The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Born IV 41 (1462 by the Shire-reckoning)
Race
Culture
Family
Gardner, an offshoot of the Gamgee family
Settlements
Apparently lived at Bag End, or at least on Hobbiton Hill1
Pronunciation
Holfast is pronounced 'ho'lfast'
Meaning
Apparently something close to 'stay-at-home'

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About this entry:

  • Updated 16 December 2018
  • This entry is complete

Holfast Gardner

A grandson of Samwise Gamgee

The son of Frodo Gardner, who was in turn the second child of Samwise Gamgee, the companion of Frodo Baggins during the War of the Ring. Holfast himself was born long after that War, in the year IV 41 (or 1462 by the Shire-reckoning), and carried on the family line through his own son Harding of the Hill. The elements of Holfast's name seem to reflect those of his great-grandfather Hamfast ('Stay-at-home'), and suggest that he rarely wandered far from from his Hobbit-hole.


Notes

1

The evidence for Holfast's home being in Bag End, or at least on Hobbiton Hill, is circumstantial but compelling. We know that Holfast's grandfather Sam Gamgee lived there with his family, and Holfast's father Frodo was Sam's eldest son and heir, so he presumably inherited Bag End after Sam's departure from Middle-earth in IV 61. We can't be sure that Holfast would have inherited it in turn, but the fact that Holfast's own heir was known as Harding of the Hill - the Hill, presumably, where Bag End stood - seems to imply that Holfast did indeed follow his father as master of Bag End.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 16 December 2018
  • This entry is complete

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