Peregrin Took

Peregrin Took, the thirty-second leader of the Hobbit military forces, is a Thain of the Shire. He is widely known by his friends and fellows by the name of Pippin. He is one of the nine companions belonging to the Fellowship that went on the adventure to destroy “The One Ring to rule them all”. (Fellowship of the Ring)​

Peregrin is a derivation from the Latin word Peregrimus, which in English, means Pilgrim. Pippin gained ‘titles’ as he traveled across the world, achieving victories over his enemies and success on his adventures.

• After becoming the military leader of the Hobbits, he was endowed with the title Thain of the Shire I. [1]
• The residents of Minas Tirith honored him with the title “Ernil I Pheriannath” (Sindarin). In English, it means “Halfling’s Prince”.
• The ruling Steward of Gondor, Denethor II, gave him the title “Guard of the Citadel”.
• The king, Aragorn II Elessar, bestowed upon him the honorary title of Knight of Gondor.
• And lastly, after becoming the Thain of the Shire, he was granted the position of Counsellor of the North-Kingdom.

Pippin found a sword in the Barrow-downs, which belonged to the Westernesse. Initially, it was his only weapon. Later, he came across and wielded a sword in Minas Tirith while he was serving the Steward of Gondor. He named the sword, “Troll’s Bane”.​

Pippin had exceptionally hairy feet, even for a Hobbit. And the hair on his head and feet were curly and golden in color. When the Quest of the Rings began, he was small in appearance, compared to the other Hobbits. But after drinking the Draft from Treebeard, he grew in height. Merry and Pippin became two of the tallest Hobbits to ever live, with a height of over Four and a half feet. Pippin’s personality falls under the ESFP personality type. He is a comedic character, and thoughtless at times. But as he goes through the unthinkable adventures during the fellowship, he displays his courage and maturity.​

Pippin’s mother was Eglantine Banks and his father was Paladin Took II. He was born in spring, TA 2990/SR 1390. Pearl, Pervinca, and Pimpernel were his older sisters, making Pippin the youngest. Mother of Meriadoc Brandybuck, Esmeralda Took, was Pippin’s aunt. On the paternal side, Frodo Baggins was Pippin’s second cousin once removed, and Bilbo was his first cousin, removed twice.​

At the beginning of the adventure, we see a small company of Elves warding off a Black Rider to save Frodo Baggins, Peregrin Took, and Samwise Gamgee, while they were traveling to Buckland. Gildor Inglorian led the Elven company. Meriadoc Brandybuck joined Frodo later on after they had reached Buckland. In the later scenes of the novel, they were ambushed by Old Man Willow while venturing through the Old Forest. Tom Bombadil came into the scene at this point, to rescue the group and give them shelter in his house. Pippin found the Westernesse Dagger during this time. He got engaged with the Barrow-Wights and it led him to the dagger. Meanwhile, in the Prancing Pony, Frodo put on the One Ring and was seen by the Black Riders.

They immediately knew his whereabouts and set course to attack the halflings and retrieve the ring. Nazgul attacked the inn they were resting in, at night. The four Hobbits were saved by a Ranger from the North, called Strider. Strider’s inherited identity was by the name, Aragorn, heir to the throne of Gondor. He took the Hobbits to Weathertop, where they encountered the second attack of the Black Riders. Frodo was injured during the second encounter. The lord of the Elves, Glorfindel, guided the helpless group to Rivendell. It is here, where Elrond permitted Pippin and Merry to join the Fellowship of the Ring, after the Council meeting. Pippin demonstrates his foolishness when the fellowship took an alternative route through the mines of Moria. Here, we see Pippin accidentally dropping a dead body down a well in Moria. This leads to an awakening, and drums start to beat from underneath the ground. Gandalf, in anger, called Pippin “Fool of a Took” because of the mistake.

