List of The Hobbit Characters: Kíli Jump To Navigation Jump To Search
List of The Hobbit Characters: Kíli Jump To Navigation Jump To Search
List of The Hobbit Characters: Kíli Jump To Navigation Jump To Search
This article describes all named characters appearing in J. R. R. Tolkien's book The Hobbit.
Creatures as collectives are not included. Characters are categorized by race. Spelling and point
of view are given as from The Hobbit; details from sources outside The Hobbit are given only
where important to understanding the character within the tale, and with the source noted.
Contents
1 Hobbits
2 Wizards
3 Dwarves
o 3.1 Thorin's company
4 Elves
5 Men
6 Trolls
7 Singular characters
8 Birds
9 Goblins
10 Notes
11 References
Hobbits
Bilbo Baggins of Bag End, the protagonist and titular hobbit of the story.
Bungo Baggins, Bilbo's father.
Belladonna Took, Bilbo's mother.
The Old Took, Bilbo's maternal grandfather.
Chubb, Chubb, and Burrowes, auctioneers managing the liquidation of Bilbo's effects.
The Sackville-Bagginses, “cousins” to Bilbo. They arranged an auction to dispose of
Bilbo's effects long after he disappeared. Bilbo returned during the auction, upsetting the
plans the Sackville-Bagginses had for moving into his fine hobbit-hole. Bilbo suspected
them of making off with some of his silver spoons.
Bullroarer Took, a historical figure mentioned as Bilbo's great great grand-uncle. He led
the defence against the goblins of Mount Gram and is purported to have knocked the
goblin leader Golfimbul's head off with a blow from his club, sending it flying into a
rabbit hole.
Wizards
Gandalf, the mastermind behind The Hobbit's quest.
Radagast, a wizard mentioned as a "cousin" of Gandalf.
Dwarves
Dáin, second cousin to Thorin, comes to the aid of Thorin's Company at the Battle of
Five Armies with a company of several hundred dwarves.
Thorin's company
Thorin's company consisted of the following 13 dwarves; their quest in The Hobbit is the main
impetus of the plot. Their quest was joined by Bilbo Baggins (the titular hobbit) and occasionally
by the wizard Gandalf.
The Royal House of Durin – Thorin Oakenshield and the two sons of his sister:
o Thorin Oakenshield, leader of the company and hereditary claimant of the
kingdom of the Lonely Mountain. He possessed the longest beard in the company,
and wore a gold belt and a sky-blue hood with a large silver tassel. Thorin played
the harp.
o Fili, who with his brother Kili was the youngest dwarf in the company and
therefore useful for his keen eyesight. He wore a blue hood and grew a yellow
beard.
o Kili, who with his brother Fili was the youngest dwarf in the company and
therefore useful for his keen eyesight. He wore a blue hood and grew a yellow
beard.
Four of Thorin's third-cousins – two pairs of brothers:
o Balin. Older brother to Dwalin, he wore a red hood and had a white beard. Bilbo
and Balin later became good friends.[a]
o Dwalin. Younger brother to Balin, he wore a dark green hood and a golden belt,
had a blue beard tucked into the belt, and, like his brother Balin, he played viol.
He was the first of the dwarves that Bilbo met.
o Oin. Brother to Gloin, he wore a brown hood. He and Gloin were charged with
starting the campfires.
o Gloin. Brother to Oin, he wore a white hood. He and Oin were charged with
starting the campfires. Gloin openly doubted Bilbo at the start of the quest.[1][b]
Three dwarves who were Thorin's remote kinsmen:
o Dori. He wore a purple hood. Dori was tasked with carrying Bilbo in the goblin
tunnels. He also played the flute.
o Nori. He wore a purple hood. He also played the flute.
o Ori. He wore a grey hood. He also played the flute.
Three dwarves "descended from the Dwarves of Moria but were not of Durin's line":[2]
o Bifur. Cousin to Bofur and Bombur, he wore a yellow hood and played clarinet.[3]
o Bofur. Brother to Bombur and cousin to Bifur, he wore a yellow hood and played
clarinet.
o Bombur, whose primary traits were his fatness and his sympathy for Bilbo's
plights. He wore a pale green hood.
