Samwise Gamgee

Samwise Gamgee, known as Sam by his friends, was Frodo’s gardener and one of his best friends. Sam proved himself to be Frodo’s closest and most dependable companion, the most loyal of the Fellowship of the Ring. He played an important role in protecting Frodo and destroying the One Ring.

Early life

Samwise Gamgee, popularly called Sam, was a Hobbit of Hobbiton in the Shire, a land in Eriador. He lived with his father and many of his siblings on Bagshot Row, close to Bag End. Like his father Hamfast Gamgee, also known as the Gaffer, Sam was a simple gardener who worked for the Bagginses of Bag End. He was taught his letters by his tutor Bilbo Baggins, who also taught him poetry and told him tales of the Elves, and the Elvish lands he visited in his adventures. These set Sam apart from the rest of the Hobbits of Hobbiton and worried his parents.

Samwise the Spy

Sam Gamgee was returning to work at Bag End from the Green Dragon where he had traded stories with Ted Sandyman about the sighting of a possible Ent in the North Downs, and Elves setting sail for the Uttermost West, when he saw Gandalf returning to visit Frodo after many years of absence. As he trimmed the gardens with his shears he overheard snatches of Frodo’s conversations with Gandalf about the Ring, its origin, and the danger it posed to Frodo and the Shire, especially if its whereabouts were discovered.

He had earlier been recruited as a spy by The Conspirators, a group which was made up of Merry and Pippin because they had detected strange happenings around the Bagginses and were worried about their friend Frodo.

When he heard that Frodo would have to leave the Shire, Sam choked in dismay, betraying himself to Gandalf’s sharp ears. Catching him, Gandalf sternly questioned the frightened Gardener to find out if he was a spy and what he had overheard. After deciding that Sam was harmless and learning of his fascination with Elves, and his loyalty to Frodo, Gandalf decided that he would be the best candidate to accompany Frodo on his journey to Rivendell, as “punishment” for his eavesdropping. 

The House in Crickhollow

Sam joined Frodo and Pippin as they journeyed to Frodo’s new house in Crickhollow in Buckland, mentioning that a black-cloaked fellow on a black horse had come by his home asking the Gaffer about Frodo. Frodo had bought the house at Crickhollow as a diversion to avert suspicion about his suddenly leaving the Shire. Sam was the first to hear the singing of a wandering company of Elves, which had scared off a Black Rider who had been hot on their trail and would have run off to catch a glimpse of them if Pippin and Frodo had not held him back.

As the companions sat down with the Elves for supper, he was filled with joy and wonder that he could barely speak. The Elves warned him not to leave Frodo on his journey, and he replied that he would never think about it. And afterward, as Frodo and the Elves spoke, he curled up in content by the fire and slept.

At Crickhollow, the Conspirators and Sam’s role in their plots as their chief information gatherer was revealed. Frodo knew he could not stay for long in Crickhollow because everyone now knew where he would be. he decided he would leave the Shire the next day and make for Bree. Merry joined the travelers on their way to Bree.

A Perilous Shortcut

To escape capture by the Black Riders the Hobbits decided to travel through the dangerous Old Forest. The Forest deceptively changed around them as they traveled, always pushing them eastward toward Old Man Willow who enchanted the Hobbits with songs of water and sleep, and made them drowsy. Sam was the first to notice that there was something unnatural about the sudden feeling of drowsiness and fought it.

When he got back to realize that the tree had swallowed up Merry and Pippin, who had been resting against its trunk and was trying to drown Frodo in the river, he hurriedly saved his master and then lit a fire against the tree to save Merry and Pippin. Although that only served to enrage the tree, they were saved by Tom Bombadil, who happened to be passing nearby. After saving the Hobbits, Tom Bombadil invited them to his house where they stayed for two days. During their time in Tom’s house, they experience his unique and mysterious hospitality, and Tom introduces them to Goldberry, his wife. 

Arriving in Bree, Sam became perplexed at the size and scale of the houses there, including the inn itself, and he feared they might run into the Black Riders. He wished Hobbits were living around with whom they could spend the night so he might feel more at home. The Hobbits made their way to the Prancing Pony where they ran into Aragorn, who was known to the Breelanders as Strider.

