Gerontius Took: Difference between revisions
m (Bot: Added Third Age characters categrory) |
m (Added image caption) |
||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{hobbit infobox | {{hobbit infobox | ||
| name=Gerontius Took | |||
| image=[[File:Liz Danforth - Gerontius took.jpg|250px]] | | image=[[File:Liz Danforth - Gerontius took.jpg|250px]] | ||
| | | caption="Gerontius Took" by [[Liz Danforth]] | ||
| pronun= | | pronun= | ||
| othernames=The Old Took | | othernames=The Old Took |
Revision as of 11:05, 18 September 2015
Gerontius Took | |
---|---|
Hobbit | |
"Gerontius Took" by Liz Danforth | |
Biographical Information | |
Other names | The Old Took |
Titles | Thain of the Shire |
Location | Great Smials, Tuckborough |
Birth | S.R. 1190 |
Rule | S.R. 1248 - 1320 (72 years) |
Death | S.R. 1320 (aged 130) |
Family | |
Family | Took |
Parentage | Fortinbras Took I |
Spouse | Adamanta Chubb |
Children | Isengrim, Hildigard, Isumbras, Hildigrim, Isembold, Hildifons, Isembard, Hildibrand, Belladonna, Donnamira, Mirabella and Isengar |
Physical Description | |
Gender | Male |
Gallery | Images 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] and performed firework tricks during Gerontius' midsummer-eve parties.[3][note 1]
Gerontius Took reached the impressive age of 130, which made him the oldest Hobbit until his grandson Bilbo Baggins celebrated his 131st Birthday.[4] He also held the record of most offspring, until Samwise Gamgee bested him with Tom's birth in S.R. 1442.[5]
Etymology
He was called The Old Took not because of his age, but because of his numerous younger relatives.[6]
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.[7]
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.[6]
Portrayal in adaptations
2011: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey:
- The Old Took appears in a scene in the Extended Edition, played by Dan Hennah.
Notes
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix C, "Took of Great Smials"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "An Unexpected Party"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "Out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Grey Havens"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix C, "The Longfather-tree of Master Samwise"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 54
- ↑ Mark T. Hooker, Tolkien and Welsh, p. 133
Gerontius Took Took Family | ||
Preceded by: Fortinbras Took I | 26th Thain of The Shire S.R. 1248 - 1320 | Followed by: Isengrim Took III |