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Pronunciation
Fortinbras is commonly pronounced 'fo'rtinbrass'1
Meaning
Fortinbras means 'strong in the arm'2
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  • Updated 5 June 2023
  • Updates planned: 1

Fortinbras Took II

The twenty-ninth Thain of the Shire

Thains of the Shire

The grandson of Gerontius, the Old Took, who inherited the title of Thain from his father, Isumbras IV. He became Thain just two years before Bilbo Baggins left Hobbiton for his adventures in the Wild. He married Lalia Clayhanger, who was to become a famous matriarch of the Took clan, and came to be called Lalia the Great.


Notes

1

The name Fortinbras derives from French, and the original pronunciation would have been something like 'fortinbra'h'. In English, however (most prominently as the name of a character in Shakespeare's Hamlet) the final 's' sound is usually pronounced.

2

That is, 'strong in the arm' is the literal meaning of the name Fortinbras. In the case of Fortinbras II, the choice of name was doubtless influenced by his great-grandfather Fortinbras Took I, the father of Gerontius the Old Took.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 5 June 2023
  • Updates planned: 1

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