Bilbo Baggins

History and context

Recruited as a burglar at Gandalf’s recommendation, Bilbo travels towards Erebor to help the Dwarves recover their home and treasure from Smaug. Beneath the Misty Mountains he finds a ring and encounters Gollum. His decision to spare Gollum becomes important far beyond the immediate escape. At Erebor he takes the Arkenstone and offers it as a means of breaking the impasse between Thorin and the besieging Men and Elves. This is a deliberate attempt to prevent bloodshed, although it exposes him to Thorin’s anger. He returns to the Shire with altered loyalties and interests, retaining both affection for home and a taste for the wider world.

Literary context and distinctions

Bilbo begins The Lord of the Rings by giving up the Ring, with Gandalf’s help, and later settles in Rivendell. He contributes poems, learning and recollections to the book’s imagined textual history. The first edition of The Hobbit presented the encounter with Gollum differently; Tolkien revised it to fit the later story of the Ring. Readers should therefore distinguish publication history from events in the revised narrative. Bilbo’s eventual voyage West is a special favour, not a transformation into an Elf or an immortal.

Primary references

• The Hobbit, “Riddles in the Dark”, “A Thief in the Night” and “The Last Stage”.
• The Fellowship of the Ring, Prologue and “A Long-expected Party”.
• The Return of the King, “The Grey Havens”.