Bofur

A descendant of the Dwarves of Moria, one of the companions of Bilbo Baggins and Thorin II Oakenshield on the Quest of Erebor. His most notable adventure on that quest took place after the Dwarves had located the Lonely Mountain, and the secret entrance in its side. While the other Dwarves crept inside, Bofur had been left outside with Bombur to guard the supplies, but when Bilbo's thievery drove Smaug into a rage, the Dragon roared into the sky in search of revenge, leaving Bofur and Bombur in terrible danger. The Dwarves staged an urgent and desperate rescue of their companions, who made it to safety with only moments to spare.

After the Quest, Bofur settled in the reclaimed Erebor, and was said to still be living there at the time of the War of the Ring, some seventy-seven years later.

Bofur's relations to the other Dwarves of the Company are a little uncertain. It is clear that he was most closely related to Bifur and Bombur, but the details are difficult to discover. There are three main lines of evidence:

• When the Dwarves first arrived at Bilbo's home, Bifur and Bofur were both wearing yellow hoods, but Bombur had a pale green one. This, along with their very similar names, hints that Bifur and Bofur were brothers, and Bombur was a cousin to both.
• After their escape from the Spiders of Mirkwood, Bombur is described as being '...propped up on either side by his cousin Bifur, and his brother Bofur...' (The Hobbit 8, Flies and Spiders). The most natural reading here seems to be that Bifur was Bombur's cousin, and Bofur was Bombur's brother (therefore contradicting the evidence of the names and hood-colours). However, an alternative reading might suggest that Bombur was propped up by Bifur (who was his cousin) and Bofur (who was Bifur's brother), thus resolving the problem.
• When Bifur, who was safely within the mountain, realized that Smaug was about to attack Bofur and Bombur outside, he called out, 'My cousins!' (The Hobbit 12 Inside Information). This is probably just a short way of exclaiming his concern: in the heat of the moment, we would hardly expect him to shout something like, 'My brother, Bofur, and cousin, Bombur!' (though, from a genealogical standpoint, it would have been rather more convenient if he had).

It's tricky to disentangle all these apparently conflicting sources, but the resolution that seems to match all the evidence most easily places Bofur as the brother of Bifur, but the cousin of Bombur.