Golfimbul was a goblin chieftain of Mount Gram, the fortress of Goblins in the Ettenmoors, who led his band in an invasion of the Shire. He was defeated and beheaded at the Battle of Greenfields by Bandobras "Bullroarer" Took. The manner of his death at Bullroarer's hands is said to have inspired the game of Golf.
Biography
In TA 2747, Golfimbul led an army of Goblins 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 goblins led by Golfimbul were but the most western pack of goblins 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 goblins, preventing them from settling all of Eriador.
The goblin-host was defeated by a troop of Hobbits led by Bullroarer Took. According to the narrative in The Hobbit, during the battle Bullroarer charged the ranks of the goblins of Mount Gram and with a wooden club 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 Took's actions at the battle.[1][2][3]
Portrayal in 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
- The 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 (78 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
- ↑ The Hobbit, Chapter I: "An Unexpected Party"
- ↑ 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"
- ↑ 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"