Gollum Hobbit of the Stoor strain, born in the Stoor settlement near the Gladden Fields. About 2463 his cousin Déagol found the One Ring while fishing, and Gollum murdered him for it. Soon he became odious to his family and was driven out of the Stoor community. Gollum hid in the Misty Mountains, falling more and more under the control of the Ring until 2941, when he lost it. Bilbo Baggins found the Ring and took it with him to the Shire. Gollum, suspecting that Bilbo had the Ring, came out of the Misty Mountains to search for Bilbo, his need for the Ring overcoming his hatred and fear of the sun, the moon and other living things. A few years before the War of the Ring, Gollum was captured by Sauron, who thus learned about Bilbo. Sauron released Gollum in 3017 and he was captured by Aragorn, who turned him over to Gandalf. The wizard learned that part of the story of the Ring which he had not previously known, and then gave Gollum over to the Elves of Amon Thranduil in Mirkwood. In June, 3018, Gollum escaped during an Orc-raid, and immediately went of in search of the Ring. He caught up with Frodo and the Company of the Ring outside the West-gate of Khazad-Dûm, and followed the Company through Moria. Gollum was captured by Frodo and Sam in the Emyn Muil; and, partly out of fear of the Ringbearer and partly to insure that Sauron did not recover the Ring, Gollum led the Hobbits faithfully to Cirith Ungol, the only unguarded route into Mordor. However, there he betrayed Frodo and Sam to Shelob, hoping to recover the Ring when Shelob discarded their clothing. His plan failed, and so he followed the Hobbits to Orodruin. There his last ambush of Frodo failed, but when the latter claimed the Ring as his own Gollum attacked him once more. In the struggle which followed Gollum bit off Frodo's ring-finger and thus got the Ring, but in his joy fell into the Crack of Doom, destroying both himself and the Ring. Gollum originally looked like a normal Hobbit, but his long years in darkness and dampness under the influence of the Ring drastically affected his appearance. The descriptions of him in The Lord of the Rings vary somewhat, but he seems by the time of Bilbo and Frodo to have been extremely thin and wiry, with dark skin, flat feet, long thin hands and pale large eyes. Although his sight was poor, his hearing was acute, and he could move silently and climb like an insect. Because of his long domination by the Ring, Gollum pathologically feared all things Elven; Elven ropes burned his flesh and lembas tasted like dust. He hated all creatures, and was, due to the influence of the Ring on his naturally somewhat nasty character, generally despicable. Gollum's real name was Trahald, a
northern Mannish name meaning "worming, burrowing in"; the Anglicized Mannish
equivalent was Sméagol. He was called Gollum because of the disgusting noise he made in
his throat; the name was originally given to him by his family after he found the Ring. He
called himself "my preciouss," perhaps confusing himself with the Ring. Sam
devised two names, Slinker and Stinker, for the two aspects of Gollum's nature while he
was serving Frodo. The former referred to his fawning behavior toward Frodo as Ringbearer
and his sworn master, which was in part a sincere desire to be a good person and escape
the control of the Ring, while the latter referred to Gollum's spiteful, treacherous,
hateful behavior toward all else, which sometimes carried over to Frodo. |
