Pippin Took

**Peregrin "Pippin" Took** (also known as **Pip**) is a Tolkien character who is one of the main protagonists of *The Lord of the Rings* seriesHe appeared in *The Fellowship of the Ring*, *The Two Towers*, and *The Return of the King*. Pippin is the youngest member in the Fellowship of the Ring and the best friend and cousin of Merry Brandybuck. Though initially a trouble-maker, Pippin matures as the series progresses.

## Background

Pippin was born Peregrin Took I, only son of Paladin Took and Eglantine Took, being the youngest of four children, having three sisters: Pearl, Pervinca and Pimpernel. Pippin was also one of the two grandsons of Adalgrim Took, great grandson of Hildigrim and Rosa Took, great-great-grandson of the Old Took, and a cousin of Bilbo Baggins, the main protagonist of *The Hobbit.* He grew up with cousin Frodo, Friend Sam, and Merry and Fredegar Bolger. Of the five Hobbits, Pippin was best friends with Merry, both often getting into trouble.

### Personality

At the beginning of the series, Pippin was mischievous and sometimes had more curiosity than Merry, even though most of the trouble was orchestrated by his cousin. Pippin usually depended on Merry through most of it all, and went through with his league. In fact, it was actually Merry's idea to take Gandalf's fireworks and set it off. However, they were caught anyways. Eventually, he let the curiosity getting the best of him twice: once by accidentally causing the bones of an orc and a bucket drop into a well in Moria that resulted in Gandalf's apparent demise and after the consequences that were very traumatizing from his confrontation with Sauron.

Apart from the trouble-making, Pippin was a friendly person, especially befriending both Boromir and Faramir easily after only meeting them for several minutes. Caring a great deal for his friends, Pippin did not want to lose anyone else, especially after the apparent death of Gandalf and the fall of Boromir. In fact, one of Pippin's greatest fears was never seeing Merry again after their separation during the final days of the War of the Ring or ever being reunited with Frodo and Sam. He was willing to protect Frodo from any dangers during his quest to destroy the Ring. Pippin sympathized with Treebeard after finding most of the trees that were friends with the Ent had been cut down by Saruman and his Orcs. Pippin later saved Gandalf from an oncoming orc, and later worried for Faramir when he realized that Denethor would unknowingly kill his own son and himself.

Overtime, Pippin became fearless and brave and especially merciless when it came to enemies. Though he was apparently afraid of the Witch-king's Fellbeast during his and Gandalf's confrontation with the beast and his master, Pippin nevertheless charged the creature bravely in an effort to protect Gandalf, until its roar. And though he could have died, Pippin jumped onto a pyre to save Faramir. He was initially afraid to die in battle, until Gandalf revealed what happened afterwards.

Resulting in the many trials, Pippin matured into a confident, young hobbit, no longer mischievous and taking on more responsibility.

### Physical Appearance

Pippin had During the quest to destroying the One Ring, Pippin was twenty-nine.  He was notably one of the tallest Hobbits recorded, being at four foot five. Before that, he was said to be shorter than Merry. Pippin had curly, red hair, which was apparently a rare hair color among Hobbits, and green eyes. Pippin was also one of the few known individuals to wear the Elven cloak given to him by Lord Celeborn. Prior to that, he wore a purple cloak

### Possessions

* **Troll's bane:** Pippin's sword. He was given it when Pippin entered the servitude to Lord Denethor. He later names it with its respective name after taking down a troll with his sword.

### Abilities

* **Trickery:** Pippin tricked Treebeard into travelling far south in order for him to see what Saruman had done. However, he was sympathetic towards Treebeard when they reached the forest and was also able to distract the Uruks and lead them away from Frodo, so he could get away.

* **Rock throwing:** Like Bilbo and Merry, Pippin was skilled in throwing rocks, as Hobbits often threw stuff in their spare time. He managed to knock orcs off their posts.
* **Swordsmanship:** Pippin became skilled with a sword after being trained by Boromir with Aragorn telling them how to fight on the side-lines.

## Animated Films

### The Return of the King (1980)

Pippin only appears at the beginning of the film, revealed to have joined Gandalf in Gondor in getting Denethor to join the war of the Ring. He later appears at Bilbo’s 131st birthday, but his role in saving Faramir is omitted from the film. Instead, Pippin is reunited with Merry on the battle field earlier in the fight and later with Frodo and Sam.

## *The Lord of the Rings* (film trilogy)

### *The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring*

During Bilbo's 111th birthday party, Merry has Pippin steal one of Gandalf's fireworks. After Pippin foolishly plants the firework inside the tent and sets it off on fire. Merry yells for his younger cousin's mistake, with Pippin accusing it of being Merry's idea. They both are thrown back by the explosion as the firework transforms into a dragon then into a series of fireworks. Gandalf catches them before they fetch another one and punishes them with a chore: washing the dishes. During Bilbo's speech, Pippin watches as Bilbo turns invisible with his Ring and disappears the next day.

