The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Completed sometime after IV 801
Race
Culture
Families

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 20 January 2014
  • This entry is complete

Longfather-tree of Master Samwise

The descent of the Gardners

Hamfast
of Gamwich

Wiseman
Gamwich

Holman the
greenhanded

Hob
Gammidge

Rowan
Hobson
Andwise
Roper

Hamfast
Gamgee

May
Halfred of
Overhill

Hamson
Gamgee

Halfred
Gamgee

Daisy
Gamgee

May
Gamgee

Samwise
Gamgee

Marigold
Gamgee

Abbreviated genealogy showing the descent of Samwise Gamgee from Hamfast of Gamwich and Holman the greenhanded.

Holman the
greenhanded

Cottar
Rose
Cotman
Carl
Holman
Cotton

Tolman
Cotton

Lily
Brown

Wilcome
Cotton

Tolman
Cotton

Rose
Cotton

Wilcome
Cotton

Bowman
Cotton

Carl
Cotton

Abbreviated genealogy showing the descent of Rose Cotton (the wife of Sam Gamgee) from Holman the greenhanded and Cottar. The full descent of this family can be found in Appendix C to The Lord of the Rings.

One of the genealogical charts included with the Red Book, showing the history of the Gamgee and Cotton families, and the emergence of their descendants the Fairbairns and the Gardners. The tree traces the families back to three important figures: Hamfast of Gamwich (from whose descendants the name 'Gamgee' would originate), Holman the greenhanded (who began the gardening tradition of the family), and Cottar (from whom the Cottons would descend).

The earliest of these three was Hamfast of Gamwich, who was born in 1160 by the Shire-reckoning (or III 2760, the year after the Long Winter). The chart shows Hamfast's descendants through five generations down to his famous great-great-great-grandson Samwise Gamgee. On Cottar's side, four generations are shown, down to Rose Cotton, who would marry Sam Gamgee after his return from the Quest of Mount Doom. Sam and Rose had thirteen children in all, and from those children came the Fairbairns of Undertowers and the Gardner family.


Notes

1

The Longfather-tree includes a reference to the birth of Harding of the Hill in IV 80 (or 1501 by the Shire-reckoning) so this is the absolute earliest date it can have reached its final form. We're told in the Note on Shire Records that accompanies The Lord of the Rings that genealogies were added to the Red Book in Westmarch, so this chart was likely created or commissioned by one of the Fairbairn family; that is, one of Sam Gamgee's own descendants.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 20 January 2014
  • This entry is complete

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2012, 2014. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.

Website services kindly sponsored by Your Free Personality Test, the free personality test online
What's your ideal career? Are you in the right job? Explore your options with Your Free Personality Test.
The Encyclopedia of Arda
The Encyclopedia of Arda
Menu
Homepage Search Latest Entries and Updates Random Entry