Golfimbul, or Gulfimbul,[1] was a king of the Orcs of Mount Gram who led his band in an invasion of the Shire. He was defeated and beheaded at the Battle of the Green Fields by Bandobras "Bullroarer" Took. Bullroarer decapitated him with one mighty hit, and his head sailed twenty yards into a rabbit-hole: this is said to have inspired the game of Golf.[2]
Biography[]
In TA 2747, Golfimbul led a band of Orcs from Mount Gram in the Misty Mountains into the Northfarthing of the Shire. This invasion of the northern Shire occurred during the reign of Arassuil as Chieftain of the Dúnedain, and the Orcs led by Golfimbul were but the most western band of Orcs which had left the Misty Mountains. The only reason Golfimbul could make it all the way to the Shire was that the Rangers at the time were fighting many battles with Orcs, preventing them from settling all of Eriador, which they began invading in TA 2740.[3]
The Orc-host was met in the Green Fields by a troop of Hobbits led by Bandobras "Bullroarer" Took. During the Battle of the Green Fields, Bullroarer charged the ranks of the Orcs of Mount Gram and with a wooden club, he knocked Golfimbul's head clean off, sending it sailing a hundred yards through the air and down a rabbit-hole, thus winning the battle. Golfimbul would unwittingly give his name to the game of golf, which was invented by Bullroarer's actions during the battle.[2][4]
It is possible that Golfimful was the king of the Orcs of the Misty Mountains as a whole since a year after his death in TA 2748, the Orcs were repelled from Eriador.
Etymology[]
While Golfimbul is a word that is not glossed, it contains the element "fimbul" ("great") in Old Norse.[5]
It was noted by Robert Foster that the name Golfimbul may be either fictitious or translated Westron due to the presence of the English word "golf"; but it is more likely that Tolkien considered Golf to be named after Golfimbul (in a fictitous way).[6]
In 1960, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote the name as Gulfimbul.[1] This was speculated by John D. Rateliff to have been an evolution in one of Tolkien's languages.[7] It is possible that Gulfimbul was Golfimbul's name in Westron.
Other versions[]
In an early draft of The Hobbit, Golfimbul was originally called Fingolfin, Coincidentally also containing the word "golf".[8]
Adaptations[]
In Peter Jackson's film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Gandalf relates to Bilbo the story of how Bullroarer Took defeated Golfimbul before the Company leaves Bag End. It is implied, however, that some historical embellishment may be at work.
See also[]
- Great Goblin of Goblin-town
- Gorkil (BFME character)
Gallery[]
_-_Mount_on_Warg.png "Golfimbul, Goblin Chieftain of Mount Gram (2) - Mount on Warg.png (149 KB)")
_-_On_Foot.png "Golfimbul, Goblin Chieftain of Mount Gram (3) - On Foot.png (346 KB)")
.png "Golfimbul, Goblin Chieftain of Mount Gram (1).png (252 KB)")
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Голфимбул |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 高耳夫裘 |
| Georgian | გოლფიმბული |
| Gujarati | ગોલ્ફિમ્બુલ |
| Hebrew | גולפימבול |
| Korean | 골프 임불 |
| Marathi | गोल्फिंबुल |
| Nepalese | गोल्फिम्बुल |
| Russian | Гольфимбул |
| Serbian | Голфимбул (Cyrillic) Golfimbul (Latin) |
| Urdu | گولفمبل |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Гольфімбул |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The History of The Hobbit: Mr Baggins and Return to Bag-End, "The Fifth Phase", "New Chapter I. A Well-Planned Party", pg. 776
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Hobbit, Chapter I: "An Unexpected Party"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: "The Third Age"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers, I: The Númenórean Kings, (iii): "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur"
- ↑ Wikipedia:Fimbulwinter#Etymology
- ↑ The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, pg. 167
- ↑ The History of The Hobbit: Mr Baggins and Return to Bag-End, "The Fifth Phase", "New Chapter I. A Well-Planned Party", pg. 785 (note 24)
- ↑ The History of The Hobbit: Mr Baggins and Return to Bag-End, "The First Phase", "The Bladorthin Typescript", pg. 39