Peregrin Took

Overview

Peregrin was the only son and heir of Paladin Took II, the Thain of the Shire. His best friend Meriadoc Brandybuck, more commonly known as Merry, was his cousin; another good friend was Frodo Baggins.

'Peregrin' means 'traveller in strange countries'. Pippin indeed saw much more of Middle-earth than most Hobbits: he journeyed with Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring, and fought in the War of the Ring. Late in life he travelled again to the kingdoms of Rohan and Gondor.

Pippin's hair colour is mentioned as "almost golden" in The History of Middle-earth, vol. IX, Sauron Defeated, through the eyes of Pippin Gamgee. In the later drafts of this same section Tolkien omitted this statement, leaving the reader to envisage Pippin's appearance.

Family and early life

Peregrin was born in T.A. 2990 the only son of Paladin Took II and wife Eglantine Banks. He had three older sisters, Pearl Took, Pimpernel Took, and Pervinca Took. They were raised in the Tooks' Great Smials and their father's farm at Whitwell. In 3001 Pippin and his family were among the 144 special guests at the Farewell Party of Bilbo Baggins, a relative in Hobbiton.

His best friend Meriadoc Brandybuck was his cousin, son of Paladin's sister Esmeralda Brandybuck. He was also good friends with Frodo Baggins, a more remote cousin.

In T.A. 3015 Ferumbras III, the Thain of the Shire died; Pippin's father Paladin succeeded as Thain, and Pippin became the heir apparent.

The Great Years

Pippin was the youngest of the four Hobbits who set out from the Shire and the only one who had not yet reached his 'coming of age' at age 33. He was therefore said to be still in his 'tweens' (twenties). He was 28 at the time, while Merry, the next youngest, was 36. At Rivendell, Elrond almost denied Pippin the chance to accompany Frodo, intending to send Pippin and Merry as messengers back to the Shire. Gandalf, however, supported his and Merry's claims of friendship and loyalty, and the Council of Elrond ultimately chose them as the last two members of the Fellowship.

After remaining with the Fellowship until its breaking at Amon Hen, Pippin was captured along with Merry by an Orc-band, which included some of Saruman's Uruk-hai. While held captive by the Orcs, he purposefully dropped his elven brooch (a gift from Lórien) as a sign for Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, who were in pursuit. During a skirmish among his captors, Pippin managed to cut his bonds using a sword held fast by a dead Uruk. In Rohan, Pippin and Merry managed to escape when the Orcs were attacked by a company of Rohirrim, the local people. Upon their escape, he and Merry befriended Treebeard, leader of the Ents. They roused the other Ents to fight against Saruman, and they attacked his stronghold of Isengard, partially crippling his power. Due to a special "Ent-draught" that Treebeard made him and Merry drink, Pippin and his cousin became the tallest Hobbits in history, at four and a half feet, surpassing Pippin's ancestor, Bullroarer Took, who was four feet and five inches tall.

Pippin picked up the palantír of Orthanc after Gríma Wormtongue threw it at them. Later, obsessed by the mysterious stone, Pippin took it out of Gandalf's hands while the wizard slept, putting a rock in its place. Looking into the stone, he had a terrifying encounter with Sauron himself. In fact, Pippin is the only character in the book who is shown to speak directly to Sauron. To keep Pippin safe from Sauron's forces, Gandalf brought him to the city of Minas Tirith, separating him from his friends.

Soldier of Gondor

In Minas Tirith Pippin was granted an audience with Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, and Pippin volunteered for service out of respect for Denethor's son Boromir, who had died trying to defend Merry and Pippin from the Orcs. According to Gandalf, this gesture touched Denethor, who accepted the Hobbit's offer and made him one of the Guards of the Citadel. Later, when a despairing Denethor set out to burn his son Faramir and himself alive in Rath Dínen, Pippin rushed to fetch Gandalf, saving Faramir's life.

Pippin joined the Army of the West, led by Aragorn, as it assaulted the Black Gate of Mordor in a desperate gambit. At the final parley with the Mouth of Sauron, members of all the races opposed to Sauron were represented, Men, Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits, and Pippin was the sole Hobbit (as Merry had been injured during the earlier Battle of the Pelennor Fields). During the last battle before the Morannon, Pippin slew a troll officer. The dying troll fell upon him, knocking him unconscious. Gimli later recognised his Hobbit feet under the troll and dragged him out of the battle, saving his life.

Knight and captain

After the Ring was destroyed and Sauron defeated, Aragorn, newly crowned as King Elessar, knighted him and granted him leave to return home.

There he and Merry were instrumental in overthrowing Saruman's forces during the Scouring of the Shire, and thus achieved much greater fame in their homeland than Frodo.

Life after the War of the Ring

In F.A. 6, Pippin married Diamond of Long Cleeve, when she was 32 and he was 37. They had one son, Faramir, who later married Samwise Gamgee's daughter Goldilocks.

Pippin's father died in F.A. 13, and Pippin became 32nd Thain of the Shire. He held that position for 51 years.

In F.A. 63 Pippin retired, and was succeeded by his son Faramir. In the same year his friend Merry stepped down as Master of Buckland, and the two Hobbits travelled to Rohan and Gondor. After they died in Gondor several years later, their bodies were laid to rest in Rath Dínen. Upon the death of King Elessar in F.A. 120, they were re-interred beside him.

Portrayal in adaptations

In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings, Pippin was voiced by Dominic Guard. In the live-action recordings Bakshi used for rotoscoping, Billy Barty was the model for several of the hobbits, but it is not clear whether Barty modelled for Pippin.

In the 1980 animated version of The Return of the King, made for television, the character was voiced by Sonny Melendrez.

In the 1981 BBC radio serial of The Lord of the Rings, Pippin was played by John McAndrew.

Jari Pehkonen played Peregrin Took in the 1993 Finnish miniseries Hobitit.

In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Pippin is played by Scottish actor Billy Boyd. The filmmakers originally planned for Boyd to adopt an English accent for the role, in keeping with the other hobbits; however, Jackson found that Boyd's comic timing was not as keen when he was not using his native accent. Therefore, it was decided to allow Boyd to play the role with a Scottish accent; the decision was justified by the observation that the Took-land in which the Took clan lived was a very hilly region of the Shire and was therefore vaguely similar to Scotland, and that the Tooks invented the game of golf, just like the Scots. Tolkien's own pronunciation of "Took" was more similar to "Tuck." Although Pippin is the youngest of the four hobbits in the novels, Boyd is the oldest of the four actors.