In celebration of the unlikely adventurer who started J.R.R. Tolkien's epic Lord of
the Rings adventure, this is the Bilbo Baggins story, explained.
Bilbo Baggins was born in the Shire in the year 2890 of the Third Age.
The only son of Bungo Baggins and Belladonna Took, Bilbo spent his early life in the hobbit
hole known as Bag End, which would remain his family home after the death of his parents.
As a boy, Bilbo always wanted to know more about things that were happening outside the Shire. This
unusual trait drew the attention of the wizard Gandalf, but as Bilbo got older, he seemed to
lose this quality. He lived alone and was pleased to enjoy the same comforts as his fellow Hobbits:
food, drink, and leisure, and never causing trouble for his neighbors.
Though Bilbo didn't know it, that was set to change after he turned 50.
Bilbo's early adulthood passed in quiet comfort at Bag End, but his calm life
was disrupted by the arrival of Gandalf, who asked Bilbo to take part in an upcoming quest.
Soon, strange dwarves began arriving on Bilbo's doorstep, 13 in all. The dwarves were led by
Thorin Oakenshield, who explained to Bilbo that they were on their way to Erebor to reclaim their
ancestral home in the Lonely Mountain. The dragon Smaug had forced the dwarves out years earlier and
now rested there, hoarding the treasure inside - which is why the dwarves needed Bilbo's help.
"That's why we need a burglar!"
"And a good one, too. An expert, I'd imagine."
"And are you?"
Bilbo was reluctant to go, since he didn't consider himself a burglar at all,
but he ultimately agreed to set out from the Shire with the dwarves.
"I'm going on an adventure!"
After venturing out with Thorin and company, Bilbo encountered a trio of trolls who nearly put an
end to the quest before Gandalf came to the rescue. With the trolls turned to stone,
Bilbo and the dwarves were able to raid their nearby cave.
It was here that Bilbo discovered his sword, Sting, which he would keep for many years.
The company eventually reached the elven city of Rivendell,
where Bilbo met Elrond for the first time. Bilbo developed a fascination with the elves,
which he would carry with him for the rest of his life.
The company left Rivendell to pass through the Misty Mountains, where they tried to shelter in a
cave. They soon found that goblins were infesting the mountain, and while Bilbo managed to escape
capture, Thorin and company were not so lucky. While the dwarves and Gandalf
dealt with the goblins, Bilbo stumbled through the dark and happened to find a golden ring.
Soon after, he encountered a strange creature known as Gollum, who threatened to eat
him unless he could win a riddle contest. Bilbo stumped Gollum with his final riddle,
"What have I got in my pocket?"
As Gollum grew more frustrated, Bilbo put the ring on and vanished.
Gollum thought the Hobbit had found the way out and gave chase toward the cave exit.
Bilbo used his newfound invisibility to follow Gollum, making his way out of the cave.
Outside, Bilbo reunited with the dwarves,
who'd managed to fight their way out of the Misty Mountains.
The group was then attacked by wargs, only to be rescued by Gandalf's friends the Great Eagles.
When the company finally arrived at the Lonely Mountain, Bilbo snuck in through the secret door
on Thorin's map. Bilbo's entrance woke the dragon Smaug, so Bilbo puts on the ring to stay hidden,
and kept Smaug busy with riddles until he discovered the dragon had a bare patch in
his armor. Bilbo told the dwarves of Smaug's weakness, and a nearby thrush heard and told
Bard the Bowman of nearby Lake-town. When Smaug flew into a rage and departed the mountain to burn
the town in retribution for Bilbo's thievery, Bard shot the dragon in the bare spot, killing him.
But the struggle with the dragon was only the beginning of the battle. Groups of men and
elves soon arrived to lay claim to the mountain's treasure. The dwarves sent word to their own kind
for help, and just as a battle was about to ensue Bilbo revealed that he'd stolen the Arkenstone,
the dwarves' most prized artifact, from the mountain. Bilbo used it to try to broker peace,
but soon all three factions were interrupted by a goblin army. In the ensuing battle,
known as the Battle of Five Armies due to the Eagles' eventual participation,
Thorin was killed, putting an end to his quest to reclaim his kingdom.
Bilbo was supposed to receive one-fourteenth of the Lonely Mountain's treasure, but instead
settled for two chests of gold and silver. He returned home to the Shire,
and when he arrived at Bag End he discovered there was another battle to fight.
"You're not supposed to be here."
"What do you mean?"
"On account of you being presumed dead and all."
"I am not dead. Presumed or otherwise."
His jealous and meddling cousins, the Sackville-Bagginses,
had begun to auction off all of his belongings so they could move into Bag End themselves.
Only after buying back every piece of his own furniture himself could Bilbo settle back into a
normal life. He eventually began a book recounting his adventures, titled There and Back Again.
But Bilbo would never be the same again. His long journey and surprising return had led to rumors
and whispers about what he'd done and what he was up to all alone in Bag End. More importantly,
though he didn't know it at the time, the ring he'd discovered in the Misty Mountains had begun
to take hold of him. As a result, Bilbo seemed to hardly age at all for the next 60 years.
As Bilbo's one hundred and eleventh birthday celebration approached,
Bilbo decided to head off on one final adventure before his death.
"I want to see mountains again. Mountains, Gandalf!"
Bilbo's birthday party was massive, and Bilbo ended it by putting on the Ring and disappearing.
After the party, Bilbo prepared to set out for Rivendell, but Gandalf confronted him about the
Ring. Aware of the effect it was having on his old friend, the wizard urged Bilbo to leave the Ring,
along with Bag End, to his nephew Frodo. Bilbo was initially resistant, but after he calmed down,
he realized the wisdom of Gandalf's advice. Bilbo gave the Ring up and left the Shire.
Unbeknownst to Bilbo, Gandalf's research would soon confirm that the ring was in fact
the One Ring, forged by the Dark Lord Sauron
in a bid to control all of Middle-earth. By letting it go and leaving it to Frodo,
Bilbo became the first individual in the Ring's history to relinquish it voluntarily.
Bilbo stayed in the realm of Elrond for some time,
then left again to visit the city of Dale and gaze upon the Lonely Mountain one more time
before returning again to Rivendell. There, he continued to work on his book, and began to notice
that age was catching up to him. Without the Ring, he grew weaker and more feeble.
Eventually, Frodo arrived in Rivendell with the Ring, on a quest to destroy it. Bilbo still
harbored a desire for the Ring, but knew it was best if Frodo succeeded in his quest. Bilbo gifted
his nephew with two remaining artifacts from his adventures: his sword Sting and a mithril shirt.
While Bilbo remained in Rivendell, Frodo kept pushing toward Mordor. Eventually,
Frodo succeeded in destroying the Ring, ushering in the Fourth Age.
The Fourth Age came to be known as the "Age of Men," since the great elven leaders left the
continent to sail west to the Undying Lands. Because they had been ring-bearers, Frodo and
Bilbo were invited to accompany Elrond and the lady Galadriel of Lothlorien across the sea.
Before departing Middle-earth, Bilbo turned 131, making him the oldest Hobbit in the continent's
history. He sailed west, and presumably passed away in the Undying Lands, at peace.
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