At first, Sam does not trust him until Barliman Butterbur shows up with Gandalf’s letter to Frodo, which Butterbur had forgotten to send out, which mentions Strider as a friend they could trust. Even then Sam remained wary, but Frodo accepted his help as a guide since they could not get to Rivendell on their own. In the morning they woke up to discover that Saruman’s spies had opened the inn’s stables, setting loose all the horses and ponies, and they were forced to purchase a pony from Bill Ferny, a suspected spy. Sam loved and tended the animal, naming him Bill, after his owner. 

As the company came to Weathertop, Sam recited a poem Bilbo Baggins had taught him about the Elvish High King Gil-Galad. As the Sun went down and night fell, the Ringwraiths stormed the ancient stronghold and attacked the company, giving Frodo a grievous stab wound on his shoulder. After the attack, Sam’s distrust toward Strider only grew. He drew his sword to defend Frodo at Aragorn’s return, thinking him a Ringwraith.

The Fellowship of the Ring

Sam faithfully tended to Frodo as he lay in bed recovering from the wound he received from the Witch King’s Morgul Blade and would not leave his side, overlooking his weariness. When Frodo finally recovered sufficiently from his wound, he was invited to the Council of Elrond, which the Elf-lord convened to decide the fate of the One Ring. Having not been invited to the council, Sam decided to continue his job as the chief information gatherer for the Conspirators and spied on the council till he heard Elrond accept Frodo’s over to carry the Ring to Mount Doom where it will be destroyed, and named him the Ringbearer.

He jumped up, interrupting Master Elrond, and asked if Elrond meant to send Frodo off on the quest alone, to which Elrond responded that he at least should accompany Frodo as it is impossible to separate them, even when Frodo is invited to a secret council, and Sam is not.

As the Fellowship left the house of Elrond in Rivendell, Sam insisted on bringing Bill along on the journey, insisting that the pony would pine if he did not come. At that point, he lamented that he had not brought rope but found that it was too late to find some now. After Saruman’s fell sorcery caused a snowstorm as the Fellowship tried to reach Redhorn Pass and blocked the way, Sam was filled with dread when Gandalf decided they would take the road through Moria. He was also saddened when they had to abandon Bill at the West Gates of Moria, dreading what would happen to the pony since the mountains were filled with wolves and other evil creatures.

Several times in their journey through the mines, Sam valiantly came to Frodo’s rescue. He saved him from an attack from the Watcher in the Water before the Gates of Moria as it seized Frodo by the ankle with its tentacle and tried to drag him away into the water. When an Orc chieftain pinned Frodo to the wall with his spear during the attack at the Chamber of Mazarbul, Sam hacked at the spear shaft with his sword and broke it. He narrowly escaped death himself when an Orc swung a scimitar at his head, but he ducked in time, receiving only a graze on his temple, then he killed the Orc with a stab.

As the grieving Fellowship arrived at Lothlórien and crossed the Nimrodel River, the Elvish guards accosted them from the trees. They jokingly remarked that Sam’s breathing was so loud they could shoot him in the dark, which alarmed the Hobbit, but Legolas comforted him by assuring him that the Elves would never harm him. When Legolas and Frodo were invited up to the flet that served as a guard post, Sam climbed up with him, trying to breathe softly.

While Merry complained about the discomfort of sleeping up in the trees like a bird, Sam was the only one among the Hobbits who had no trouble sleeping up in the flet. When the Elves insisted that the Dwarf Gimli must be blindfolded because an animosity had grown between Elves and Dwarves, and the Elves had little trust for Gimli, bristled and took offense. Aragorn settled the quarrel by suggesting that all of the Fellowship be blindfolded.

When Sam heard the Elves of Cerin Amroth singing a lamentation for Gandalf, he stood up and sang a verse in honor of Gandalf and his fireworks. As he and Frodo sat and talked about Elvish magic and how he had longed to see some, Galadriel appeared and led the two Hobbits to her enclosed garden where she showed them the Mirror of Galadriel, which shows the past, the present, and possible futures. Looking in the Mirror’s clear surface, Sam saw Ted Sandyman cutting down trees. He also saw the Mill being torn down and replaced with a large red brick building that spewed smoke, and the Gaffer leaving the dug-up Bagshot Row with his belongings in a barrow.

These visions greatly distressed Sam, and he would have insisted on returning to the Shire, but Galadriel warned him to never trust the Mirror’s predictions or base his actions on them. Encouraged by Galadriel’s words, Sam decided to stay and complete the quest with Frodo. As the Fellowship left Lothlórien, each member received a gift from the Lady Galadriel and lord Celeborn. Sam received a box containing the blessed earth from Galadriel’s orchard.

