Race: Hobbits
Date of Birth: April 6, 2980 (see note)
Date of Death: Sometime after the year 61 F.A.
Residence: Number 3 Bagshot Row; later Bag End
Parents: Hamfast Gamgee and Bell Goodchild
Siblings: 2 brothers - Hamson & Halfred; 3 sisters: Daisy, May &
Marigold
Spouse: Rose Cotton
Children: 6 daughters - Elanor the Fair, Rose, Goldilocks, Daisy, Primrose,
Ruby
7 sons - Frodo Gardner, Merry, Pippin, Hamfast, Bilbo, Robin, Tolman
Eye color: Brown
Sword: A sword of Westernesse; later Sting
Pony: Bill the Pony
Galadriel's gift: Box of earth from Lothlorien & the seed of a mallorn
tree
Samwise Gamgee, Frodo
Baggins' loyal servant, was determined to follow his master wherever
he went even when he was not invited. Sam proved to be a brave and loyal
companion and became Frodo's closest friend. His Hobbit-sense and his
love for Frodo saw them both through danger and hardship to the end
of the quest. Sam's unwillingness to give up hope even when things seemed
darkest ensured that not only did they reach their goal, they also survived.
Unlike his three companions,
Sam was not a gentlehobbit. His father Hamfast, known as the Gaffer,
had been the gardener at Bag End for over 40 years, and Sam was his
assistant. They lived at Number 3 Bagshot Row at the bottom of the Hill
in Hobbiton. Hamfast and his wife Bell Goodchild had five other children.
Sam's oldest brother Hamson went to work for their uncle Andwise Roper,
from whom Sam also learned a thing or two about rope. Sam's youngest
sister Marigold married Tom Cotton, whose sister Rosie had caught Sam's
eye.
Sam had learned to read
and write from Bilbo Baggins and he listened eagerly to Bilbo's tales
about his adventures, particularly the ones about Elves. The Gaffer
found his son's preoccupation with Elves and such a bit worrisome.
"Elves and Dragons!
I says to him. Cabbages and potatoes are better for me and you. Don't
go getting mixed up in the business of your betters, or you'll land
in trouble too big for you, I says to him."
The Fellowship of the Ring: "A Long-Expected Party," p. 32
By the time Frodo Baggins inherited Bag End in 3001, Sam had taken over
most his old Gaffer's duties. In the spring of 3018, Sam noticed that
Frodo seemed restless with his life in the Shire. He agreed to help
Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took learn what was troubling their friend.
When Gandalf came to Bag End in April of 3018, Sam was trimming the
grass under the window (or so he claimed) and overheard the wizard telling
Frodo that Bilbo's magic ring was the One Ring lost by the Dark Lord
Sauron long ago. Sam could not help but cry out in dismay when he learned
that Frodo would have to leave the Shire. Gandalf discovered him and
decreed that Sam should accompany Frodo when he went.
Sam set out with Frodo from Bag End on September 23 on the pretense
that he was going to be the gardener at Frodo's new home in Crickhollow.
When the Hobbits left Crickhollow and journeyed into the Old Forest,
Sam was the only one to keep his wits about him when the others succumbed
to the spell of the Withywindle valley and fell asleep. Sam saved Frodo
from drowning in the river, and Tom Bombadil came along to save Merry
and Pippin from Old Man Willow.
At the Prancing Pony in
Bree, Sam was suspicious of the Ranger called Strider who offered to
guide the Hobbits into the Wild.
... Sam was not daunted,
and he still eyed Strider dubiously. "How do we know you are the
Strider that Gandalf speaks about?" he demanded. "You never
mentioned Gandalf, till this letter came out. You might be a play-acting
spy, for all I can see, trying to get us to go with you. You might have
done in the real Strider and took his clothes. What have you to say
to that?"
"That you are a stout fellow," answered Strider ...
The Fellowship of the Ring: "Strider," p. 183
In the end, Frodo decided to trust Strider, and they departed from Bree
the next morning. Merry's ponies had been set loose during an attack
on the inn the night before, and Barliman Butterbur bought him a pony
as compensation. Sam became quiet attached to the pony and named it
Bill.
After Frodo was wounded by the Witch-king at Weathertop, Sam was anxious
for his master. But when Frodo requested a story, Sam complied by reciting
a humorous poem about a Troll.
"Where did you come
by that, Sam?" asked Pippin. "I've never heard those words
before."
Sam muttered something inaudible. "It's out of his own head, of
course," said Frodo. "I am learning a lot about Sam Gamgee
on this journey. First he was a conspirator, now he's a jester. He'll
end up by becoming a wizard - or a warrior!"
"I hope not," said Sam. "I don't want to be neither!"
The Fellowship of the Ring: "Flight to the Ford," p. 220
Frodo became gravely ill as a result of the Morgul-wound, and as he
recovered at Rivendell Sam hardly left his side. Later when Frodo went
to the Council to discuss the fate of the Ring, Sam attended too, uninvited
and unobtrusively, until Frodo volunteered to take the Ring to Mordor.
