View source for William, Tom, and Bert

{{short description|Trolls encountered by Bilbo}}
{{infobox character
|people = [[Trolls]]
|name = William, Tom, and Bert
|image = J.R.R. Tolkien - The Three Trolls are turned to Stone (Colored by H.E. Riddett).jpg
|caption = ''The Three Trolls are turned to Stone'' by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] (coloured by [[H.E. Riddett]])
|pronun = 
|othernames = Three Trolls<br/>"William Huggins" (William)<br/>"Bill" (William)
|titles = 
|position = 
|location = [[Trollshaws]]
|affiliation = [[Stone-trolls]]
|language = [[Westron]]
|birth = 
|birthlocation = 
|rule = 
|death = {{TA|2941}}
|deathlocation = [[Trollshaws]]
|age = 
|notablefor = Capturing [[Thorin and Company]]
|parentage = 
|siblings = 
|spouse = 
|children = 
|gender = Male
|height = 
|hair = 
|eyes = 
|clothing = [[Talking purse]] (William)
|weapons = 
|steed = 
}}
The '''Three Trolls'''<ref>{{H|Mutton}}, Illustration: [[:File:J.R.R. Tolkien - The Three Trolls are turned to Stone.jpg|"The Three Trolls are turned to Stone"]] by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]</ref> ('''William ''Huggins''''', '''Tom''', and '''Bert''') were a group of [[trolls]] that captured [[Bilbo Baggins]] and the [[Thorin and Company|dwarves]] during the [[Quest of Erebor]].

==History==
They lived in a [[Trolls' lair|cave]] in the [[Trollshaws]], west of [[Rivendell]]. In the spring of {{TA|2941}}, they had journeyed down out of the hills in search of food, having been led by William to the area. They had already eaten their way through a village or two before stopping for the night in the woods not far from [[East-West Road|Great Road]].<ref>{{H|Mutton}}, p. 70</ref>

The light of the trolls fire was spotted by [[Balin]] who alerted the rest of the company, and on [[Thorin]]'s urging, it was Bilbo that approached and first encountered the three trolls, who were drinking, eating mutton and bickering.

Bilbo was captured while trying to pickpocket William's purse and when the rest of the company came to investigate what had happened to Bilbo they too were captured. Only Thorin put up a fight, putting out Bert's eye with a flaming branch and then hitting Tom in the face, knocking out a tooth. William caught Thorin and so all the dwarves were captured in sacks.

Gandalf, however, had returned unnoticed and throwing his voice, caused the trolls to argue amongst themselves for so long that the sun rose and turned all three of them to stone.

On [[18 October]] {{TA|3018}}, Strider and the [[Travellers|four hobbits]] came across the stone statues of the three trolls whilst travelling to Rivendell with the [[One Ring]].<ref>{{FR|Flight}}, p. 205</ref>

==William's "pity"==
William twice stated that they ought to let Bilbo go rather than eat him, calling Bilbo a "poor little blighter", which leads to a row with Bert. William's comments are curious as trolls are evil by nature, having been created by [[Morgoth]] in the twilight of the [[Elder Days]]. William, however, is noted to have "already had as much supper as he could hold; also he had had lots of beer."<ref>{{App|F1iv}}</ref>

In an unsent [[Letter 153|letter]] to Christian book shop owner [[Peter Hastings]], [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] responded to this subject:

{{blockquote|There is no more 'pity' here than in a beast of prey yawning, or lazily patting a creature it could eat, but does not want to, since it is not hungry. Or indeed than there is in many of men's actions, whose real roots are in satiety, sloth, or a purely non-moral natural softness, though they may dignify them by 'pity's' name.<ref>{{L|153}}</ref>}}