As the group took to land at the Falls of Rauros, they were attacked by a band of Orcs sent from Isengard by the fallen Wizard Saruman. As the battle raged, Frodo slipped on the Ring and tried to slip away to the eastern shore of the Anduin on one of the boats but Sam spied him and pursued him, leaping into the water even though he could not swim. Thus, the Fellowship was broken, and Frodo and Sam continued to Mordor alone. Soon the Hobbits were lost in the hills of Emyn Muil where they wandered for days till they captured the creature, Gollum, who had been dogging their trail since they entered Moria, and forced him to be their guide to Mordor. 

Ever distrustful and wary of strangers, Sam hated the twisted creature and doubted its loyalty to Frodo. He also worried about their dwindling food supplies as the days wore on, and wondered if they would have enough for their return journey. In Ithilien, the party was captured by Faramir and his soldiers who were watching the region for signs of Sauron’s forces, but Gollum slipped away from their grasp. The Hobbits were taken to the hidden refuge of Henneth Annûn for questioning. Under pressure, Sam unwittingly revealed the purpose of their quest, but Faramir, who had been a student of Gandalf, decided to let them continue their journey unharmed, receiving Sam’s highest praises.

As Gollum led the Hobbits up the Stairs of Cirith, Sam wondered if their journey and adventures along the way would be told or sung about by generations yet to come.

Gollum led the unsuspecting Hobbits up the Stairs of Cirith Ungol and into the lair of the ancient spider Shelob, hoping to retrieve the One Ring from Frodo’s remains after had eaten Frodo. As the Hobbits escaped from the dangerous caves of Shelob’s lair, rejoicing in their new freedom, the great spider came from behind and stung Frodo in the neck even as Gollum attacked Sam. A fight ensued between Sam and the creature, and Sam managed to defeat it and drive it away, reaching Frodo as the spider was bent over him. Sam attacked Shelob with a fury the creature had never seen before from Men or Elves. Using the vial of Galadriel and the Elven knife Sting, Sam dealt grievous wounds to it and drove it off. 

Thinking Frodo was dead, Sam was overcome by grief, but he knew the quest must be completed so he took the Ring. Orcs soon arrived from the Tower of Cirith Ungol to investigate the strange lights and shouts they heard from the area and Sam hid himself from them. Overhearing that Frodo was not dead but only stunned by Shelob’s poison, he regretted leaving his master’s side. After the fight between the Orc factions over Frodo’s Mithril shirt, Sam snuck in and rescued his master, returning the Ring to him. Because Sam had borne the Ring, no matter how briefly, he was counted among the Ring-bearers.

Together, Sam and Frodo crossed the land of Mordor to Mount Doom. At the slopes of Mount Doom, the burden of the Ring overcame the weary Frodo and he could not go on so Sam carried him up the slope for part of the way. There, Gollum attacked the Hobbits once again but Sam managed to subdue him. In the last moment Sam decided to spare his life now he had an idea of what it had been like for Gollum to carry the Ring, a choice which, like Gandalf had predicted in the mines of Moria, soon led to success in their quest. After the destruction of the Ring, both Sam and Frodo were rescued by the Eagles and were later honored by King Elessar for their deeds.

Life After the War

Returning to the Shire, Sam was dismayed by the Scouring of the Shire and the deeds of the corrupted Wizard Saruman. He played a vital role in the Battle of Bywater, which was the last battle of the War of the Ring, and vanquished Saruman. Sam planted many saplings to replace the trees that had been cut down by Saruman’s men, placing a grain of the soil from Galadriel’s orchard at the root of each. He was especially shocked that the Party Tree was cut down and planted a silver nut in the Party Field where it had once been, and the nut grew into a Mallorn tree.

Sam married his childhood friend Rosie Cotton, with whom he had many children. In honor of restoring the Shire, his family was given the name Gardner.

When Frodo sailed to the Undying Lands with many of the Elves at the end of the Third Age, Sam inherited Bag End and was entrusted the Red Book of Westmarch. he was also elected Mayor of Michel Delving after the aging Will Whitfoot resigned from the post.

After his wife died, Sam left Bag End and went to the Grey Havens to sail across the Sea and be reunited with Frodo in the Undying Lands.

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