"But you won't send him off alone surely, Master?" cried Sam,
unable to contain himself any longer, and jumping up from the corner
where he had been quietly sitting on the floor.
"No indeed!" said Elrond, turning towards him with a smile.
"You at least shall go with him. It is hardly possible to separate
you from him, even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are
not."
The Fellowship of the Ring: "The Council of Elrond," p. 284
After the Fellowship left Rivendell, Sam quickly proved his usefulness.
At the Moria Gate, Sam was first to react when the Watcher in the Water
attacked Frodo. Although his beloved Bill bolted from the Watcher in
fear, Sam let the pony go and ran to his master's side, slashing at
the tentacle that grabbed him. During the battle in the Chamber of Mazarbul,
Sam killed an Orc and was wounded on the head.
The Fellowship escaped to Lothlorien, where the Lady Galadriel offered
Sam and Frodo a look into her Mirror. Sam first saw Frodo lying pale
and unconscious; then he saw his beloved Shire being destroyed. His
first thought was to go home, but though it grieved him he said, "No,
I'll go home by the long road with Mr. Frodo, or not at all." (FotR,
p. 378) When the Fellowship left Lorien, the Lady gave Sam a box of
earth from her own orchard.
At Amon Hen, when Frodo
went off to think on his own, Sam was the only one who truly understood
what his master was going through. He realized that Frodo intended to
go to Mordor, and that he would want to spare his friends and go alone.
When the Fellowship went off in all directions looking for Frodo, Sam
realized that Frodo had gone to the boats to row across to the eastern
side. He caught up with Frodo and together they headed east toward Mordor.
In the Emyn Muil, Frodo
and Sam met Gollum. Frodo spared Gollum's life and accepted his guidance
to the Black Gate and, when that proved impassable, to Gollum's secret
way into Mordor. But Sam remained suspicious of the creature's two personalities:
the submissive Smeagol side Sam called "Slinker" and the devious
Gollum side he called "Stinker."
In Ithilien, Frodo and
Sam encountered a company of Rangers led by Captain Faramir of Gondor.
They witnessed a battle between the Rangers and a group of Southrons
on their way to Mordor. To his joy, Sam saw an Oliphaunt, but Sam was
saddened also to see a dead Southron and wondered about the man's home
and family. Then Faramir revealed that he was the brother of Boromir
and questioned Frodo about his death. Sam stood up to Faramir, looking
him sternly in the eye while Faramir sat on the ground, much to the
amusement of the Rangers. Later Sam let slip that Frodo was carrying
the Ring, but Faramir vowed that he would not take it and instead helped
the Hobbits on their way.
Gollum led the Hobbits
to the Stairs of Cirith Ungol. There they slept briefly. When Sam awoke
he found Gollum "pawing" at his master, and he accused Gollum
of sneaking. Sam did not realize it, but as Gollum had watched them
sleep he had debated with himself over whether to lead the Hobbits to
what awaited them in the secret passage, but Sam's hasty words had banished
any thought of repentance.
Gollum led the Hobbits
into the lair of the Great Spider Shelob. Sam was delayed by Gollum
while Shelob stung Frodo in the neck. Sam drove Gollum off with his
lebethron walking stick and then he took up the Phial and Sting. He
put out one of Shelob's eyes and wounded her in her belly, and she slunk
back into her lair. Sam went to his master's side, but he lay lifeless.
He could find no breath or heartbeat in Frodo's body.
"Frodo, Mr. Frodo!"
he called. "Don't leave me here alone! It's your Sam calling. Don't
go where I can't follow! Wake up, Mr. Frodo!"
The Two Towers: "The Choices of Master Samwise," p. 340
Sam did not know what to do. His place was with Frodo, but at the same
time he knew that the quest must not fail and that he had to go on.
So he put his own sword by Frodo's body and left Frodo's coat of mithril
mail, and he took Sting and the Phial, and finally the Ring. He composed
his master's body as best he could and set out to finish the task.
He had not gone far when he saw a party of Orcs approaching the place
where Frodo lay. He realized that he should never have abandoned his
master and ran back, but they had already taken Frodo away. Sam followed
and learned to his horror that Frodo was still alive and that he was
being taken to the Tower of Cirith Ungol.
In Mordor, Sam felt the
weight of the Ring and he was briefly tempted by its power, but his
Hobbit-sense won out. He got past the Watchers at the gates of the Tower
by using the Phial and was surprised to find that the Orcs had fought
over Frodo's mithril shirt and that many of them were dead. He heard
two of the survivors discussing him, saying that a Great Elf Warrior
was on the loose. Then the Orc Shagrat ran past him carrying the mithril
shirt, cloak, and sword toward Barad-dur. Sam let him go and went in
search of Frodo, singing as he went.
"Though here at journey's
end I lie
in darkness buried deep,
beyond all towers strong and high,
beyond all mountains steep,
above all shadows rides the Sun
and Stars for ever dwell:
I will not say the Day is done,
nor bid the Stars farewell."
