. Sam did not realize it, but as Gollum had watched them sleep he had debated with himself over whether to lead the Hobbits to what awaited them in the secret passage, but Sam's hasty words had banished any thought of repentance.
Gollum led the Hobbits into the lair of the Great Spider Shelob. Sam was delayed by Gollum while Shelob stung Frodo in the neck. Sam drove Gollum off with his lebethron walking stick and then he took up the Phial and Sting. He put out one of Shelob's eyes and wounded her in her belly, and she slunk back into her lair. Sam went to his master's side, but he lay lifeless. He could find no breath or heartbeat in Frodo's body.
"Frodo, Mr. Frodo!" he called. "Don't leave me here alone! It's your Sam calling. Don't go where I can't follow! Wake up, Mr. Frodo!"Sam did not know what to do. His place was with Frodo, but at the same time he knew that the quest must not fail and that he had to go on. So he put his own sword by Frodo's body and left Frodo's coat of mithril mail, and he took Sting and the Phial, and finally the Ring. He composed his master's body as best he could and set out to finish the task.
The Two Towers: "The Choices of Master Samwise," p. 340
He had not gone far when he saw a party of Orcs approaching the place where Frodo lay. He realized that he should never have abandoned his master and ran back, but they had already taken Frodo away. Sam followed and learned to his horror that Frodo was still alive and that he was being taken to the Tower of Cirith Ungol.
In Mordor, Sam felt the weight of the Ring and he was briefly tempted by its power, but his Hobbit-sense won out. He got past the Watchers at the gates of the Tower by using the Phial and was surprised to find that the Orcs had fought over Frodo's mithril shirt and that many of them were dead. He heard two of the survivors discussing him, saying that a Great Elf Warrior was on the loose. Then the Orc Shagrat ran past him carrying the mithril shirt, cloak, and sword toward Barad-dur. Sam let him go and went in search of Frodo, singing as he went.
"Though here at journey's end I lieSam thought he heard a faint response, and he climbed to the topmost chamber of the Tower where he found Frodo being tortured by Snaga. Sam charged at Snaga and the Orc fell through the trapdoor. Frodo lay naked and bleeding on the floor, but worse than his physical wounds was Frodo's despair that the Ring was gone and all was lost. When Sam revealed that he had the Ring in his safekeeping, Frodo lashed out at Sam and snatched the Ring from him. Frodo immediately regretted his actions, and Sam saw that the Ring's hold on Frodo was getting ever stronger.
in darkness buried deep,
beyond all towers strong and high,
beyond all mountains steep,
above all shadows rides the Sun
and Stars for ever dwell:
I will not say the Day is done,
nor bid the Stars farewell."
The Return of the King: "The Tower of Cirith Ungol," p. 185
Sam found some Orc gear for Frodo and himself and they set out across the plain of Gorgoroth toward Mount Doom. Frodo's only thought was of getting to the Fiery Mountain, but Sam was worried about how they would get back alive without enough food and water to last them both ways.
But even as hope died in Sam, or seemed to die, it was turned to a new strength. Sam's plain hobbit-face grew stern, almost grim, as the will hardened in him, and he felt through all his limbs a thrill, as if he was turning into some creature of stone and steel that neither despair nor weariness nor endless barren miles could subdue.Sam saw that the Ring was becoming a weight on Frodo's body and mind. He could do nothing to ease his master's torment, but he did what he could to relieve some of his burden. They cast away their Orc garb, and Sam said farewell to the cooking gear he had carried for so long. And when Frodo could no longer walk and began to crawl, Sam carried him up the mountainside.
The Return of the King: "Mount Doom," p. 211
Sam looked at him and wept in his heart, but no tears came to his dry and stinging eyes. "I said I'd carry him, if it broke my back," he muttered, "and I will!"As they neared the Cracks of Doom, Gollum appeared. Sam drew Sting and told Frodo to go on. But something stopped him from killing the wretched creature who was ruined by centuries of bearing the Ring that Sam had briefly borne. Sam let him go and went to find Frodo. But Frodo, himself burdened by the terrible power of the Ring, claimed the Ring for himself and refused to destroy it. Then Gollum, whose life both Frodo and Sam had spared, attacked Frodo and bit off the finger that bore the Ring. Gollum fell into the fiery chasm and the Ring was destroyed. Mordor began to fall into ruin.
"Come, Mr. Frodo!" he cried. "I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you and it as well. So up you get! Come on, Mr. Frodo dear! Sam will give you a ride. Just tell him where to go, and he'll go."
The Return of the King: "Mount Doom," p. 218
"I am glad that you are here with me," said Frodo. "Here at the end of all things, Sam."Sam led Frodo out of Sammath Naur and down the mountain, where they were found by Gandalf and the Eagles. They were taken to Ithilien, where their wounds were tended to by Aragorn and they were honored as heroes by the Host of the West.
