Bifur was a Dwarf of the late Third Age. He is best known for being a companion to Bilbo Baggins and Thorin II on the quest to regain the Lonely Mountain, along with his cousins Bofur and Bombur.
Biography[]
Whilst he was a descendant of the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm, Bifur was not related to the royal House of Durin. Most of his familial relations are unclear, and what is known of his parentage is very little. He and his family were driven out of their home in the Lonely Mountain by the dragon Smaug, and were forced to live in exile, where the Dwarf warrior worked as a toy maker. Following Thorin II Oakenshield to a new life at his halls in the Blue Mountains, he continued his life as a toy maker.
Quest of Erebor[]
Answering Thorin Oakenshield's Quest of Erebor, he went to the meeting at Bag End with his cousins Bofur and Bombur, where he played the clarinet. On the quest, he was nearly cooked on a spit by Trolls and nearly killed by Goblins, Wargs, Stone giants, Great Spiders, and the dragon Smaug himself. A valiant and brave warrior, Bifur never gave up, and fought in the Battle of Five Armies with all his strength, killing numerous enemies. In the fallout of the great battle, Dáin II gave him his share of the treasure, and he retired to live at the Lonely Mountain.[1]
Development[]
In the earliest partial manuscript of The Hobbit, much of the dialog later assigned to a few of the Dwarves is more evenly distributed. In the opinion of John Rateliff (author of The History of The Hobbit: Mr Baggins and Return to Bag-End), this streamlining strengthened the story through simplification, but at the cost of relegating some of the Dwarves to obscurity since they barely speak at all. Bifur is one of these "silenced" members of the company. The films expanded on the fact he was "silenced" by saying that an Orc axe embedded in his skull left him inarticulate and only able to communicate in dwarfish and hand gestures, this was used to explain why he did not speak throughout the film. At the Battle of the Five Armies he headbutts an Orc, which results in the axe in his head being ripped out. This allows his speech to return.
According to The History of The Hobbit: Mr Baggins and Return to Bag-End by John Rateliff, in the never completed third revision of The Hobbit, Bifur, along with Bofur and Bombur were to become something like an Honour-guard to Thorin. Such a change is already supported in several places of the book, including the fact that Bifur, Bofur and Bombur all arrive at Bag End at the same time as Thorin, and that they climb into the same tree as him when the company is attacked by Wargs and Orcs.
Bifur (1977)
In adaptations[]
The Hobbit (1977 animated film)[]
In the 1977 Rankin/Bass The Hobbit, the voice of Bifur is provided by Jack DeLeon.
Peter Jackson's The Hobbit film trilogy[]
Bifur as portrayed in The Hobbit film trilogy
Bifur is played by William Kircher in Peter Jackson's Hobbit films. The studio released the following statement about Bifur:
"Born in the West, Bifur has the rusting remains of an Orc axe embedded in his forehead, which has rendered him inarticulate and occasionally feisty! He communicates only with Khuzdul and hand gestures [known as Iglishmêk]. Unlike most of the others in The Company of Dwarves, Bifur is not related to Thorin, nor is he of noble lineage, but rather is descended from miners and smithies – simple folk with simple tastes."
In the extended edition of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Bifur loses the axe in his head when he strikes an attacking Orc with a head-butt and knocks his foe off a cliff, although Bofur and Bombur manage to haul him back to safety. Bombur retrieves the axe-head, but Bifur informs Bombur, "You know where you can stick that?" and throws the axe-head away, confirming that he gained the ability to speak in the Common Tongue.
Voice dubbing actors[]
| Foreign Language | Voice dubbing artist |
|---|---|
| Czech Republic | Vladimír Kudla |
| French (France) | Olivier Bouana |
| Hungarian | Vilmos Papucsek |
| Italian (Italy) | Francesco Sechi |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | Paulo Bernardo |
| Spanish (Spain) | Francesc Pojol |
The Lord of the Rings Online[]
In The Lord of the Rings Online, Bifur lives in Erebor during and after the War of the Ring, holding the position of the Keeper of the Hammers. His son Bósi and grandson Bori play a major part in the Mines of Moria expansion in which they lead an expedition to reclaim Khazad-dûm on the orders of King Dáin II. Along with his cousin Bofur he appears in the "The Fires of Smaug" instance, which takes place during the Siege of Erebor. After the battle Bifur and the other surviving Dwarves of the Company join Dís in paying respect to tomb of Thorin II. When Nori goes on an unauthorized expedition to the Ered Mithrin, his brother Dori recruits his old companions Bofur and Glóin to go after him, but Bifur declines, saying that his adventuring days are behind him.
Radio[]
Bifur was played by Brian Haines in The Hobbit 1968 radio series.
Gallery[]
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Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Amharic | ቢፉር |
| Arabic | بيفور |
| Armenian | Բիֆուր |
| Assamese | বিফুৰ |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Біфур |
| Bengali | বিফুর |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Бифур |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 畢佛 |
| Georgian | ბიფური |
| Greek | Βιφυρ |
| Gujarati | બિફુર |
| Hebrew | ביפור |
| Hindi | बिफ़ुर |
| Japanese | ビフール |
| Kannada | ಬೈಫೂರ್ |
| Kazakh | Біфұр (Cyrillic) Bifur (Latin) |
| Korean | 빕우ᄅ ? |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Бифур |
| Pashto | بیفور |
| Persian | بیفور |
| Punjabi | ਬਾਇਪੁਰ |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Бифур |
| Marathi | बिफ़ुर |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Бифур |
| Nepalese | बिफ़ुर |
| Russian | Бифур |
| Sanskrit | बिfउर् |
| Serbian | Бифур (Cyrillic) Bifur (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | බිෆුර් |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Бифур |
| Tamil | பிபியூர் |
| Telugu | బిపుర |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Біфур |
| Urdu | بافور |
| Uzbek | Бифур (Cyrillic) Bifur (Latin) |
| Yiddish | ביפור |
| Thorin and Company | |
|---|---|
| Thorin II • Balin • Dwalin • Fíli • Kíli • Dori • Nori • Ori • Óin • Glóin • Bifur • Bofur • Bombur • Gandalf • Bilbo Baggins | |