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Meriadoc Brandybuck

Other Names: Merry, Kalimac (Kali) Brandagamba, Meriadoc of the Shire, Holdwine of the Mark, The Magnificent, Master Perian, Master Holbytla

Location(s): Buckland, Fangorn, Rohan

Race/Species: Hobbit

Type/Kind: N/A

Title(s): Master of Buckland, Counsellor of the North Kingdom

Dates: III 2982 - IV 70

Parents: Saradoc Brandybuck and Esmeralda Took

Siblings: None

Spouse: Estella Bolger

Children: one unnamed son

Description:
"A young man he looked, or like one, though not much more than half a man in height; his head of brown curling hair was uncovered, but he was clad in a travel-stained cloak of the same hue and shape as the companions of Gandalf had worn when they rode to Edoras."
Book 3, Ch 8, The Road to Isengard, TTT, LOTR

Merry rode secretly into battle with Éowyn, who was disguised as Dernhelm. He stabbed the Witch-king, enabling Éowyn to kill the wraith.
"But suddenly he too stumbled forward with a cry of bitter pain, and his stroke went wide, driving into the ground. Merry's sword had stabbed him from behind, shearing through the black mantle, and passing up beneath the hauberk had pierced the sinew behing his mighty knee."
Book 5, Ch 6, The Battle of the Pelennor Fields, RoTK, LOTR

He was made a knight of the Mark for his deeds.

He played a prominent role in the Battle of Bywater, as a captain and a warrior.
"At the top of the roll in all accounts stand the names of Captains Meriadoc and Peregrin."
Book 6, Ch 8, The Scouring of the Shire, RotK, LotR

By the end of the first century of the Fourth Age there were already to be found in the Shire several libraries that contained many historical books and records. The largest of these collections were probably at Undertowers, at Great Smials, and at Brandy Hall. ...

Since Meriadoc and Peregrin became the heads of their great families, and at the same time kept up their connexions with Rohan and Gondor, the libraries at Bucklebury and Tuckborough contained much that did not appear in the Red Book. In Brandy Hall there were many works dealing with Eriador and the history of Rohan. Some of these were composed or begun by Meriadoc himself, though in the Shire he was chiefly remembered for his Herblore of the Shire, and for his Reckoning of Years in which he discussed the relation of the calendars of the Shire and Bree to those of Rivendell, Gondor, and Rohan. He also wrote a short treatise on Old Words and Names in the Shire, having special interest in discovering the kinship with the language of the Rohirrim of such 'shire-words' as mathom and old elements in place names.

... It was probably at Great Smials that The Tale of Years was put together, with the assistance of material collected by Meriadoc. Though the dates given are often conjectural, especially for the Second Age, they deserve attention. It is probable that Meriadoc obtained assistance and information from Rivendell, which he visited more than once. There, though Elrond had departed, his sons long remained, together with some of the High-elven folk. It is said that Celeborn went to dwell there after the departure of Galadriel; but there is no record of the day when at last he sought the Grey Havens, and with him went the last living memory of the Elder Days in Middle-earth.

The Fellowship of the Ring, LoTR Prologue, Note on the Shire Records

Contributors:
Loquacious - 01.02.03; Dim Genesis - 12.27.02; Lyllyn - 1.12.03; Added books & links: Elena Tiriel 6.16.04; Names & Titles: ET 6.17.04

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