Meriadoc Brandybuck is a famous Hobbit from The Lord of the Rings. We love him as a Member of the Fellowship. Esquire of Rohan. Hero of The Battle of Pelennor Fields. Herb-lore Master.
But long before any of his great deeds of renown were lauded by the bards and lore-keepers of Middle-earth, he was proving himself in other quiet ways: namely, as a temporary moving service deep in the heart of The Shire.
Let’s get into it.
The film adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring makes it seem as though Frodo left The Shire almost instantaneously. Gandalf returns to Bag End in the night and he and Frodo huddle over warm mugs in the kitchen where Gandalf helps Frodo understand what the magic ring he inherited from Bilbo actually is, and what he must now do to protect the world from it.
But in the book, Frodo’s leaving is quite different. Gandalf counsels him not to suddenly vanish like Bilbo did in order to raise as little suspicion as possible. Plans are made to sell Bag End to the Sackville-Bagginses. Frodo makes it known that he will be moving back to a little corner of Buckland among his relatives. And his cousin, Merry, will be the one to pick out the new house (fun fact: not all Hobbits live in holes!).
On September 20th, Frodo sends two carts to Buckland laden with what he didn’t sell to the Sackville-Baggins. He has one last evening in Bag End the following day where he shares a birthday meal with the Hobbits he is closest to: Pippin, Samwise, Fredegar, Folco and, of course, Merry. The following morning Merry (along with the faithful Fredegar) take a cart with the remainder of Frodo’s possessions.
‘Someone much get there and warm the house before you arrive,’ said Merry.
—The Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter: Three is Company, J.R.R. Tolkien
Instead of taking another cart over to Buckland, Frodo has the idea to take what he believes might be his final walk through The Shire. The plan is to leave that night from Bag End with Sam and Pippin and meet Merry in Buckland a few days later; a slow farewell to his beloved homeland before the real Quest begins.
The trek proves to be more arduous than they anticipated. Every step is dogged by the Black Riders and danger repeatedly strikes closer to hitting them they ever thought possible within the boundaries of The Shire.
Eventually they make it to Bamfurlong, Farmer Maggot’s land. It’s there they are welcomed in for safety and a warm meal. Later, Farmer Maggot then takes them by pony cart to Buckleberry Ferry. There, in the dark fog of the night, they are met by a lone horseman who, much to their relief, turns out to be Meriadoc Brandybuck. He had taken it upon himself to come and search for Frodo, Sam and Pippin fearing that they had been waylaid on their trip to Buckland.
Reunited with his friens, Merry takes them across the river by ferry and guides them to Frodo’s new “home” in Crickhollow.
“As they walked up the green path from the gate no light was visible; the windows were dark and shuttered. Frodo knocked on the door, and Fatty Bolger opened it. A friendly light streamed out. They slipped in quickly and shut themselves and the light inside. They were in a wide hall with doors on either side; in front of them a passage ran back down the middle of the house.
‘Well, what do you think of it?’ asked Merry, coming up the passage. We have done our best in a short time to make it look like home. After all, Fatty and I only got here with the last cart-load yesterday.’
Frodo looked round. It did look like home. Many of his own favourite things - or Bilbo’s things (they reminded him sharply of him in their new setting) - were arranged as nearly as possible as they had been at Bag End. It was a pleasant, comfortable, welcoming place; and he found himself wishing that he was really coming here to settle down in quiet retirement.”
—The Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter: A Conspiracy Unmasked, J.R.R. Tolkien
Here we learn that, not only did Merry (and Fredegar) make the trip to the new house with Frodo’s possessions, but they also took the trouble to unload, unpack and arrange everything in as homely a way they could to welcome in the tired travellers.
And Merry doesn’t stop there. While he was out looking for them in the cold fog, he arranged for Fredegar to draw up three baths and keep them steaming until they arrived.
The travellers hung up their cloaks, and piled their packs on the floor. Merry led them down the passage and threw open a door at the far end. Firelight came out, and a puff of steam.
‘A bath!’ cried Pippin. ‘O blessed Meriadoc!’
‘Which order shall we go in?’ said Frodo. ‘Eldest first, or quickest first? You’ll be last either way, Master Peregrin.’
‘Trust me to arrange things better than that!’ said Merry. We can’t begin life at Crickhollow with a quarrel over baths. In that room there are three tubs, and a copper full of boiling water. There are also towels, mats and soap. Get inside, and be quick!’
—The Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter: A Conspiracy Unmasked, J.R.R. Tolkien
Merry making the choice to set up Frodo’s new home, prepare a meal and have hot baths ready when they arrived would be a testament to Merry’s faithfulness as friend in an of itself, but there’s another layer to Merry’s actions: he knew all along that Frodo would be leaving The Shire bearing the burden of the One Ring.
Later on in the chapter, Frodo braces himself to tell his friends that, despite all they’ve done to help him set up his new life, he’ll be leaving Crickhollow as soon as possible. To his complete astonishment, his friends tell him they knew all along that this was his plan. And what’s more, they aim to leave with him.
In a moment of uncertainty Frodo doubts who he can trust with even his friends not being completely forthright with him about what they knew.
‘But it does not seem that I can trust anyone,’ said Frodo.
Sam looked at him unhappily. ‘It all depends on what you want,’ put in Merry. ‘You can trust us to stick to you through thick and thin - to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours - closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends, Frodo. Anyway: there it is. We know most of what Gandalf has told you. We know a good deal about the Ring. We are horribly afraid - but we are coming with you; or following you like hounds.’
—The Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter: A Conspiracy Unmasked, J.R.R. Tolkien
Merry firmly, but not without kindness, tells Frodo that they will not be letting him set out alone with the Ring. And of course, we know that Frodo wisely takes them up on their offer and doesn’t leave The Shire alone.
While the tales of Merry’s life throughout the story of The Lord of the Rings are worthy of great renown—his role in the downfall of Isengard during the March of the Ents, his loyalty to King Théoden, the aid he provided to Lady Éowyn in the defeat of the Witch King, his raising of the Shire to free it from the tyranny of Saruman, his herb-lore and preservation of Shire history—I wanted to take a moment to honor the small choices he was making before any of that unfolded.
Long before he participated in great battles and mighty defeats, Meriadoc Brandybuck was loading up a pony cart, driving it to Crickhollow, and arranging chairs, beds (and baths!) to welcome home a weary friend—even if he knew it was only for one night.
All of this is top of mind as my family is currently in the midst of moving. While we’re in a temporary living arrangement as our new home is being built I keep thinking of Merry and how his “simple acts of kindness and love”1 took Frodo from dread to happiness and, in that way, gave his friend the courage to take the next step in his own journey that changed the world forever.
Thank you for reading this free essay on the character of Merry Brandybuck and how he reminds us that ordinary kindness can have a great impact on the ones we love. If you want more Middle-earth in your inbox and you’d like to join the fall read-through of The Lord of the Rings2 consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
A beloved (and always relevant) phrase from The Hobbit films in which Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen) says, “Saruman believes only great power can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I have found it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay—simple acts of kindness and love.”
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