==Portrayal in adaptations==
<gallery mode="traditional" widths="250px" heights="150px">
File:The Hobbit (1977 film) - Trolls.png|[[The Hobbit (1977 film)|''The Hobbit'' (1977 film)]]
File:Omar Rayyan - Wuluag.jpg|Wûluag in the ''[[Middle-earth Collectible Card Game]]''
File:Omar Rayyan - Tûma.png|Tûma in the ''[[Middle-earth Collectible Card Game]]''
File:Omar Rayyan - Bûrat.png|Bûrat in the ''[[Middle-earth Collectible Card Game]]'' 
File:David T. Wenzel - Bert, Tom & William.jpeg|[[The Hobbit (comic book)|''The Hobbit'' (comic book)]]
File:The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring - Tom, Bert and Bill.jpg|''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]''
File:The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey - Bert, Bill and Tom.jpg|''[[The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey]]''
File:Games Workshop - The Hobbit - Bill.png|''"Bill" in [[The Hobbit Strategy Battle Game]]''
File:Games Workshop - The Hobbit - Tom.png|''"Tom" in [[The Hobbit Strategy Battle Game]]''
File:Games Workshop - The Hobbit - Bert.png|''"Bert" in [[The Hobbit Strategy Battle Game]]''
File:The Lord of the Rings Online - Tom, Bert and Bill.jpg|''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]''
</gallery>
'''[[1968]]: [[The Hobbit (1968 radio series)|''The Hobbit'' (1968 radio series)]]:'''
:The trolls are encountered in the second episode, "Out of the Frying-pan into the Fire". [[Victor Lucas]] plays William, [[Francis de Wolff]] plays Tom and [[Brian Haines]] plays Bert. The scene is taken verbatim from the book.
'''[[1979]]: [[The Hobbit (1979 radio series)|''The Hobbit'' (1979 radio series)]]:'''
:The troll's scene is presented without alteration. No actors are credited for the individual parts of the three trolls.
'''[[1982]]: [[The Hobbit (1982 video game)|''The Hobbit'' (1982 video game)]]:'''
:The three trolls are the first obstacle encountered after leaving Bag End.
'''[[1982]]-[[1997|97]]: ''[[Middle-earth Role Playing]]'':'''
:All three trolls are listed as members of the Hugath tribe of Stone Trolls of the Trollshaw and share the same last name; "Huggins". Their real names are given as ''Wûluag Hugath'', ''Tûma'', and ''Bûrat "the Tongue"''.<ref>{{ICE|8004}}</ref>
'''[[1989]]: [[Hobit (1989 Slovak radio series)|''Hobit'' (1989 Slovak radio series)]]:'''
:The voices of William, Bert and Tom are provided by Peter Debnár, Vlado Černý and Ivan Gogál.
'''[[1995]]-[[1998|8]]: ''[[Middle-earth Collectible Card Game]]'':'''
:All three trolls are playable both as a Hazard Creature and as a Minion. They are also given the [[Middle-earth Role Playing|MERP]] variant names; ''Wûluag'', ''Tûma'', and ''Bûrat''.
'''[[2001]]: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'':'''
:[[Aragorn]] and the Hobbits rest at the petrified trolls after Frodo is stabbed by the [[Witch-king]]. In the Extended Edition, Sam points out to the wounded Frodo that they are "Mr. Bilbo's trolls".
'''[[2003]]: [[The Hobbit (2003 video game)|''The Hobbit'' (2003 video game)]]:'''
:William, Tom, and Bert are the first 'bosses' of the game, though they cannot be fought directly; Bilbo has to sneak around the trolls, waiting for them to turn or walk away. 
'''[[2007]]: ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]'':'''
:The stone statues of all three trolls can be found in the wilderness of the [[Trollshaws]].
'''[[2012]]: ''[[The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey|''The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'']]'''
:The three trolls are played by [[Peter Hambleton]], [[William Kircher]] and [[Mark Hadlow]] respectively, via the use of motion capture. In the film it is Tom that catches Bilbo when he mistakenly grabs him while reaching for his handkerchief and blows his nose on him.

==See also==
* [[Talking purse|William's talking purse]]

{{References}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:William, Tom, and Bert}}

[[Category:Characters in The Hobbit]]
[[Category:Third Age characters]]
[[Category:Trolls]]