Meriadoc Brandybuck was among the hobbits of the Lord of the Rings who formed the Fellowship of the Ring. Meriadoc adopted the nickname “Merry”, commonly used among his friends and companions. Later on, in his life, he became Meriadoc Brandybuck I, because his grandson also took his name. Merry is a cousin of Frodo, aside from being among his closest friends. Merry has a certain interest in maps, especially those depicting the different parts of Middle-earth. He also loves ponies and boats. Aside from being part of the Fellowship, he was later known as Buckland’s eighth Master.
Biography
Meriadoc Brandybuck was born in the year 2892 of the Third Age. His parents were Master of Buckland Saradoc Brandybuck, [1] born 2940 of the Third Age, and Esmeralda Took, born 2936 of the Third Age. Esmeralda is Paladin Took II’s younger sister. Pippin, being Paladin’s son, is consequently Merry’s first cousin, aside from being his closest friend.
Events of Lord of the Rings
Among the hobbits that formed the Fellowship of the Ring, Merry was considered the most intelligent and perceptive among them. Many instances showed this. One of them was that Merry knew about the power and significance of the One Ring well before the party of hobbits left the Shire. He also took the initiative to keep watch over Bag End to protect Frodo in case unwanted visitors came to harass him. Merry’s cleverness showed in the “Conspiracy” of the hobbits Pippin, Fredegar Bolger, (also referred to as “Fatty), Sam, and Merry himself so that they could assist Frodo.
Before the meeting at Rivendell and the Quest of the Ring, Merry already showed his prowess at organizing plans and their belongings. He took good care of their gear and ponies that carried them. He used a shortcut that he knew to hasten their journey through the Old Forest. Thanks to this, they were able to avoid being found by the Black Riders. They also encountered Tom Bombadil on this shortcut, which proved very useful to them.
In the encounter with the Barrow-downs, Merry obtained a sword made by Westernesse. At the Prancing Pony inn at Bree, Merry was unfortunately not present when Frodo wore the ring. Merry was, at the time, walking around outside and the Nazgûl almost killed him. When the hobbit party reached Rivendell, Merry spent much of his time examining the maps of Middle-earth and finding a path for the Fellowship to follow. Elrond was, at first, reluctant to allow Merry and Pippin to join the Fellowship since the two had disclosed to the Shire-folk Frodo’s purpose and journey. Gandalf was eventually able to sway Elrond and convince him to allow the two hobbits to join their journey.
Gandalf found much value in Merry and Pippin’s loyalty to Sam and Frodo, and especially their friendship. In the Fellowship’s battle at Amon Hen, [2] Merry and Pippin were abducted by Saruman’s Uruk-hai. Even then, during this battle, Merry defended himself well against the Uruk-hai. Boromir also fought hard to protect the hobbits but was killed in the battle. When Merry and Pippin were finally able to escape from Saruman’s Uruk-hai, they did so by hiding in Fangorn Forest. There, Merry and Pippin came into the care of Treebeard and Gandalf the White.
During their time in Fangorn, he and Pippin drank the Entish draught Entwash, which made them suddenly grow in height and hair length. The two hobbits were carried by Treebeard to attend the Entmoot, and afterward, to Isengard. After the Ents had overrun Isengard, Merry and Pippin were made the guardians of Isengard. When the party of King Théoden and Gandalf arrived from the Battle of the Hornburg, Merry and Pippin rejoined the members of the Fellowship to help in the Quest of the Ring once again.
After Pippin’s accident with the Palantir, Merry and Pippin were separated, the latter accompanying Gandalf to Gondor. Left alone in Rohan, Merry dedicated himself to King Théoden as a squire of Rohan. However, it was without the knowledge of King Théoden that Merry joined the Battle of Pelennor Fields. Because Merry was not allowed to ride on his own to Gondor, he rode with Dernhelm, a young man who was Éowyn in disguise.
Merry only learned of Dernhelm’s true identity during the Rohirrim’s encounter with the Nazgûl on Pelennor Fields. The Nazgûl injured King Théoden, compelling Éowyn, and Merry to defend the king and battle the Witch-king of Angmar themselves. In this crucial battle, Merry helped Éowyn defeat the Witch-king by stabbing him in the leg just as Éowyn was about to be struck down. Merry’s attack allowed Éowyn to kill the Witch-king herself.
