"Why, my grand-dad, ... he had a rope-walk over by
Tighfield many a year."
A nickname for Samwise Gamgee's paternal grandfather, whose true name was Hobson. Hobson's own father was Hob Gammidge, a rope-maker from Tighfield, and his son Hobson operated the 'rope-walk'1 for many years after his father's time. Hobson, or 'Roper Gamgee', was born in the Shire-year 1285 (or III 2885), five years before the birth of Bilbo Baggins, and so would have been a youngster of twenty-six during the terrible year of the Fell Winter.
Hobson had four children, of which the eldest, called Andwise or 'Andy', followed him in the trade of rope-making. His second son, Hamfast, removed from Tighfield to Hobbiton, where he worked with Roper Gamgee's cousin, Holman Greenhand (and so Hamfast's son Samwise eventually became the gardener at Bag End). Roper Gamgee had two further children, a daughter named May, and a third son, Halfred, who removed to Overhill.
Roper Gamgee lived until the age of ninety-nine, long enough to see the birth of his grandson Samwise (although Sam would have been just four years old when Hobson the Roper died in the Shire-year 1384). He left a lasting legacy for the family by giving rise to the name 'Gamgee'. Hobson's nickname of 'Roper Gamgee' was the first use of the name (representing a corruption of 'Gammidgy', a nickname of his father Hob Gammidge). From Roper Gamgee's time it passed down to become the family name used by Hamfast and his son Samwise.
Notes
1 |
A 'rope-walk' was a long room in which rope was made, so named because the roper would walk backward down the hall as they wove together the strands that would make up the finished rope. |
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- Updated 4 March 2023
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