The Return of the King: "The Tower of Cirith Ungol," p. 185
Sam thought he heard a faint response, and he climbed to the topmost
chamber of the Tower where he found Frodo being tortured by Snaga. Sam
charged at Snaga and the Orc fell through the trapdoor. Frodo lay naked
and bleeding on the floor, but worse than his physical wounds was Frodo's
despair that the Ring was gone and all was lost. When Sam revealed that
he had the Ring in his safekeeping, Frodo lashed out at Sam and snatched
the Ring from him. Frodo immediately regretted his actions, and Sam
saw that the Ring's hold on Frodo was getting ever stronger.
Sam found some Orc gear for Frodo and himself and they set out across
the Plain of Gorgoroth toward Mount Doom. Frodo's only thought was of
getting to the Fiery Mountain, but Sam was worried about how they would
get back alive without enough food and water to last them both ways.
But even as hope died
in Sam, or seemed to die, it was turned to a new strength. Sam's plain
hobbit-face grew stern, almost grim, as the will hardened in him, and
he felt through all his limbs a thrill, as if he was turning into some
creature of stone and steel that neither despair nor weariness nor endless
barren miles could subdue.
The Return of the King: "Mount Doom," p. 211
Sam saw that the Ring was becoming a weight on Frodo's body and mind.
He could do nothing to ease his master's torment, but he did what he
could to relieve some of his burden. They cast away their Orc garb,
and Sam said farewell to the cooking gear he had carried for so long.
And when Frodo could no longer walk and began to crawl, Sam carried
him up the mountainside.
Sam looked at him and wept in his heart, but no tears came to his dry
and stinging eyes. "I said I'd carry him, if it broke my back,"
he muttered, "and I will!"
"Come, Mr. Frodo!" he cried. "I can't carry it for you,
but I can carry you and it as well. So up you get! Come on, Mr. Frodo
dear! Sam will give you a ride. Just tell him where to go, and he'll
go."
The Return of the King: "Mount Doom," p. 218
As they neared the Cracks of Doom, Gollum appeared. Sam drew Sting and
told Frodo to go on. But something stopped him from killing the wretched
creature who was ruined by centuries of bearing the Ring that Sam had
briefly borne. Sam let him go and went to find Frodo. But Frodo, himself
burdened by the terrible power of the Ring, claimed the Ring for himself
and refused to destroy it. Then Gollum, whose life both Frodo and Sam
had spared, attacked Frodo and bit off the finger that bore the Ring.
Gollum fell into the fiery chasm and the Ring was destroyed. Mordor
began to fall into ruin.
"I am glad that you are here with me," said Frodo. "Here
at the end of all things, Sam."
"Yes, I am with you, Master," said Sam, laying Frodo's wounded
hand gently to his breast. "And you're with me. And the journey's
finished. But after coming all that way I don't want to give up yet.
It's not like me, somehow, if you understand."
The Return of the King: "The Field of Cormallen," p. 228
Sam led Frodo out of Sammath Naur and down the mountain, where they
were found by Gandalf and the Eagles. They were taken to Ithilien, where
their wounds were tended to by Aragorn and they were honored as heroes
by the Host of the West.
The four Hobbits returned home. Sam was delighted to find Bill the Pony
alive at Bree. But trouble awaited them in the Shire: Saruman and his
minions had taken over, and many trees had been felled to make way for
industry as Sam had seen in his vision in the Mirror. The Hobbits routed
the invaders and Sam set to work restoring his beloved Shire to its
natural bucolic state. He carefully spread the grains of soil that Galadriel
had given him around the Shire and he planted the mallorn seed where
the Party Tree had once stood. In the spring of 3020 - 1420 by Shire
Reckoning - the trees sprouted and gardens grew and the harvest was
bountiful.
Sam married Rosie Cotton
on May 1 of that year and they moved into Bag End with Frodo. Their
daughter was born on March 25, 3021, and they named her Elanor after
the flowers of Lothlorien. Sam was content, but his master was not.
Frodo continued to be troubled by his wounds and his burden and decided
to sail into the West and leave Middle-earth behind. Sam felt torn in
two. He accompanied Frodo to the Grey Havens, and there he was parted
from the master and friend he had served so faithfully.
Sam returned home to Bag
End, which now belonged to him. He and Rosie had 13 children altogether.
Their oldest daughter Elanor married Fastred of Greenholm, who became
the Warden of Westmarch. Their daughter Goldilocks married Peregrin
Took's son and heir Faramir. Sam was elected Mayor of Michel Delving
in the year 6 of the Fourth Age. He served seven seven-year terms, and
was made a Counsellor of the North-kingdom by Aragorn, King Elessar,
in the year 13. In the year 15, the King visited the North-kingdom and
gave Sam the Star of the Dunedain. Sam, Rosie and Elanor traveled to
Gondor in the year 21 and stayed there for a year.
When Rose died in the
year 61, Sam left Bag End to his oldest son Frodo Gardner and gave The
Red Book to his daughter Elanor. He went to the Grey Havens, where it
is said that he passed over the the Sea into the West. It is hoped that
he was reunited with Frodo before he died.
Samwise
Family Tree
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