Trotter

From Tolkien Gateway
Trotter
Hobbit
Afalstein - Tolkien's Notes - Trotter.jpg
"Tolkien's Notes - Trotter" by Afalstein
Biographical Information
Notable forWooden feet
Physical Description
GenderMale
GalleryImages of Trotter

In the earliest drafts of The Lord of the Rings, the character who became Aragorn was called Trotter instead of Strider and was a Hobbit instead of Man. His name was derived from the fact that he had wooden feet or wore wooden shoes after being tortured in Mordor.

In some drafts Trotter's real name was Peregrin Boffin and was a cousin of Bilbo Baggins. He was present at the Council of Elrond and appointed as a member of the Fellowship of the Ring.[1]:xxii

Trotter eventually became a Man whose true name was Aragorn. While in Lothlórien, Tolkien rejected Aragorn in favor of Elfstone and briefly Ingold.[1]:xxiv However, the name "Trotter" continued an alias for Aragorn until the drafting of The Lord of the Rings was almost complete, not being changed to "Strider" until 1948, in changes to the drafts of the last chapters.[2][3]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Sauron Defeated, "Part One: The End of the Third Age: I. The Story of Frodo and Sam in Mordor: The Chronology of writing", pp. 12-3
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Sauron Defeated, "Part One: The End of the Third Age: VIII. Homeward Bound", pp. 76-8