When the fellowship broke

Boromir, who took the responsibility to protect Pippin and Merry, was killed during the Skirmish at Amon Hen. The Uruk-hai apprehended the two hobbits, thinking that they had the One Ring. Captured and helpless, Pippin did all he could, to leave breadcrumbs of their trail. He dropped the elven brooch, given to him by Lothlorien, in Isengard. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli were in pursuit of the Uruk-hai at the moment. Fate took a positive turn when the Rohirrims bushwhacked the company of Uruk-hai. The Orcs were distracted in trying to defend themselves, and Pippin and Merry made use of the opportunity to disappear into the Fangorn Forest. They came across the Ent Treebeard and made friends with him. They shared their tales with Treebeard who took them to Entmoot. The ents discussed among themselves and decided to march against Isengard. Pippin and Merry were reunited with Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli after the battle was won.

How did Pippin become the Guard of the Citadel?

Pippin came face to face with the Dark Lord Sauron when he picked up a stone to look at it. The stone was called Palantir, and it was thrown at him by Grima Wormtongue when he was in Orthanc. The Dark Lord was misled to believe that Pippin was the bearer of the One Ring. And in an attempt to reacquire the ring, he pursued the halfling. To defend the realms and fight against the brutal forces of Sauron, Gandalf and Pippin rode on the white horse, Shadowfax, to Gondor. There, they met with Denethor II, who was the Steward in charge of Gondor, and the father of the deceased, Boromir. Pippin, overlooking Gandalf’s Instructions, pledged to serve the Steward in return for Boromir’s sacrifice to save his life. He was given the title of the Guard of the Citadel.​

Pippin became friends with Bergeron, who was a Guard of the Citadel as well, and Boromir’s younger brother Faramir, in Minas Tirith. Denethor, on the other hand, was obsessing over his false beliefs and preparing a pyre to sacrifice his son Faramir. While the whole of Minas Tirith was engaged in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, the Steward had decided to lock himself up and perform his rituals. Pippin quickly found Gandalf and informed him of Steward’s intentions.

They rode to the high gates of the castle and saved Faramir’s life. Denethor got caught on fire and fell off of Minas Tirith. The western army, led by Aragorn, charged the Black Gates to distract Sauron and his forces. It bought time for Frodo to destroy the ring. Pippin was with Aragorn in this army. In the battle, Pippin was able to kill one of the Olog-hai. It is a ghastly troll-race that Sauron had bred from Hobbits.

The large troll fell on top of Pippin after being slain and knocked him unconscious. Gimli saved his life by dragging him out from underneath the dead troll. After the destruction of Sauron and his creatures of the dark, Pippin was knighted by the King Elessar. He, along with his fellow hobbits, was allowed to return to their homes once again. They were also granted permission to visit Gondor whenever they pleased. After the end of the war, the Shire had to be kept safe from Orcs and Goblins. Merry, Sam, and Frodo played a significant role in getting rid of Sauron’s leftover forces.

Post-War

Pippin (37 years of age) wedded Diamond of Long Cleeve, in FO 6 (the Fourth Age). She was 32 years of age at the time. The pair had a son later on called Faramir Took I, who grew up to marry the daughter of Samwise Gamgee, Goldilocks Gardner. Pippin became the thirty-second Thain, leader of the Hobbit forces, in FO 13. And he retained the position for fifty years, up until the year FO 63. After he had retired from his duties as Thain, he traveled to Rohan and Gondor along with Merry. There, he spent his last days. Pippin passed away in the year FO 63. He was buried in Gondor alongside his brother Merry. The King Elessar, or Aragorn, was buried next to the two Hobbits, after his passing in the year FO 120.

Movie depiction: The Lord of the Rings trilogy

Billy Boyd plays the role of Pippin in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. [2] Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins) was the youngest among the actors playing the roles of the Hobbits. Pippin was portrayed as the weakest link in the group. He was a sincere, yet comic character in the films and had very little fighting skills. He loses the sword, given to him by Aragorn, at the beginning of the film. Later, in Minas Tirith, he is seen wielding a much more convenient sword for his height, along with armors from Gondor.

Pippin in video games

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Pippin’s root strength in the games, seems to be speed and agility. He is the strongest when it comes to speed attacks, thus doing more damage to the opponent in a short period. In video games, Pippin does not throw rocks. Instead, he uses knives to inflict greater damage.​