Afterward, Merry was near enough to hear King Théoden say his last words. Unfortunately, when the battle was finished, Merry was not found by the Rider escorts. He was instead discovered by Pippin who was wandering Pelennor fields. Merry had sustained a wound from his attack on the Witch-king, but this was healed by Aragorn. Merry recovered his full strength soon after the battle. After the War of the Ring, the new King Éomer of Rohan bestowed upon him the title of “Holdwine” and declared him a knight of Rohan. When Saruman arrived at their home in the Scouring of the Shire, Merry led the Battle of the Bywater. Here, he blew the Horn of Rohan, which Éowyn had given him.
Before the meeting at Rivendell and the Quest of the Ring, Merry already showed his prowess at organizing plans and their belongings. He took good care of their gear and ponies that carried them. He used a shortcut that he knew to hasten their journey through the Old Forest. Thanks to this, they were able to avoid being found by the Black Riders. They also encountered Tom Bombadil on this shortcut, which proved very useful to them.
In the encounter with the Barrow-downs, Merry obtained a sword made by Westernesse. At the Prancing Pony inn at Bree, Merry was unfortunately not present when Frodo wore the ring. Merry was, at the time, walking around outside and the Nazgûl almost killed him. When the hobbit party reached Rivendell, Merry spent much of his time examining the maps of Middle-earth and finding a path for the Fellowship to follow. Elrond was, at first, reluctant to allow Merry and Pippin to join the Fellowship since the two had disclosed to the Shire-folk Frodo’s purpose and journey. Gandalf was eventually able to sway Elrond and convince him to allow the two hobbits to join their journey.
Gandalf found much value in Merry and Pippin’s loyalty to Sam and Frodo, and especially their friendship. In the Fellowship’s battle at Amon Hen, [2] Merry and Pippin were abducted by Saruman’s Uruk-hai. Even then, during this battle, Merry defended himself well against the Uruk-hai. Boromir also fought hard to protect the hobbits but was killed in the battle. When Merry and Pippin were finally able to escape from Saruman’s Uruk-hai, they did so by hiding in Fangorn Forest. There, Merry and Pippin came into the care of Treebeard and Gandalf the White.
During their time in Fangorn, he and Pippin drank the Entish draught Entwash, which made them suddenly grow in height and hair length. The two hobbits were carried by Treebeard to attend the Entmoot, and afterward, to Isengard. After the Ents had overrun Isengard, Merry and Pippin were made the guardians of Isengard. When the party of King Théoden and Gandalf arrived from the Battle of the Hornburg, Merry and Pippin rejoined the members of the Fellowship to help in the Quest of the Ring once again.
After Pippin’s accident with the Palantir, Merry and Pippin were separated, the latter accompanying Gandalf to Gondor. Left alone in Rohan, Merry dedicated himself to King Théoden as a squire of Rohan. However, it was without the knowledge of King Théoden that Merry joined the Battle of Pelennor Fields. Because Merry was not allowed to ride on his own to Gondor, he rode with Dernhelm, a young man who was Éowyn in disguise.
Merry only learned of Dernhelm’s true identity during the Rohirrim’s encounter with the Nazgûl on Pelennor Fields. The Nazgûl injured King Théoden, compelling Éowyn, and Merry to defend the king and battle the Witch-king of Angmar themselves. In this crucial battle, Merry helped Éowyn defeat the Witch-king by stabbing him in the leg just as Éowyn was about to be struck down. Merry’s attack allowed Éowyn to kill the Witch-king herself.
Afterward, Merry was near enough to hear King Théoden say his last words. Unfortunately, when the battle was finished, Merry was not found by the Rider escorts. He was instead discovered by Pippin who was wandering Pelennor fields. Merry had sustained a wound from his attack on the Witch-king, but this was healed by Aragorn. Merry recovered his full strength soon after the battle. After the War of the Ring, the new King Éomer of Rohan bestowed upon him the title of “Holdwine” and declared him a knight of Rohan. When Saruman arrived at their home in the Scouring of the Shire, Merry led the Battle of the Bywater. Here, he blew the Horn of Rohan, which Éowyn had given him.
After the War of the Ring
Merry and his best friend Pippin came to marry two beautiful hobbits. Merry’s wife was Estella Bolger. Their wedding took place at the beginning of the Fourth Age. He was also given the title “Master of Buckland” in the 11th year of the Fourth Age, the year 1432 by Shire Reckoning. Merry devoted time to writing old names and words of the Shire. It does not show in his family tree, but it is confirmed that at least one of Merry’s children was a boy. Thanks to their consumption of Entwash back in Fangorn Forest, Merry and Pippin became known as the tallest among the hobbits, with Merry being the tallest by only a little. When Merry was 102 years old, Merry went with Pippin to Rohan and then Gondor. The two of them died there in Gondor. When Aragorn Elessar died almost 60 years after, Merry and Pippin’s tombs were placed beside Aragorn’s.