Meriadoc Brandybuck

"But I want to fight!"

- Merry

Meriadoc Brandybuck, or Merry for short, was a Hobbit, and one of Frodo's cousins and closest friends. He loved boats and ponies and had a great interest in the maps of Middle-earth. He was also related to Frodo several times over.

Merry was born in TA 2982. He was the only child of Saradoc Brandybuck (TA 2940 - FO 11), Master of Buckland, and Esmeralda Took (TA 2936 - ?), the younger sister of Paladin Took, making him first cousin to Paladin's son Pippin, who was clearly his closest friend.

Character
Merry was considered the most perceptive and intelligent of the hobbits: for example, even before Bilbo Baggins leaves the Shire, he knew of the One Ring and its power. He guarded Bag End after Bilbo's party, protecting Frodo from the various and often unwanted guests. He also was the force behind "the Conspiracy" of Sam, Pippin, and Fredegar Bolger (more commonly known as "Fatty", due to his plump form), and himself to help Frodo. Thus, even before the Quest of the Ring begins, Merry was well prepared and organized; he assembled their gear and brought ponies. His shortcut through the Old Forest did not serve them well, though they were saved by Tom Bombadil, and were not pursued by the Black Riders. At the Barrow-downs, he acquired his sword, a work of Westernesse.



At Bree, he was actually not present in the Prancing Pony when Frodo foolishly put on the ring; instead, he was outside taking a walk, and was nearly overcome by the Nazgûl who arrived. At Rivendell, he was seen studying maps and plotting their path. His approval to the Fellowship came with only a little less reluctance than Pippin's; they were the two to relay news to the people of the Shire about Frodo's journey, but in the end Gandalf came to the defence of Merry and Pippin believing in the friendship and loyalty shown to Frodo and Sam, therefore requesting to Elrond to allow the two hobbits to come along. At Amon Hen, he was captured along with Pippin by a band of Saruman's Uruk-hai, although he makes a good account for himself, and was valiantly defended by Boromir.

Escaping with Pippin into Fangorn Forest, he was met by Treebeard and the newly risen Gandalf the White. Along with Pippin, he drank significant amounts of Entwash and gains in height. Accompanying Treebeard to the Entmoot and later to Isengard, he and Pippin were set as the guardians following Saruman's fall. It was here that he first encountered King Théoden of Rohan, and was reunited with the four of the remaining members of the Fellowship.



Separated by Pippin and Gandalf's journey to Gondor, he swore fealty to Théoden and became his esquire. Without permission from his liege, he rode to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields in the care of young Dernhelm. As the Nazgûl attacked the Riders of Rohan and Théoden was injured, Merry and Dernhelm faced the Witch King of Angmar alone. Here, Merry's companion was revealed to be Éowyn (he was already aware of the fact that it was Eowyn in the film, but in the book he only found out at this moment), White Lady of Rohan, niece to the King. Battling both fell beast and the Nazgûl alone, Éowyn was well assisted by Merry's crucial move: his sword, built for this very purpose, was one of the few weapons able to pierce the Ringwraith's form, at great expense to himself. This was enough to allow Éowyn to finish off the Witch King. Merry heard Théoden's last words, but was unnoticed by the honour escort of Riders and was found wandering the city by Pippin. He was saved by the healing of Aragorn and recovered fully.

For his bravery in battle, King Éomer, as the new King of Rohan, knighted Merry. During the Scouring of the Shire, he was in the forefront of the Battle of Bywater, particularly in using the Horn of Rohan presented to him by Éowyn.

Upon his return, he and Pippin were clearly seen as being the tallest of hobbits, taller even than the legendary Bandobras "Bullroarer" Took (Due to drinking large amounts of Entwater). Merry married Estella Bolger sometime after the end of the Third Age. He became the Master of Buckland in 11 of the Fourth Age. He wrote Old Words and Names in the Shire. Although he was not recorded as having any children within the family trees, he clearly had at least one son. At the age of 102, he returned to Rohan and Gondor with Pippin, dying there around the year FO 64.

Sword
Merry uses a short barrow-blade for melee combat in books and video games, however in the movies he loses his barrow blade and instead has a Rohirrim short sword, a Helmet, Shield and Leather jerkin. This was melted during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields after being used to stab the Witch-king of Angmar.

Throwing Weapons
Merry can use rocks to hit opponents from a distance. In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (video game), he uses throwing knives instead of rocks like all other Hobbits. In his case, however, his daggers are slightly stronger.

In the books

 * The Fellowship of the Ring
 * The Two Towers
 * The Return of the King

In the movies

 * The Fellowship of the Ring
 * The Two Towers
 * The Return of the King

The Line of Merry
Gormadoc Brandybuck = Malva Headstrong |                     |             |            | Hanna Goldworthy = Madoc         Sadoc       Marroc |              Marmadoc = Adaldrida Bolger |                    --                   |                             |          |                Gorbadoc = Mirabella Took    2 daughters  Orgulas |                        --                      |           |                |  Menegilda Goold = Rorimac    5 children       Primula = Drogo Baggins |                                    |       --    Frodo Baggins |                                   |       Saradoc = Esmeralda Took           Merimac |                            |  Meriadoc (Merry) = Estella Bolger      Berilac


 * See also : Middle-earth and Brandybuck

External link

 * Meriadoc Brandybuck at Tolkien Gateway

Meriadoc Brandybock