"Yes, I am with you, Master," said Sam, laying Frodo's wounded hand gently to his breast. "And you're with me. And the journey's finished. But after coming all that way I don't want to give up yet. It's not like me, somehow, if you understand."
The Return of the King: "The Field of Cormallen," p. 228
The four Hobbits returned home. Sam was delighted to find Bill the Pony alive at Bree. But trouble awaited them in the Shire: Saruman and his minions had taken over, and many trees had been felled to make way for industry as Sam had seen in his vision in the Mirror. The Hobbits routed the invaders and Sam set to work restoring his beloved Shire to its natural bucolic state. He carefully spread the grains of soil that Galadriel had given him around the Shire and he planted the mallorn seed where the Party Tree had once stood. In the spring of 3020 - 1420 by Shire Reckoning - the trees sprouted and gardens grew and the harvest was bountiful.
Sam married Rosie Cotton on May 1 of that year and they moved into Bag End with Frodo. Their daughter was born on March 25, 3021, and they named her Elanor after the flowers of Lothlorien. Sam was content, but his master was not. Frodo continued to be troubled by his wounds and his burden and decided to sail into the West and leave Middle-earth behind. Sam felt torn in two. He accompanied Frodo to the Grey Havens, and there he was parted from the master and friend he had served so faithfully.
Sam returned home to Bag End, which now belonged to him. He and Rosie had 13 children altogether. Their oldest daughter Elanor married Fastred of Greenholm, who became the Warden of Westmarch. Their daughter Goldilocks married Peregrin Took's son and heir Faramir. Sam was elected Mayor of Michel Delving in the year 6 of the Fourth Age. He served seven seven-year terms, and was made a Counsellor of the North-kingdom by Aragorn, King Elessar, in the year 13. In the year 15, the King visited the North-kingdom and gave Sam the Star of the Dunedain. Sam, Rosie and Elanor traveled to Gondor in the year 21 and stayed there for a year.
When Rose died in the year 61, Sam left Bag End to his oldest son Frodo Gardner and gave The Red Book to his daughter Elanor. He went to the Grey Havens and sailed over the the Sea to Tol Eressea where it is hoped that he was reunited with Frodo. Frodo and Sam were mortal and remained so, and after dwelling in the peace and beauty of the Undying Lands for a time they eventually died.
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:
The Letters
of J.R.R. Tolkien: Letter #96 and
Letter
#246 discuss Gollum's chance to repent on the Stair of Cirith Ungol.
Letter
#246 and Letter #325 explain the eventual
death of mortals dwelling in the Undying Lands.
Third Age:
2980
April 6: Birth of Sam.
Note: There is a discrepancy between "The Tale of Years" (Appendix B of The Lord of the Rings), which gives Sam's birth year as 2983, and "The Longfather-Tree of Master Samwise" (Appendix C of The Lord of the Rings), which gives his birth year as 1380 S.R. or 2980. The date on the family tree seems more likely to be the correct date for several reasons. First, it is noted that Sam was 96 years old at the end of his final term as Mayor in 1476 S.R., which corresponds with a birth year of 1380 S.R. (2980). Second, on Sam's family tree his sister Marigold's birth year is given as 1383 S.R. (2983), and it is unlikely (though possible) that they were born in the same year. Third, Merry and Pippin are referred to as the "younger Hobbits" (FotR, p. 350) and Merry was born in 2982.
The date of April 6 as Sam's birthday is drawn from Appendix D of The Lord of the Rings: "... there grew up a custom of making holiday and dancing in the Party Field, when weather permitted, on April 6. Some said that it was old Sam Gardner's birthday, some that it was the day on which the Golden Tree first flowered in 1420, and some that it was the Elves' New Year." (p. 390)
3001
Frodo inherits Bag End. By this
time Sam has taken over most of his father's gardening duties.
3018
Spring: Sam notices a change
in Frodo's behavior and agrees to help Merry and Pippin learn what is troubling
his master.
April 13: Sam overhears Gandalf telling Frodo he has the One Ring. Gandalf tells Sam he will accompany Frodo on his journey.
September 23: Sam sets out
with Frodo from Bag End.
September 26: In the Old
Forest, Sam remains awake when the others fall asleep and saves Frodo from
drowning.
September 28: The Hobbits
are captured by a Barrow-wight.
September 29: The Hobbits
are rescued by Tom. They acquire swords of Westernesse from the barrow.
In Bree, the Hobbits meet Strider and Sam demands proof that he is who
he says.
September 30: The Hobbits
leave Bree with Strider and Bill the Pony.
October 25: Sam secretly attends the Council of Elrond and is chosen to accompany Frodo to Mordor.
