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The White CouncilRe: Why did Sam Gamgee change his name?Tolkien and Inklings Discussion |
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The White CouncilRe: Why did Sam Gamgee change his name?Tolkien and Inklings Discussion |
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Posted by Öjevind Lång on April 08, 1999 at 14:32:24 In Reply to: Re: Why did Sam Gamgee change his name? posted by Michael Martinez on March 25, 1999 at 15:51:10:
: Sam did not change his name. His eldest son was Frodo Gardner, however, and the Gardners of the Hill succeeded to the ownership of Bag End. : Sam's family went through a number of name changes through the generations, and probably Frodo took the surname Gardner to honor his father and to signify a change in social status. The Gamgees were really not aristocratic hobbits, but Sam was the heir of Frodo Baggins, who was head of the Baggins family and owner of Bag End, and Sam was also elected Mayor of the Shire seven times. His social status increased considerably as a result of his deeds in the War of the Ring. : Sam's family took their earliest (recorded) surname from the village of Gamwich. There was Wiseman Gamwich, and his son Hobson took the name Gamgee (derivative of Gammidgee, a nickname for Wiseman). Hobson's trade was rope-making, and his eldest son Andwise took the surname Roper to signify that, while his second son Hamfast retained the name Gamgee. : Sam had two older brothers, Hamson and Halfred, who apparently retained the Gamgee name. : Of Sam's sons, it appears that Merry, Pippin, Hamfast, Bilbo, Robin, and Tolman all retained the Gamgee family name. The Hobbits frequently changed names, just as people did in medieval Europe. It took centuries for family names to stabilize, particularly among the lower classes. One man might be called "Roper" because that was his profession, and his soin called "Underhill" because he lived under the hill. And so on.
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