Many nights later, Pippin, Merry, Sam and Frodo go down to the tavern, Green Dragon, where Pippin gets drunk and sings on the table with Merry. (The Fellowship of the Ring)

A few days later, Merry and Pippin continue to steal Farmer Maggot's crops for many weeks until they unexpectedly run into Frodo and Sam, who are on the road to Bree. Seeing his older cousin, Pippin excitedly announces it to Merry, who gives a hello to Frodo. The elder hobbits scold the younger ones from stealing Farmer Maggot's crops. The quartet makes a run for it when they hear the farmer chasing them through the cornfield. During their runaway, Merry explains they've only stolen a couple vegetables while Pippin expresses more of the things they stole before the quartet collide and fall onto a lower level. There, Pippin finds mushrooms, with

Merry and Sam following, but are forced to hide after Frodo hears one of the Nazgûl are coming down the road. As they sit there while the Ring-wraith smells for the hobbits, Merry throws a bag in the other direction, scaring the Nazgûl away. As they go on the run, Pippin asks why they are running from a black-hooded figure; Frodo answers they must get to the Prancing Pony at Bree. Eventually, after they make their escape from the Nazgûl, Frodo and Sam explain everything to Merry and Pippin to not leave them in the dark.

The four hobbits make it to Bree and the Prancing Pony. However, Pippin and his companions find that Gandalf never arrived, causing the Hobbits to check in and wait for Gandalf to appear. Merry later comes to the table where his friends are at. Pippin spots his best friend's pint of ale and goes out to get one and ignores Sam, who calls out that Pippin already has enough. At the bar of the tavern, a drunk Pippin unconsciously calls Frodo out as a "Baggins," which alerts the older hobbit. With Frodo warning him, Pippin accidentally causes Frodo to fall on the ground and let the Ring throw out of his pocket, lands on his finger and turns him invisible, much to Pippin's alarm and shock. After Frodo is visible gain, Pippin and his friends watch as a cloaked figure grabs the hobbit and forces him into his room. The trio of hobbits follow with only chairs as their weapons and angrily yell for the figure, named Strider to let Frodo go. However, Strider reveals that he is an ally and warns them that they can no longer count on a wizard. During the night, Pippin and the others wake up to the sound of swords slaying through the beds of another inn. The hobbits and Strider eventually leave Bree and pay for a pony named Bill.

Sometime into the journey, the hobbits stop for their next meal; however, Strider tells them that they do not rest until nightfall. Pippin points out that they hadn't had breakfast yet. Strider tells the hobbit that they already had their breakfast, but Pippin reveals that they have not have second breakfast. Merry unfortunately tells Pippin that Strider doesn't know about second breakfast and assures that he doesn't have any idea of their extra meals that Hobbits normally have. Pippin begrudgingly takes an apple Strider throws at them as their second breakfast.

At least six days from Rivendell, the company rests in Weathertop while Strider looks around, but Pippin, Merry, and Sam all put on a campfire, which causes the Nazgûl to track them down. Though the hobbits put up a fight, the Witch-king mortally stabs Frodo before he and the other Nazgûl are chased away by Aragorn. A couple of days after the event on Weathertop, Pippin worriedly asks if Frodo will die. However, Aragorn reveals a terrifying fact: Frodo will not die but will soon become a Wraith like the rest of them. They are visited by the elf named Arwen, who comes to take Frodo to Rivendell while Strider leads the other Hobbits to the elf city.

On October 24, Pippin reunites with a nearly healed Frodo and embrace one another. A couple of weeks later, Pippin and Merry hide behind one of the posts as the Council of Elrond decide what to do with the Ring. Sam offering himself to join the group to journey to Moria inspires Pippin and Merry to take up a role in protecting Frodo on his quest to destroy the Ring and reply their loyalty to Frodo. Merry says that Lord Elrond will send them in sacks first before stopping them, while Pippin over-emphasizes the term "quest." Accepting the Hobbits' resilience, Elrond allows them to join the quest and seeing their devotion to Frodo. Realizing they are nine companions, he dubs them "the Fellowship of the Ring." However, Pippin ruins the triumphant moment by asking where they are going.

