The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Location
The Ring was discovered in the tunnels of Goblin-town beneath the Misty Mountains
Race
Culture
Family
Settlements
Bilbo's home was at Bag End in Hobbiton; he found the Ring beneath Goblin-town
Title of
Other names
Ringwinner;1 after the finding of the Ring, Bilbo and his successors were known as Ring-bearers

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About this entry:

  • Updated 22 October 2017
  • This entry is complete

Ring-finder

A title of Bilbo Baggins

"...you are the Ring-bearer. And you are the heir of Bilbo, the Ring-finder."
Words of Gandalf to Frodo Baggins
from The Fellowship of the Ring II 1
Many Meetings

A title given to Bilbo Baggins by Gandalf, in contrast to Frodo Baggins' later role as the Ring-bearer. It referred back to Bilbo's adventures in the caves of the Goblins beneath the Misty Mountains where, lost and alone in the dark, he had improbably stumbled across the One Ring. Formerly held by Gollum, the Ring's power of invisibility was of considerable help in the rest of Bilbo's adventures, but it was later discovered to be Sauron's Ruling Ring, and it fell on Bilbo's heir Frodo to carry it southwards on the Quest of Mount Doom.


Notes

1

Though both 'Ring-finder' and 'Ringwinner' refer to Bilbo's acquisition his Magic Ring, their precise meanings are subtly different. Bilbo was the 'Ring-finder' simply in the sense that he came across the Ring while lost in the Goblins' passageways, whereas he became the 'Ringwinner' - though in fact he already held the Ring - by retroactively defeating Gollum, the former holder, in an underground Riddle-game.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 22 October 2017
  • This entry is complete

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