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Heir of Bilbo Baggins, and hero of the
Lord of the Rings. Renowned for bearing the One Ring to the land of
Mordor, and bringing it to the Cracks of Doom.
Frodo's father, Drogo, had left Hobbiton
and removed to Buckland to live with his wife's family, and so
Frodo was raised in Brandy Hall, the ancestral home of the
Brandybucks. He lost both his parents in a boating accident in
2980. He was close to his distant cousin Bilbo, and nine years
after the loss of his parents, Bilbo officially adopted him as his
heir. At this time, Frodo moved back from Buckland to
Hobbiton.
Although Bilbo often referred to Frodo as
his 'favourite nephew', he was in fact his first cousin once
removed (through his mother), and also his second cousin once
removed (through his father). Frodo lived with Bilbo at Bag End for
twelve years, and inherited some of his peculiarities. It was said
that he would meet with Elves in the woods, for example, and Bilbo
allowed him to read his diary of the journey to Erebor. In 3001,
Bilbo held the great Birthday Party on 22 September (a birthday
Frodo happened to share) and afterwards departed from the Shire,
leaving Frodo to come into his inheritance, including (after much
persuasion by Gandalf) the Ring.
After Bilbo's departure, Gandalf visited
Hobbiton only occasionally. Frodo often went walking in the Shire,
sometimes with his friends Folco Boffin, Fredegar Bolger, Peregrin
Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck, but more often alone. His gardener at
Bag End was Samwise Gamgee, who was to accompany him on his great
journey.
On 12 April 3018, Gandalf returned, having
discovered the truth about the Ring, and so Frodo discovered the
history behind the One Ring, and the great danger it held. He
resolved to leave the Shire with it. To cover his departure, Frodo
sold Bag End to Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, and bought a small house
at Crickhollow in Buckland, the region where he had been brought
up. He departed from Hobbiton with Peregrin Took and Sam Gamgee on
23 September 3018, the day after his fiftieth birthday.
The travellers planned to leave the
secretly through the Old Forest on its eastern borders, but they
soon discovered the dangers of the lands outside the Shire. On the
banks of the Withywindle, they were attacked by the malignant Old
Man Willow, and their journey would have come to an swift end if
not for the aid of a mysterious and powerful stranger: Tom
Bombadil. After their adventures in the Forest, and a brief stay in
Tom's house, they set out once more.
Again, their plans went wrong almost
immediately. Lost in a fog, they strayed into the Barrow-downs, and
were quickly captured by one of the Barrow-wights that dwelt there.
Again they were saved by Tom, and finally found their way the
East-West Road, along which they travelled in relative safety to
the township of Bree. It was later discovered that Aragorn was
looking out for Frodo on the road, and had begun to trail the
Hobbits as they emerged from the downlands.
At Bree, they came to the Prancing Pony,
where Aragorn introduced himself to Frodo as 'Strider'. That night,
the inn was raided and the Hobbits' ponies were lost. The following
morning, Aragorn led them out into the Wild, through the Chetwood
and on across the Midgewater Marshes. Ultimately they came to
Weathertop at the southern end of the Weather Hills, where Aragorn
hoped to spy out the lands around.
In a dell beneath Weathertop, disaster
struck. The Black Riders discovered the sheltering Hobbits and
attacked, leaving Frodo with a desperate wound to his shoulder.
Aragorn used his powers of healing as he could, but it was beyond
even his abilities to cure the poisoned wound. Scrambling on
through the hills with the wounded Frodo, they made their slow way
towards Rivendell and safety.
Braving the Road, they discovered an ally:
Glorfindel of Rivendell. Glorfindel accompanied them for a way,
placing Frodo on his horse Asfaloth. As the travellers approached
the Ford of Bruinen, the Black Riders suddenly overtook them. At
Glorfindel's order, Asfaloth charged forward and raced across the
last mile to the Ford, with the Nazgûl in close
pursuit.
Frodo and Asfaloth crossed the Ford as the
Black Riders paused before entering the waters of Bruinen. On the
brink of succumbing to his Morgul-wound, Frodo slipped into the
Wraith-world for a moment, as the Nazgûl started to approach.
With a sudden roar, the river waters surged into flood through the
powers of Elrond and Gandalf. The Black Riders were washed away
and, safe at last, Frodo finally fell into unconsciousness on the
banks of the river. After twenty-four days of journeying in the
Wild, he had brought the Ring to Rivendell at last.
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