In The Fellowship of the Ring, Bill Ferny was a Men of Bree and a known agent of Saruman before and during the War of the Ring.
Biography
Bill Ferny resided in Bree and was known as an unpleasant person who acquired a bad name and a reputation for nefarious activities including trading information about others.[1] Ferny lived in a house next to the the Gatekeeper's lodge near the Southern Gate on the Great East Road, which ran through Bree.[2]
In Bree, Merry saw Ferny selling information about the hobbits to the Nazgûl. Ferny may have also let loose the ponies that otherwise could have been used by the hobbits to leave the city. Although he didn't want to, he was pressured into selling a pony named Bill to Strider and the hobbits, for which he demanded twelve silver pennies, which was three times its value.[1]
Later, Ferny supported Saruman's mechanization of the Shire, becoming a watchman at the Brandywine Bridge. Bill (the pony) repaid his former master for his mistreatment by kicking him. Ferny's ultimate fate is unknown, but as far as the folk of the Shire knew he was never heard from again.[3]
Portrayal in adaptations
In The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Ferny's father, appeared as an assassin hired by Azog along with his partner Squint to hunt down Thorin II Oakenshield
Ferny also appears in The Lord of the Rings Online. In the main story line, he controls a band of brigands known as the Blackwolds that operate all over Bree-land. Ferny persuades his men by claiming that they will control Bree with the help of orcs. He later receives help from his superior 'Sharkey', more commonly known as Saruman.
Ferny is also featured in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game), in which he is killed when he confronts Strider in the streets.
Other games
Bill Ferny was also featured as a character in The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game as a Decipher card known as Bill Ferny, Swarthy Sneering Fellow.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, "Strider" Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "Fellowship" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings, "At the Prancing Pony"
- ↑ The Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Scouring of the Shire"
- ↑ http://lotrtcgwiki.com/wiki/lotr02075
