The hobbit who slew a goblin in one blow!
This is the complete story of Bullroarer Took, famous for his extraordinary height (four feet five inches), his astounding victory at the Battle of the Greenfields, and inventing the game of golf!
Bandobras Took was born in the year 2704 in the Third Age of Middle Earth, year 1104 by
Shire Reckoning. He was the second son of Isumbras Took III, twenty-third Thain of the Shire, eleventh of the Took line. His older brother, Ferumbras Took II, served as the twenty-fourth Thain of the Shire for forty-two years.
He was exceptionally tall for a hobbit, being four feet five inches tall, the tallest hobbit in history until Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took drank the ent-drought. One of the greatest advantages of his height was that he was able to ride a horse like a man.
![](http://content6.flixster.com/question/66/58/65/6658652_std.jpg)
However, Bandobras 'Bullroarer' Took's greatest know achievement was his victory in the Battle of the Greenfields. A band of goblins from Mount Gram (located either in the Misty Mountains or Grey Mountains), led by their fierce chieftan Golfimbul, invaded the Northfarthing of the Shire in the year 2747 in the Third Age (year 1147 by Shire Reckoning). They were met by a force of hobbits, the size of which is unknown, probably led by Bandobras himself. (No hobbit would dispute the authority of someone four feet five inches tall, especially when the said hobbit often rode on a horse.) The battle took place in the Greenfields (thus it is called the Battle of the Greenfields), located in the crook created by the western bank of the Brandywine River and the northern bank of the Norbourn River, a tributary of the Brandywine.
![](http://tolkiengateway.net/w/images/9/9f/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_Online_-_Bullroarer's_statue.jpg) |
Bandobras Took as portrayed in The Lord of the Rings Online |
Although this is just speculation, the battle most likely did not last very long. In the olden days, battle often began with the two opposing forces charging at each other, as shown in The Lord of the Rings. (up and to the right) The goblins were almost definitely not riding wargs, for, if they had been, the Shire would have been enslaved long before Saruman ever came there. Anyways, Bandobras led the charge of the hobbits, and Golfimbul led the charge of the goblins. However, Bandobras, armed with a wooden club, was riding on his horse, so he far outpaced his own forces, and rode straight to Golfumbol. Thereupon, he swung his weapon at Golfimbul's head, and, on account of his tremendous momentum, his club took off the head of the goblin in one blow. Here, legend becomes mixed in with actual fact, and the story goes that the goblin-leaders head
"sailed a hundred yards through the air and went down a rabbit-hole, and in this way the battle was won and the game of Golf invented at the same moment."
- The Hobbit, 'An Unexpected Party'
Thus, the only battle ever fought inside the Shire ended before it ever began, and the game of Golf (whose name was adapted from Golfimbul) was created on the same day.
Bandobras 'Bullroarer' Took lived to the ripe old age of 102 and fathered the North-tooks of Daimond Cleeve. He died in the year 2806 in the Third Age, year 1206 by Shire Reckoning.
Sources:
The Hobbit, 'An Unexpected Party'
Prologue to The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B
The Lord of the Rings, Appendix C
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