December 25: The Fellowship leave Rivendell.
3019
January 13: Sam saves Frodo
from the Watcher in the Water. Bill the Pony runs away.
January 15: Sam kills an
Orc in the Chamber of Mazarbul and is wounded on the head.
February 14: Sam looks into
the Mirror of Galadriel.
February 16: The Fellowship
leave Lorien.
February 26: At Amon Hen,
Boromir tries to take the Ring. Frodo decides to go to Mordor alone but
is followed by Sam.
February 29: Frodo and Sam
meet Gollum.
March 1-2: Gollum leads the
Hobbits through the Dead Marshes.
March 4: Sam overhears Gollum
arguing with himself.
March 5: The Hobbits reach
the Black Gate and realize it's impassable. Gollum proposes to lead them
by a secret way.
March 7: Frodo and Sam meet
Faramir, brother of Boromir. Sam sees an Oliphaunt.
March 13: Frodo is stung
by Shelob and Sam believes him to be dead. Sam gravely wounds and possibly
kills Shelob. He chooses to continue the quest alone, but then realizes
that Frodo is alive and taken by the Enemy.
March 14: Sam finds Frodo
in the Tower of Cirith Ungol.
March 15: Frodo and Sam escape
from the Tower.
March 16: Frodo and Sam look
toward Mount Doom from the Morgai.
March 18: Sam spots Gollum
near a water-hole. Frodo and Sam are forced to join a company of Orcs marching
toward Udun.
March 19: Frodo and Sam escape
from the Orcs and continue on.
March 22: Frodo and Sam leave
the road and turn south toward Mount Doom.
March 23: The Hobbits cast
away their gear.
March 24: The Hobbits reach
the foot of Mount Doom.
March 25: Sam carries Frodo
up the slopes of Mount Doom. They meet Gollum, and Sam confronts him while
Frodo continues on. Sam spares Gollum's life. Frodo claims the Ring for
himself. Gollum bites off Frodo's finger and falls into the fiery chasm
and the Ring is destroyed. Sam helps Frodo out of Sammath Naur, and they
are rescued from the destruction of Mordor by Gandalf and the Eagles.
April 6: Frodo and Sam are honored at the Field of Cormallen.
October 30: The Hobbits arrive at the Brandywine Bridge
November 2: Sam is reunited
with Rosie Cotton.
November 3: The Battle of
Bywater.
3020
Spring: Trees, gardens and crops are restored by Sam's use of the Lady's gift.
April 6: The mallorn tree flowers in the Party Field on Sam's birthday.
May 1: Sam marries Rosie Cotton and moves into Bag End.
3021
March 25: Birth of Sam's daughter Elanor.
September 21: Frodo and Sam
set out for the Grey Havens.
September 29: Frodo sails
into the West to the Undying Lands.
October 6: Sam returns to Bag End.
Fourth Age:
2
Birth of Sam's son Frodo.
4
Birth of Sam's daughter Rose.
6
Sam is elected Mayor of Michel Delving.
Birth of Sam's son Merry.
8
Birth of Sam's son Pippin.
10
Birth of Sam's daughter Goldilocks.
11
Birth of Sam's son Hamfast.
12
Birth of Sam's daughter Daisy.
13
Sam is elected Mayor for a second
term. He is made a Counsellor of the North-kingdom by King Elessar.
14
Birth of Sam's daughter Primrose.
15
King Elessar comes north and meets
with Pippin, Merry and Sam. He gives Sam the Star of the Dunedain. Birth
of Sam's son Bilbo.
17
Birth of Sam's daughter Ruby.
19
Birth of Sam's son Robin.
20
Sam is elected for a third term
as Mayor.
21
Sam, Rosie and Elanor travel to
Gondor and stay there for a year. Birth of Sam's son Tom.
27
Sam is elected for a fourth term
as Mayor.
30
Elanor marries Fastred of Greenholm
on the Far Downs.
31
The Westmarch, from the Far Downs
to the Tower Hills, is added to the Shire as a gift of King Elessar.
33
Birth of Sam's grandson Elfstan
Fairbairn, son of Elanor and Fastred.
34
Sam is elected for a fifth term
as Mayor. Thain Peregrin makes Fastred the Warden of Westmarch. Fastred
and Elanor move to Undertowers
in the Tower Hills. From them are descended the Fairbairns of the Towers.
41
Sam is elected for a sixth term
as Mayor. Birth of Sam's grandson Holfast
Gardner.
42
Sam's daughter Goldilocks marries
Pippin's son Faramir.
48
Sam is elected for the seventh and
last time as Mayor.
61
Mid-year's day: Death of
Sam's wife Rose.
September 22: Sam leaves Bag End. He gives The Red Book to his daughter Elanor and goes to the Grey Havens, where he follows Frodo over the Sea into the West.
