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Pronunciation
Gorbadoc is pronounced 'gorba'dok'
Meaning
Uncertain1
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  • Updated 6 May 2023
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Gorbadoc Brandybuck (‘Broadbelt’)

The generous host of Brandy Hall

Masters of Buckland

The son of Marmadoc Brandybuck, who inherited the title Master of Buckland from his father. Gorbadoc formed a link between the Brandybuck family and the Tooks when he wedded Mirabella Took, one of the daughers of the Old Took, and the couple would become ancestors of two of the members of the Company of the Ring. Through the hereditary line of the Masters of Buckland, Gorbadoc was the great-grandfather of Meriadoc Brandybuck, who would eventually inherit the title of Master himself. Gorbadoc's youngest daughter Primula married Drogo Baggins, and through her Gorbadoc was one of the grandfathers of Frodo Baggins.

We have few details of Gorbadoc's life, but early in his time as Master, the Fell Winter descended on the Shire, and White Wolves invaded the Hobbit-lands. Gorbadoc was renowned for his love of good food (hence, no doubt, his nickname 'Broadbelt'), and his generous hospitality. It was during one of his famous feasts that Frodo's parents - Gorbadoc's own daughter Primula and her husband Drogo Baggins - were lost in a boating accident.


Notes

1

Tolkien's choice of the name Gorbadoc seems to have been influenced by the quasi-historical character of Gorboduc. That figure was an ancient King of the Britons named in Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain, about whom several plays were later written. The meaning of the name - if indeed it has one - is less than clear. In Welsh, the King was known as Gorwy, which can mean 'edge' or 'margin', so conceivably Gorbadoc Brandybuck's name held a reference to his importance in Buckland on the eastern march of the Shire.

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About this entry:

  • Updated 6 May 2023
  • This entry is complete

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