Fredegar Bolger

From Tolkien Gateway
Fredegar Bolger
Hobbit
File:Fatty bolger.jpg
Biographical Information
Other namesFatty
BirthS.R. 1380
Family
ParentageOdovacar Bolger + Rosamunda Took
Physical Description
GenderMale
GalleryImages of Fredegar Bolger
"You would have done better to come with us after all, poor old Fredegar!"
Peregrin Took, The Grey Havens

Fredegar "Fatty" Bolger was a Hobbit of the Shire. He was one of the "Conspirators", a small group of Hobbits who knew that Frodo had the Ring.

Life

Ancestry

Fatty was a descendant of Hildibrand Took (T.A. 2849 - 2934), one of the many sons of the Old Took. He was the son of Odovacar Bolger and Rosamunda Took. Fatty was born in 2980 and his family was from Budgeford in Bridgefiels of the Eastfarthing. He also had a younger sister, Estella Bolger (2985 - ?), who would eventually marry Meriadoc Brandybuck.

Conspiracy

The Original plan of the Conspirators was that when Frodo Baggins, Sam, Merry and Pippin left Frodo's new home in Crickhollow, Fredegar (who had never left the Shire) was to stay behind to deal with any "inquisitive folk" and to keep up the pretense that Frodo was still living there by wearing Frodo's clothes and keeping about the place. After learning the identity of the Black Riders, Fatty was invited to flee with the others into the Old Forest. He claimed to be too terrified of the stories of the Forest and instead voluntarily remained behind as a decoy for the Nazgul and to tell the absent Gandalf of events should he ever show up. Though Merry tried to persuade Fatty that the Old Forest would be nothing compared to meeting the Ringwraiths, Fatty was adamant, so the other Hobbits went into the Forest.

The Ringwraiths did eventually come in the night to Crickhollow for Frodo and the Ring, but Fatty, though frightened nearly witless, escaped to raise the alarm of Buckland. This caused the Nazgul to flee, but they had learned that the Ring was gone.

Resistance

During Saruman's rule of the Shire, Fatty led a group of partisans fighting against the Ruffians around the hills of Scary before eventually being captured. He was imprisoned in the Lockholes and starved, (and could no longer be called "Fatty") but rescued in the Scouring of the Shire.

Other versions of the Legendarium

In The Return of the Shadow, Fatty Bolger is said to have played a much larger role, but this was later abandoned. His role survives as a minor anomaly in the published The Lord of the Rings - before the Hobbits go into the Old Forest, they have five ponies prepared - but only take four. Fatty was originally supposed to go with them.

Portrayal in adaptations

1995: Middle-earth Collectible Card Game:

Included as a promotional card for METW, Fatty Bolger is a character which can be brought into play in Bag End.

2001: Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring:

In the extended edition, Bilbo greets Fredegar Bolger at the Farewell Party. The audio commentary reveals that he is played by Fran Walsh's uncle Tom.

2002: Vivendi's The Fellowship of the Ring:

A Fredregar Bolger lives at 10, Bagshot Row.

2007: The Lord of the Rings Online:

Fredegar is a non-playable character that can be found at Crickhollow. The player meets with him during Book I: Stirrings in the Darkness Chapter 7: "Horn-call of Buckland" where the player first learns about Frodo having the One Ring.