Gerontius Took: Difference between revisions

From Tolkien Gateway
m (Updated infobox)
(5 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown)
Line 2: Line 2:
| image=[[File:Liz Danforth - Gerontius took.jpg|250px]]
| image=[[File:Liz Danforth - Gerontius took.jpg|250px]]
| name=Gerontius Took
| name=Gerontius Took
| pronun=
| othernames=The Old Took
| othernames=The Old Took
| titles=[[Thain]] of [[the Shire]]
| titles=[[Thain]] of [[the Shire]]
Line 14: Line 15:
| deathlocation=
| deathlocation=
| age=130
| age=130
| notablefor=
| family=[[Took Family|Took]]
| family=[[Took Family|Took]]
| parentage=[[Fortinbras Took I]]
| parentage=[[Fortinbras Took I]]
Line 44: Line 46:


==Inspiration==
==Inspiration==
In [[Mr. and Mrs. Kloos 18 April-6 May 1963|a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Kloos]], Tolkien stated that when he wrote ''[[The Hobbit]]'', he had imagined Bilbo's grandfather to be old, because both of his grandparents were around a hundred years old when they died.<ref name="RC"/>
In [[Letter to Mr and Mrs Kloos|a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Kloos]], Tolkien stated that when he wrote ''[[The Hobbit]]'', he had imagined Bilbo's grandfather to be old, because both of his grandparents were around a hundred years old when they died.<ref name="RC"/>


== Portrayal in adaptations ==
[[File:The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey - The Old Took.jpg|The Old Took in ''[[The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey]]''|right|thumb|150px]]
'''2011: ''[[The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey]]'':'''
:The Old Took appears in a scene in the Extended Edition, played by [[Dan Hennah]].
{{references}}
{{references}}
{{Sequence
{{seq-start}}
|prev=[[Fortinbras Took I]]
{{seq-head
|next=[[Isengrim Took III]]
| race=hobbit
|list=26th [[Thain]] of [[The Shire]]<br>{{SR|1248}} - {{SR|1320|n}}
| house=[[Took Family]]
|}}
| born={{SR|1190}}
| died={{SR|1320}}
}}
{{Seq
| prev=[[Fortinbras Took I]]
| list=26th [[Thain]] of [[The Shire]]
| dates={{SR|1248}} - {{SR|1320|n}}
| next=[[Isengrim Took III]]
}}
{{seq-end}}
[[Category:Characters in The Hobbit]]
[[Category:Characters in The Hobbit]]
[[Category:Hobbits]]
[[Category:Hobbits]]

Revision as of 22:26, 29 June 2014

Gerontius Took
Hobbit
Liz Danforth - Gerontius took.jpg
Biographical Information
Other namesThe Old Took
TitlesThain of the Shire
LocationGreat Smials, Tuckborough
BirthS.R. 1190
RuleS.R. 1248 - 1320 (72 years)
DeathS.R. 1320 (aged 130)
Family
FamilyTook
ParentageFortinbras Took I
SpouseAdamanta Chubb
ChildrenIsengrim, Hildigard, Isumbras, Hildigrim, Isembold, Hildifons, Isembard, Hildibrand, Belladonna, Donnamira, Mirabella and Isengar
Physical Description
GenderMale
GalleryImages of Gerontius Took

Gerontius Took (S.R. 1190 - 1320, died aged 130), also known as The Old Took, was a renowned Hobbit and twenty-sixth Thain of the Shire.

History

Gerontius was the only son of Fortinbras I. He married Adamanta Chubb, who gave birth to twelve children: Isengrim III, Hildigard, Isumbras IV, Hildigrim, Isembold, Hildifons, Isembard, Hildibrand, Belladonna, Donnamira, Mirabella and Isengar.

After the death of his father in 1248, Gerontius became the twenty-sixth Thain of the Shire.[1] He was a friend of Gandalf, who gave him a pair of magic diamond studs.[2]

Gerontius Took reached the impressive age of 130, which made him the oldest Hobbit until his grandson Bilbo Baggins celebrated his 131st Birthday.[3] He also held the record of most offspring, until Samwise Gamgee bested him with Tom's birth in S.R. 1442.[4]

Etymology

He was called The Old Took not because of his age, but because of his numerous younger relatives.[5]

The word element geron is Greek for old. Gerontius was also a Latin name of the Late Roman Empire, and is one of the very few Greco-Latin names appearing in Hobbit lore.

Gerontius is rendered as Geraint in Welsh, found as a royal name in The Mabinogion and in Tennyson's Geraint and Enid.[6]

Inspiration

In a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Kloos, Tolkien stated that when he wrote The Hobbit, he had imagined Bilbo's grandfather to be old, because both of his grandparents were around a hundred years old when they died.[5]

Portrayal in adaptations

2011: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey:

The Old Took appears in a scene in the Extended Edition, played by Dan Hennah.

References

Gerontius Took
Took Family
Born: S.R. 1190 Died: S.R. 1320
Preceded by:
Fortinbras Took I
26th Thain of The Shire
S.R. 1248 - 1320
Followed by:
Isengrim Took III