Several days after leaving Rivendell, Boromir becomes friends with Merry and Pippin and teaches them how to sword fighting with Aragorn helping on the sidelines as they take a break. However, Boromir accidentally cuts Pippin's hand and quickly apologizes, but the Hobbits playfully attack Boromir and Aragorn. However, they are forced to hide when the crebain from Dunland enter their camp and spot them, forcing the company to go through the High Pass. As the path gets colder and the snow gets higher Pippin and Merry are carried by Boromir. However, they hear Saruman's voice trying to bring down the mountain, but the company survive and decide to go to Moria.

When they get there, Gandalf attempts to open the doors by two chants. However, as Gandalf speaks one sentence, Pippin notes that nothing has happened and asks Gandalf what he is going to do now since he cannot open the gates. Frustrated, Gandalf yells that he'll knock Pippin's head against the door, and proceeds to calm down and instead says he just needs some peace and quiet from foolish questions until he finds the password for the secret door. During the time of waiting, Pippin proceeds to throw a stone into the water. However, Aragorn catches his arm and warns Pippin not to disturb the water. As they make their way into Moria, the watcher in the waters grabs onto Frodo's ankle and begins to drag him down, but the hobbits try to free Frodo, but are pulled in as well. Aragorn and Legolas later rescue the hobbits, but they are forced to run into Moria as the cavern collapses. The Fellowship's journey forces them to go through the mines.

After spending several days in Moria, Gandalf finally remembers the pathway is that way. However, they come across Balin's tomb, causing Gimli to collapse and mourn his cousins' death. While in the tomb, Pippin's curiosity gets the best of him when he grabs onto the shoulder of a deceased dwarf and accidentally sends it down with a chain and a bucket. An angry Gandalf yells at Pippin to throw himself down next to rid them of the stupidity while taking his hat and staff back. However, hearing a sound coming from the well, Gandalf looks at Pippin, who looks back down into the well that the dwarf and the bucket fell in. The company immediately gets ready for battle when they hear the sound of orc drums and the roar of a cave troll. Pippin, Merry, Frodo and Sam are ushered by Gandalf in one corner of the room as they take out their weapons and begin fighting. During the battle, Pippin and Merry try protecting Frodo, but both are thrown to the side by the troll who seemingly kills Frodo. Thinking him to be dead, Pippin runs up at the troll to avenge Frodo's seemingly death, but is later thrown off and Merry later helps his cousin escape.

On the trip to the Bridge of Khazad-Dûm, Boromir picks up Pippin and Merry and jumps across the gap between the stairs. During this leg of the Journey, Gandalf falls protecting the Fellowship as they make their escape. Pippin and the other hobbits (apart from Frodo) collapse and begin grieving for Gandalf's seemingly untimely death, with Merry comforting his younger cousin. Aragorn leads the company to Lothlórien, where Gimli tells the young hobbits to stay closer as he knows tale of an evil elf witch who charms people like them. However, Pippin finds himself at arrow-point before the Elves reveal themselves to be allies, led by Haldir.

The day they are going to leave Lothlórien, Galadriel gifts Merry and Pippin with daggers of the Noldorin. Before departing from them, Galadriel promises to Pippin he will one day find his courage.

A couple of days later, Pippin and Merry realize that Frodo is missing and so is Boromir and goes to look for him. The duo finds Frodo hiding behind a tree and urge him to join them. However, Merry realizes that Frodo wants to leave, causing Pippin to run out and lure the Uruk-Hai away from Frodo. During the entire time, Pippin and Merry continue to fight the Uruks with Boromir protecting them. However, Boromir is shot down by Uruks. Seeing this, Pippin and Merry are heartbroken at the loss of their friend as they are kidnapped by the Uruks. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli all decide to rescue Pippin and Merry while leaving Frodo's and Sam's fate out of their hands.

### *The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers*

Being carried by the Uruks, Pippin sees Merry tired, delirious and dehydrated and begs a nearby Uruk to feed Merry water. However, the "water" turns out to be a nasty drink and yells at the Uruk torturing Merry to leave his cousin alone, immediately silencing himself before he can say more. Merry, looking at Pippin, reveals to be alright and tells his younger cousin that it was just an act. However, the hobbit suspects that Merry is telling him that to calm him down. Pippin overhears one of the Uruk-Hai state that they smell man flash. Realizing that Aragorn coming to their rescue, Pippin bites off his leaf broach to his Elven cloak and spits it onto the ground, leaving it for Aragorn to find, with the Orcs and Uruks oblivious to Pippin's plan.

Later that night, Merry and Pippin huddle together as the Orcs and Uruks prepare their camp. Pippin asks Merry where the sound is coming from, to which the latter replies that the trees were taught how to speak to each other. During their capture, two orcs notices Merry and Pippin and insists that they are on the meat menu. However, the leader of the Uruks yells that the hobbits are not for eaten and must be delivered to Saruman unharmed. