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Dates
Slain III 3019
Race
Hobbits
Culture
Bree-hobbits
Family
Banks
Settlements
Dwelt in the Bree-land, probably in Archet or Combe (see text)
Meaning
The meaning of 'Willie' is uncertain1

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 12 July 2024
  • This entry is complete

Willie Banks

A Hobbit of Bree

One of two Bree-hobbits who were killed during the troubles there at the beginning of III 3019. His home is a little uncertain: according to Barliman Butterbur's description (he came 'from up-away')2 he perhaps came from the Hobbit-dwellings above Bree-town, higher on the Bree-hill, or conceivably from the more distant Archet or Combe.

The Banks family seems to have been a populous and wide-ranging one, and Hobbits with this name were found as far away as the Shire. It's unclear whether these two branches were related to one another, but it is at least possible that Willie was distantly related to Eglantine Banks, the mother of Peregrin Took.


Notes

1

'Willie' seems to be a abbreviated name, and in modern use that would suggest the full name 'William' (meaning 'helm of resolve'). That is not impossible (one of the Stone-trolls who captured Thorin and Company was given the name 'William', so it is at least conceivable that a Hobbit of Bree might have had the same name). Alternatively, 'Willie' might be short for some quite different name, such as Wilimar or Wilibald (both of which are attested as Hobbit-names for members of the Bolger family in the Shire).

2

From The Return of the King, VI 7. In the same passage, Butterbur names the other slain Hobbit as 'one of the Underhills from Staddle'. So, wherever Willie Banks came from, the fact that Barliman uses 'up-away' as separate from 'Staddle' indicates that we can rule out the latter as Willie's home.

See also...

Banks Family, Eglantine Banks, Up-away

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 12 July 2024
  • This entry is complete

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2008, 2024. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.

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Willie Banks

A Hobbit of Bree

Dates
Slain III 3019
Race
Hobbits
Culture
Bree-hobbits
Family
Banks
Settlements
Dwelt in the Bree-land, probably in Archet or Combe (see text)
Meaning
The meaning of 'Willie' is uncertain1

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 12 July 2024
  • This entry is complete

Willie Banks

A Hobbit of Bree

One of two Bree-hobbits who were killed during the troubles there at the beginning of III 3019. His home is a little uncertain: according to Barliman Butterbur's description (he came 'from up-away')2 he perhaps came from the Hobbit-dwellings above Bree-town, higher on the Bree-hill, or conceivably from the more distant Archet or Combe.

The Banks family seems to have been a populous and wide-ranging one, and Hobbits with this name were found as far away as the Shire. It's unclear whether these two branches were related to one another, but it is at least possible that Willie was distantly related to Eglantine Banks, the mother of Peregrin Took.


Notes

1

'Willie' seems to be a abbreviated name, and in modern use that would suggest the full name 'William' (meaning 'helm of resolve'). That is not impossible (one of the Stone-trolls who captured Thorin and Company was given the name 'William', so it is at least conceivable that a Hobbit of Bree might have had the same name). Alternatively, 'Willie' might be short for some quite different name, such as Wilimar or Wilibald (both of which are attested as Hobbit-names for members of the Bolger family in the Shire).

2

From The Return of the King, VI 7. In the same passage, Butterbur names the other slain Hobbit as 'one of the Underhills from Staddle'. So, wherever Willie Banks came from, the fact that Barliman uses 'up-away' as separate from 'Staddle' indicates that we can rule out the latter as Willie's home.

See also...

Banks Family, Eglantine Banks, Up-away

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 12 July 2024
  • This entry is complete

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2008, 2024. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.

Website services kindly sponsored by Axiom Discovery aptitude and skill testing.
Axiom Discovery gives you comprehensive online aptitude testing covering core skills across a wide range of disciplines.