The wife of Rorimac Brandybuck, who was Master of Buckland during the later part of the thirtieth century of the Third Age. Menegilda was the mother of Rorimac's heir Saradoc, and thus grandmother to Saradoc's son, who was Merry Brandybuck of the Company of the Ring.
Menegilda is the only member of the Goold family mentioned in records, and we know nothing for certain about this clan of Shire-hobbits. However, the family name 'Goold' ultimately derives from a word meaning 'golden-haired', so it seems reasonable to imagine that Menegilda owed at least part of her ancestry to the fair-haired Fallohides.
Notes
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We have no specific dates for Menegilda Goold. The dates shown here are the dates for her husband Rorimac Brandybuck; Menegilda's own dates were doubtless similar, but almost certainly not identical.
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2 |
In English, the name Gilda is usually pronounced with hard 'g' sound (as in 'gild'), and it is probably fair to assume that the Shire-hobbits would most naturally have used this pronunciation. However, that element of the name would originally have been pronounced with a soft 'g' sound, so something like 'menejee'lda' is a plausible alternative.
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3 |
The name Menegilda apparently derives from Ermenegilda, which itself comes ultimately from two Gothic words meaning 'absolute, entire' and 'sacrifice, thing of value'. So, the whole name can be interpreted as either 'absolute sacrifice' or 'of extreme value'. The -gilda element also implies a connection, not just with things of value, but more specifically with gold. Given that Menegilda's surname Goold meant 'golden-haired', it's entirely plausible that this connection was intended by Tolkien.
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- Updated 3 October 2021
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