Peregrin Took
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Peregrin Took (T.A. 2990–?), better known to his friends as Pippin, is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth; a Hobbit, and one of Frodo Baggins's youngest but dearest friends.
Peregrin was the only son of Paladin Took II and wife Eglantine Banks, and therefore inherited Paladin's title of Thain of the Shire upon his death in F.A. 13. He had three older sisters, Pearl Took, Pimpernel Took, and Pervinca Took. His best friend Meriadoc Brandybuck is his cousin, son of Paladin's sister Esmeralda Brandybuck.
The hair on his head and his feet (which are exceptionally hairy, even for a Hobbit) is almost all golden and curly. At the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring he is smaller than the rest of the Hobbits because he is the youngest and because he is a Fallohide hobbit. Fallohides are described as more fleet and light-footed than other strains of hobbit.
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[edit] Biography
Pippin is the only hobbit who had not yet reached his 'coming of age' when the Fellowship sets out (being eight years younger than Merry, while Frodo himself is 50 years of age) and is therefore still in his 'tweens'. He is a worthy accomplice to Merry's plans, but shows his age as well; he is still a cheerful, if occasionally thoughtless Hobbit, and is first to miss the comforts of Hobbit life. At Rivendell, Pippin is nearly denied the chance to accompany Frodo by Elrond who seriously considers using the youngest Hobbit to send as a messenger to the Shire. Gandalf, however, supports his and Merry's claims of friendship and loyalty, and Pippin is chosen as the last member of the Fellowship.
It is Pippin who inadvertently rouses the Balrog in the Mines of Moria, causing Gandalf to exclaim, 'fool of a Took', a term that Gandalf often uses for Pippin throughout the rest of the trilogy.
Remaining with the Fellowship until the breaking of the fellowship at Amon Hen, Pippin is captured along with Merry by an Orc-band, which includes some of Saruman's evil Uruk-hai. While held captive by the Orcs, he purposefully drops his elven brooch (a gift from Lórien) as a sign for Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, who are in pursuit. During a skirmish amongst his captors, Pippin manages to cut his bonds using a sword held fast by a dead Uruk called Gornin. In the land of Rohan, Pippin and Merry manage to escape when the Orcs are attacked by a company of Rohirrim, the local people. Upon their escape, he and Merry befriend Treebeard, leader of the Ents. They rouse the other Ents to fight against Saruman and they attack his stronghold Isengard, partially crippling his power.
It is Pippin who picks up the palantír of Orthanc after Gríma Wormtongue foolishly throws it as a missile; later, in an almost equally foolish act, Pippin actually steals it out of Gandalf's hands while the wizard sleeps, putting a rock in its place. Looking into the stone, he has a terrifying encounter with Sauron himself. Through the Pilantir, he witnesses the White Tree of Gondor, dead, amongst a burning Minas Tirith. Because of this, Gandalf separates him from his friends and brings him to the city of Minas Tirith. Meeting Denethor, Steward of Gondor, he volunteers for service to repay him for the death of Denethor's son Boromir, who had died trying to defend Merry and Pippin from the orcs. This amuses Denethor, who accepts the Hobbit's offer and makes him one of the elite Guards of the Citadel. Later, it is Pippin who rushes to fetch Gandalf when Denethor, driven to despair by seeing in the palantír a great force seemingly bringing the doom of Gondor, sets out to burn his son Faramir and himself alive.
Pippin is part of the Army of the West led by Aragorn that assaulted the Black Gate in a desperate gambit. During the final parley with the Mouth of Sauron, Gandalf instructs that members of each race that opposed Sauron be present at the parley, including Gimli for Dwarves, Legolas, Elladan and Elrohir (Elrond's twin sons) for Elves, and Pippin for Hobbits. During the last battle before the Morannon, Pippin manages to slay a troll before being knocked unconscious when the dying troll falls on him. Gimli later recognizes his Hobbit feet under the troll and drags him out of the battle, saving his life. After the restoration of the monarchy he is knighted by King Elessar, who then grants him indefinite leave to return home. Later he and Merry are instrumental in overthrowing Saruman's forces during the Scouring of the Shire.
In F.A. 6 Pippin marries Diamond of Long Cleeve, when she is 32 and he is 37. They have one son, Faramir. Faramir Took later marries Samwise Gamgee's daughter Goldilocks.
In the F.A. 13 Pippin inherits his father's title and becomes 32nd Thain of the Shire, a position he holds for 50 years before retiring in F.A. 63 and revisiting Rohan and Gondor with Merry. He remains in Gondor for the rest of his life.
Pippin probably dies sometime after the year F.A. 64 and his body is set with Merry's in Rath Dínen.
[edit] Portrayal in adaptations
 Merry and Pippin (left), in Ralph Bakshi's animated version of The Lord of the Rings. |
 Pippin (Billy Boyd) in Peter Jackson's live-action film trilogy. |
 Pippin (Troy Bausch) here astride Shadowfax with Gandalf, in the 2003 Cincinnati production of The Return of the King. |
In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings, Pippin was voiced by Dominic Guard. In the live-action recordings Bakshi used for rotoscoping, Billy Barty was the model for several of the hobbits, but it is not clear whether Barty modelled for Pippin.
In the 1980 animated version of The Return of the King, made for television, the character was voiced by Sonny Melendrez.
In the 1981 BBC radio serial of The Lord of the Rings, Pippin was played by John McAndrew.
In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Pippin is played by Billy Boyd, who is from Scotland. The filmmakers originally planned for Boyd to adopt an English accent for the role, in keeping with the other hobbits; however, Jackson found that Boyd's comic timing was not as keen when he was not using his native accent.
Therefore, it was decided to allow Boyd to play the role with a Scottish accent; the decision was justified by the observation that the Took-land in which the Took clan lived was a very hilly region of the Shire and was therefore vaguely similar to Scotland (indeed, when Saruman's Ruffians take over the Shire the terrain of the Took-land proves so rough and inaccessible that the Tooks are effectively able to beat the Ruffians back while the surrounding counties are overtaken), as well as the observation that the Tooks invented the game of golf, just like the Scots.[1]
Pippin was portrayed by Troy Bausch in the Cincinnati stage production of The Return of the King (2003) for Clear Stage Cincinnati. At Chicago's Lifeline Theatre, Pippin was played by John Ferrick in The Two Towers (1999).
[edit] Trivia
- Due to a special "Ent-draught" that Treebeard made him and Merry drink, Pippin and his cousin became the tallest Hobbits ever in history at four and a half feet, surpassing his ancestor, Bullroarer Took, who was four feet and five inches tall.
- Steve Peregrin Took, former member of the British glam rock band T. Rex, took his stage name from the character.
[edit] See also
| Preceded by Paladin II |
Thain of The Shire 1434 SR–1484 SR |
Succeeded by Faramir I |
| The Fellowship of the Ring |
| Frodo · Sam · Merry · Pippin · Gandalf · Aragorn · Legolas · Gimli · Boromir |
[edit] References
- ^ J. R. R. Tolkien (2002). in Annotated by Douglas A. Anderson: The Annotated Hobbit. Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-13470-0.
