Sixty-seven years ago today, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was published. Hundreds of years ago, the Elven-smiths crafted the Rings of Power. The Dark Lord Sauron forged his own, the One Ring, and filled it with power to dominate all others. The ring was taken from Sauron and no matter how hard he searched throughout Middle-earth, he never found it. Through unlikely circumstances, the Ring made its way to Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit from The Shire. The first book in J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy trilogy begins the tale of Frodo Baggins’ epic journey to take the powerful Ring to Mount Doom to be destroyed forever.
To celebrate the publication anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring, here are seven interesting characters who only appear in The Fellowship of the Ring book and (for better or for worse, you decide) were not featured in the classic Peter Jackson film adaptation.
Note: Two of the characters actually make very brief appearances in the film, and those roles were drastically minimized to better suit the film version of the novel.
Tom Bombadil
Frodo and his companions met Bombadil while journeying through the Old Forest. After helping save Frodo’s fellow hobbits Merry and Pippin from the tree Old Man Willow, Bombadil provided the ring-bearers with food and shelter. Frodo informed Bombadil about his quest and when he let Bombadil wear the Ring, the object seemed to have no effect on the cheery, strange man. He also saved Frodo and his friends once again from a Barrow-wight after the hobbits departed his lodgings.
Glorfindel
Glorfindel was a handsome, strong, and awe-inspiring elf. In the Fellowship of the Ring, Glorfindel was the one who Lord Elrond sent in pursuit of Frodo and Frodo’s companions. After the appearance of the Nazgûl, Glorfindel set Frodo upon his horse’s back and bade the creature to take the hobbit to Rivendell.
Fredegar “Fatty” Bolger
Bolger was one of the few hobbits who knew that Frodo possessed the Ring. When Frodo and the other hobbits left for Rivendell, Bolger stayed in Crickhollow to “keep up appearances” and delay information about their departure from spreading. However, he was terrified when the Nazgûl arrived, but luckily he escaped. He was also too scared to enter the Old Forest, so Frodo and the others continued on without him. In the film version, he can be seen very briefly during Bilbo’s birthday celebrations.
Goldberry
Along with her husband Tom Bombadil, Goldberry hosted Frodo and his friends after Bombadil rescued Merry and Pippin from Old Man Willow. The hobbits found Goldberry to be kind and enchanting. She is beautifully described in the book, with a voice “as young and as ancient as spring, like the song of a glad water flowing down into the night from a bright morning in the hills.”
The Barrow-Wight
The Barrow-Wights are ghostly, undead creatures with terrible, hypnotic voices. Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin were captured by a Barrow-Wight upon leaving the Old Forest and Tom Bombadil. They were nearly killed, but Frodo cut off the wight’s hand and used a song to summon Bombadil to them. Bombadil came and used a strange song to ward off the Barrow-Wight for good, thus saving the hobbits from the ghastly creature.
Elladan And Elrohir
These twin brothers are the older siblings to Arwen. Their parents are Celebrían and Elrdond. The twins helped prepare the lands of Rivendell for the arrival of the Fellowship. They also joined Halbarad and the Grey Company and traveled with Aragorn. The twins and Aragorn fought alongside each other at the Black Gate.
The Maggot Family
In the film version of The Fellowship of the Ring, only Farmer Maggot was featured when Merry and Pippin were caught stealing food from his land. In the book, however, Farmer Maggot and his wife Mrs. Maggot fed Frodo, Sam, and Peregrin Took after the hobbits accidentally trespassed on their land. The Maggots also had several children and a few dogs.
FEATURED IMAGE VIA TECH ADVISOR
BOOK SYNOPSIS VIA AMAZON
CHARACTER INFORMATION SOURCED FROM ‘THE LORD OF THE RINGS’ WIKI AND SCREENRANT