Bilbo Baggins

"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

- Bilbo at his birthday party

Bilbo Baggins was a Hobbit of The Shire; he was hired by Thorin and Company to be their burglar on the Quest to Erebor, and he fought in the Battle of the Five Armies. He was also one of the ring-bearers of the One Ring, and the first to voluntarily give it up though with some difficulty. He wrote of his adventures in a book he called There and Back Again. Bilbo had no children, though he adopted his cousin Frodo Baggins and made him his heir. Bilbo was the first Hobbit to become famous in the world at large.

Early Life


Bilbo Baggins was born on the twenty-second of September (Third Age: 2890). He was the only son of Bungo Baggins and Belladonna Took.

In Hobbiton, Bungo Baggins constructed a spacious Hobbit-hole for Belladonna, which they named Bag End. The family moved to their new home, where Bilbo would spend much of his life.

As a young Hobbit, Bilbo was curious and eager for news of the outside world. The Istar wizard Gandalf noticed these qualities of Bilbo's on his visits to the Shire. Bilbo would later remember Gandalf's firework displays in the dwelling of his mother's family at Great Smials.

When Bilbo's father died in 2926 (Third Age) and his mother died in 2934 (Third Age), Bilbo spent the next seven years living alone in Bag End.

Quest to Erebor
Main article: The Hobbit



In the year 2941 of the Third Age, Bilbo at the age of 50 was visited by Gandalf and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield. These Dwarves wished to hire Bilbo to be their burglar on their quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug. Bilbo reluctantly agreed to go, and the next morning they set off from the Green Dragon Inn.

Bilbo's first duty on this journey was to investigate a light in the distance that turned out to be a fire with three Forest trolls around it. Bilbo attempted to snatch something from the trolls to bring back to the Dwarves, to show that he was a first class burglar, for everyone knows that trolls have large treasure troves. However, he was caught and the Dwarves who attempted to help him were captured as well. They were then rescued by Gandalf, who tricked the trolls and turned them all to stone. Gandalf was the one who had found the trolls' cave where they were being held. Before they left, Bilbo took an elvish dagger from the trolls' collection, which he would later name Sting.

Bilbo and his companions then travelled to Rivendell, and from there they made their way to the Misty Mountains.

It was here the companions encountered and fled from the goblin chief and his immense forces. Bilbo unfortunately lost direction and fell into a gaping hole of some sort. Luckily he survived the fall and crawled his way through the pitch black tunnel, using his hobbit nose to gain a sense of direction. What he didn't expect was to find a ring along the way. Bilbo thought nothing of it, and put it in his back pocket. Unbeknown to Bilbo, this lost trinket was the One Ring, forged by Sauron all those years ago. Bilbo soon found Gollum, who had been in possession of the Ring for many years. Bilbo and Gollum had a memorable riddle game, where if Bilbo won, Gollum would show him the way out. But Gollum was not satisfied with Bilbo's final riddle, and while mourning his loss, found that his Ring was gone. Gollum then paddled back on his boat towards Bilbo, who he then accused of stealing his precious, but Bilbo had vanished.

Bilbo was soon reunited with his companions.

Bilbo and the travellers had stopped for the night when Goblins and a pack of Wargs had found them near a patch of Pine Trees. The Dwarves,Bilbo,and Gandalf, climbed up the trees and waited for them to leave. The Goblins were not going to leave without killing them. They started to burn the trees down. The Warg Cheiftain was ordering the other Wargs around when Gandalf picked up a pinecone,and with his magic set it ablaze in a green fire. He threw it down hitting one of the Wargs, it rolled around on the ground burning while Gandalf threw more and more pinecones down. The goblins and Wargs fled and the group climbed down the trees.

The group was travelling throug Mirkwood when they had decided to stop and rest. When Bilbo awoke in the night, giant spiders where coming down and capturing the dwarves! But in the end they escaped and continued on.

After traveling through Mirkwood Forest they had been taken prisoner by elves. but escaped in barrels being sent down the river.

Shortly after, the travellers had gone to Lake Town. A small town occupied by men. Here is where Smaug would always attack. The group had fended off the Dragon until one of the Dwarves shot an arrow soaked in water at the dragons under belly. Killing it and sending him to rot at the bottom of the lake next to Lake Town. Here, after the mountain was reclaimed by Thorin Oakenshield, the Battle of Five Armies took place. Beorn, Beorning chieftain, joined the travellers in their fight against an army of orcs.

During his journey to the Lonely Mountain, Bilbo also found the One Ring, and was given a chain-mail shirt of Mithril.

Rivendell


Bilbo was the bearer of the One Ring for many decades, ignorant of its significance. However, by TA 3001, the Ring had begun to affect him. He did not appear to have aged at all, although he felt older and thin inside. He decided that he wanted to partake in one more adventure, before he found a place to settle down and finish his account of the Quest for the Lonely Mountain. Bilbo at some point taught Samwise Gamgee various bits of poetry and told him tales of the elder days; Bilbo also taught Sam how to write.

On September 22, a farewell Birthday Party was held in his honour, where he announced his intention to leave the Shire. On the same day, Bilbo left the One Ring and his home of Bag End in the possession of his relative, Frodo Baggins. After his departure, Bilbo accompanied three Dwarves to Dale and the Lonely Mountain, before finally settling in Rivendell. There, he met Aragorn and Elrond.



Between TA 3003 and TA 3018, Bilbo worked on the written account of his adventures, in a book that would later be known as the Red Book of Westmarch. He also studied the Elvish language and compiled a three-volume history of the Elder Days which he called Translations from the Elvish. He composed the poem All that is Gold Does Not Glitter for Aragorn as well as a much longer poem about Earendil during his stay at Rivendell.

In October TA 3018, Frodo arrived at Rivendell. Bilbo learnt that his nephew was on a quest to destroy the One Ring. However, he remained in Rivendell while Frodo travelled south. After Frodo returned, Bilbo had noticeably aged, partially freed from the Ring's effect, although he continued to desire it.

Since Bilbo had been a ring-bearer, he was allowed to accompany Frodo to the Undying Lands. On September 22, TA 3021, Bilbo turned 131, and became the oldest Hobbit in Middle-earth. On September 29, he, Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel and Frodo boarded a ship docked at the Grey Havens and sailed away from Middle-earth.

Translations

 * Translations from the Elvish
 * The Fall of Gil-galad

Composed Works

 * There and Back Again
 * The Road Goes Ever On
 * All that is Gold Does Not Glitter
 * Song of Eärendil
 * The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late
 * A Walking Song (Wrote the lyrics)
 * Warning of Winter
 * Bilbo's Last Song

In the books

 * The Fellowship of the Ring
 * The Two Towers
 * The Return of the King
 * The Hobbit
 * The Silmarillion
 * Unfinished Tales

In the movies

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

Behind the Scenes

 * Bilbo is the main character of The Hobbit, and has a smaller role in The Lord of the Rings.
 * Ian Holm played Bilbo in Peter Jackson's film trilogy of The Lord of the Rings.
 * Orson Bean voiced Bilbo in the animated version of The Hobbit.
 * It is currently rumored that James McAvoy, who played the Faun Mr. Tumnus in the first Narnia movie, is near to being signed to play Bilbo in the new upcoming film of The Hobbit.

Bilbo Beutlin