The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Born c. III 2778 (c. 1178 by the Shire-reckoning)1
Race
Culture
Family
Born a Goodbody; married into the Bolger family
Settlements
After her marriage, Cora would presumably have settled in the Bolger folkland around Budgeford
Pronunciation
Cora is pronounced 'ko'ra'
Meaning
Probably from Ancient Greek kóra, meaning 'daughter' or 'girl'2

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About this entry:

  • Updated 8 April 2022
  • This entry is complete

Cora Goodbody

The mother of Fastolph Bolger

Cora was born some time in the late twelfth century (by the Shire-reckoning). She was one of only two known members of the Goodbody clan, the other being Togo, who belonged to the generation after Cora's. Cora herself married into the Bolger family when she wed Rudolph, a son of Gundolpho Bolger. They only had a single son, whom they named Fastolph, but through Fastolph and his wife Pansy Baggins they had numerous descendants.


Notes

1

We have no specific dates for Cora's life. The birth date shown here is that of her husband Rudolph Bolger, to which Cora's own date of birth was presumably comparable.

2

Though kóra literally meant a young girl or a daughter, it was often used poetically of divine beings, and especially for Persephone (originally called Kóre) the daughter of Demeter. Of course, the Greek pantheon would have been unknown to the Shire-hobbits, and so Cora Goodbody cannot have received her name directly through this route. Tolkien does not explain the logic behind the name; it may be that Cora was literally her name in the Shire, and had some unknown meaning in that context. Alternatively, Cora might be a translation of a similar concept in the mythology of Middle-earth (she might perhaps have originally been named Vána, after the Vala of that name, whose persona as the 'Ever-young' fits to some extent with the Greek meaning of the name).

See also...

Rudolph Bolger

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 8 April 2022
  • This entry is complete

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