Samwise
Gamgee:
Samwise means "half wise,"
"simple" or "half-wit" in Old English. (Appendix
F, p. 414; Letters, #72) See also panthael
below.
Gamgee is an English surname
and also a name for "cotton-wool," named after an English surgeon who invented
"Gamgee tissue." Tolkien remembered the name from his childhood near Birmingham
and used it to relate the Gamgee family to the Cotton family. As a Hobbit
name, Gamgee is derived from Gamwich,
a village in the Shire where the family originated. The Hobbitish form
of Gamwich is Galabas - meaning "game village" - rendered
as Galbasi as a family name. Other forms of the family name include
Gammidge, Gamwichy, and Gammidgy.
"Nomenclature
of The Lord of the Rings," entry for Gamgee
The Letters
of J.R.R. Tolkien: Letters #72, #144, #184
Ring-bearer:
Since Sam bore the Ring for a brief
time in Mordor, he was also accorded the title "Ring-bearer."
Samwise
the Stouthearted:
When Sam wondered whether the story
of Frodo and the Ring would ever be told, Frodo suggested that someday
Sam would be called Samwise the Stouthearted.
"But you've left out one of the chief characters: Samwise the stouthearted. 'I want to hear more about Sam, dad. Why didn't they put in more of his talk, dad? That's what I like, it makes me laugh. And Frodo wouldn't have got far without Sam, would he, dad?' "
The Two Towers: The Stairs of Cirith Ungol," p. 322
Samwise
the Brave:
Frodo used this term instead of
"Samwise the Stouthearted" in Peter Jackson's film version of The Lord
of the Rings.
Samwise
the Strong, Hero of the Age:
In Mordor, Sam was briefly tempted
by the Ring and imagined himself as Samwise the Strong, Hero of the Age.
Wild fantasies arose in his mind; and he saw Samwise the Strong, Hero of the Age, striding with a flaming sword across the darkened land, and armies flocking to his call as he marched to the overthrow of Barad-dur. And then all the clouds rolled away, and the white sun shone, and at his command the vale of Gorgoroth became a garden of flowers and trees and brought forth fruit. He had only to put on the Ring and claim it for his own, and all this could be.
The Return of the King: "The Tower of Cirith Ungol," p. 177
Mayor
of Michel Delving:
Sam was elected Mayor after Will
Whitfoot resigned in the year 7 of the Fourth Age (1427 S.R.). Sam served
seven seven-year terms as Mayor. Appendix B of
The Lord of the Rings: "The Tale of Years," p. 377-78
Counsellor
of the North-kingdom:
King Elessar made Sam a Counsellor
of the North-kingdom in the year 14. (Appendix
B, p. 377)
Perhael:
The Sindarin name for Samwise, meaning
"half wise." The lenited form of the word is Berhael. This name
is used to refer to Sam in the praise the the Field of Cormallen.
Daur a Berhael, Conin en Annûn! Eglerio!
(Frodo and Sam, Princes of the West, glorify them!)
The Return of the King: "The Field of Cormallen," p. 231
Panthael:
In recognition of Sam's accomplishments
during the War of the Ring, Aragorn
noted that he should be called Panthael meaning "full wise" rather
than Perhael meaning "half wise." Aragorn wrote this in a letter
to Sam that appears in the Epilogue found in The
History of Middle-earth, vol. IX, Sauron Defeated.
Harthad
Uluithiad (Hope Unquenchable):
In an early draft of "Many Partings,"
Gandalf gave this name to Sam.
"... I name before you all Frodo of the Shire and Samwise his servant. And the bards and minstrels should give them new names: Bronwe athan Harthad and Harthad Uluithiad, Endurance beyond Hope and Hope Unquenchable."
The History of Middle-earth, vol. IX, Sauron Defeated: "Many Partings," p. 62
Sam
Gardner:
Sam came to be called this in later
years, no doubt because of his skill as a gardener and his use of the Lady's
gift to replenish the trees and plants of the Shire after the War of the
Ring. His eldest son Frodo took
the family name Gardner and from him descended the Gardners of the Hill.
His other children may have taken this surname as well.
Appendix
C of The Lord of the Rings: Gamgee genealogy, p. 379, 383
Appendix
D of The Lord of the Rings: "The Calendars," p. 390
Banazîr
Galbasi:
Banazir Galbasi is the Hobbit
name of Samwise Gamgee. Banazir is the equivalent of Samwise,
meaning "half wise," and is shortened as Ban. Galbasi, or
Galpsi,
is derived from Galabas, the Hobbitish form of the village Gamwich,
meaning "game village."
Appendix
F of The Lord of the Rings: "The Languages and Peoples of the Third
Age," p. 414, 416
Family tree of Sam Gamgee:
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