Meriadoc Brandybuck

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Merry by John Howe.

Meriadoc Brandybuck, called 'The Magnificent', was a Hobbit, the son of Saradoc Brandybuck. Merry (as he was often called), was the heir of the Brandybucks to Brandy Hall, and eventually became the Master there.

His life

He was a good friend of Frodo Baggins, who eventually became the Ringbearer. He was one of the few (if any) who saw Bilbo, Frodo's uncle, actually use the One Ring. He also managed to read, at least in part, Bilbo's book: There and Back Again, where he learned about the Ring. He can easily be recognized as a very sharp Hobbit, and his tone throughout the Lord of the Rings depicts him as practical and resourceful, and praised by Aragorn II as having a 'stout heart'. He was apparently much trusted by Frodo, who sent him along with Fatty Bolger to Crickhollow to prepare his newly-bought home.

He was a part of, and disputably formed, the Conspirators, a group of Frodo's friends (namely Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin II Took, and himself) who sought to protect him (and the Ring). Eventually, they revealed themselves to him, and demanded to be taken along when Frodo left Crickhollow. Merry had already arranged for provisions and ponies, and so they were able to start right away.

During the following trip to Bree, Merry seemed to have a greater knowledge of the Old Forest than any of the other Hobbits, and endured, like them, through meetings with a Barrow-wight and Tom Bombadil.

Upon reaching Bree, Merry had an encounter with the Black Riders, and bravely followed them until he passed out from breathing the Black Breath. During the trip through the wild with Aragorn, then known as Strider, he often saw the most deeply into the others. After Frodo was wounded on Weathertop, he became the one who consulted most with Strider.

Captured with Pippin by Uruk-hai, they were separated from the rest of the Fellowship, but eventually escaped to become the first mortals for many centuries to encounter the Ents of Fangorn Forest. Merry was present at the destruction of Isengard, and rode to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields with the Rohirrim. There, his deeds won great renown, for with Éowyn of Rohan he defeated and slew the Lord of the Nazgûl.

Portrayal in adaptions

Merry was played by Dominic Monaghan in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings.