Gaffer Gamgee

Also known as Old Gamgee, Gaffer

Supporting
First seen · Book 3 · Ch. 12

The Gaffer feels rooted in the close, ordinary comforts of home: a familiar voice, a garden-side steadiness, and the stubborn warmth of an old Hobbit. There is a plainspoken practicality about him, touched with a gentle, unmistakable affection.

Gender: male
Age: elderly hobbit
First appears: Book 3 · Ch. 12
Books: 1

Gaffer Gamgee remains a beloved figure in Sam’s thoughts, part of the home and family he longs to see again. When Sam returns, the elderly Hobbit is little deafer than before and not much older, still unmistakably himself beneath the mail-shirt he calls ironmongery. Restored to Number Three in New Row, he resumes his place in the familiar life of the Shire.

Description

The Gaffer is an elderly male Hobbit; beyond his age and kind, practical presence, the text gives few physical details. He is a little deafer than before, but not much older in his final appearance. He wears a mail-shirt, which he regards with disapproval, and no specific details of his hair, eyes, complexion, or build are supplied.

Connections

Family & partnersFriends & mentorsRivals

Samwise Gamgeeson
Sam is the Gaffer’s son. He is anxious to find and protect his father after learning that Bagshot Row has been destroyed.
Frodo Bagginsformer landlord
The Gaffer is grateful to Frodo and considers him a gentlehobbit, though he reproaches him for selling Bag End, which he believes began the Shire’s troubles.