Elves
Elrond, master of Rivendell, the Last Homely House East of the Sea. The Hobbit calls
him an elf-friend rather than an elf, one "who had both elves and heroes of the North for
ancestors."
The Elvenking, king of the Mirkwood Elves. He held the dwarves captive. They were
eventually freed by Bilbo. (In The Hobbit he is only called "the Elvenking"; his name
Thranduil is given in The Lord of the Rings.)
Galion, the butler of the Elvenking's halls, whose fondness for wine enables Bilbo and
the dwarves to escape.
Men
Bard the Bowman, an archer of Lake-town who slew Smaug. Heir of Girion.
Beorn the "skin-changer", master of the Carrock, able to take the form of a bear. He
fought against the goblins at the Battle of Five Armies along with the men, elves and
dwarves. Beorn may not have been a man; Gandalf states in The Hobbit that he believes
the story calling Beorn "... a man descended from the first men who lived before Smaug
or the other dragons came into this part of the world" rather than the other common story,
that "he is a bear descended from the great and ancient bears of the mountains that lived
there before the giants came". In The Lord of the Rings, they refer to his kind as
Beornings.
The Master of Lake-town, a grasping politician who met his end starving in the
wilderness with the wealth he plundered from his own people after the destruction of
Lake-town. He is not named explicitly but had the nickname "Moneybags".
Trolls
Tom, one of the three trolls who captured the members of the Company. The trolls
argued over how to prepare their captives for eating, goaded on by the impersonating
voice of Gandalf. They argued until dawn, when the sun's rays turned them to stone. (In
The Lord of the Rings, the location of this scene is identified as the Trollshaws.)
Bert, one of the three trolls who captured the members of the Company.
William (Bill Huggins), one of the three trolls who captured the members of the
Company.
Singular characters
Gollum, a creature left largely to mystery in The Hobbit. He lived alone deep under the
Misty Mountains on an island in a dark, cold lake. He lost his magic ring, which Bilbo
found, and engaged Bilbo in a riddle game in order to stall for time. Ultimately Bilbo
escaped with the ring. In The Lord of the Rings it is revealed that Gollum is a degenerate
hobbit of great age whose name was originally Sméagol.
The Necromancer, a shadowy evil character mentioned in The Hobbit. In The Lord of the
Rings, The Necromancer is seen to be Sauron.
Smaug, a great dragon who made the Lonely Mountain his lair. After the Company
roused him from his long quiescence, he destroyed Lake-town and was killed by Bard the
Bowman.
Birds
The Lord of the Eagles, a giant eagle who, with the other eagles, bore the Company away
from the burning treetops the goblins had trapped them in, and who aided the allies at the
Battle of Five Armies.
Carc, an intelligent raven who lived upon the Ravenhill beneath the Lonely Mountain in
the days of King Thrór.
Roäc, son of Carc; the leader of the great ravens of the Lonely Mountain.
Goblins
The Great Goblin, whose kingdom lies under the Misty Mountains. Warriors of his realm
waylay the Company and take them prisoner. Gandalf kills the Great Goblin when he
rescues the Company.
Bolg, who succeeded the Great Goblin, led an army of goblins in the Battle of Five
Armies.
Notes
1.
Balin is the only dwarf to have returned to Bag End to visit Bilbo after the events in The
Hobbit.
1. Gloin was the father of the character Gimli in The lord of the Rings.
References
1.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1978) [1937]. The Hobbit (4th ed.). George Allen & Unwin. ch. 1, pp. 24-
25. ISBN 0-04-823147-9.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1966) [1955]. The Return of the King (2nd ed.). George Allen &
Unwin. Appendix A: III, p. 361 footnote. ISBN 0-04-823047-2.
1. Regarding the relationship of Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur, see Rateliff, John
(2007). Mr. Baggins. Houghton Mifflin. p. 322, note 34. ISBN 0-618-96847-4.
2.
v
t
e
English-language editions
Early American editions
Editions The Annotated Hobbit
Translations
Bilbo
Gandalf
Thorin Oakenshield
Balin
Elrond
Characters Gollum
Beorn
Radagast
Smaug
Bard the Bowman
Eriador
o Rivendell
o The Shire
Misty Mountains
Places
Rhovanion
o Esgaroth
o Mirkwood
Category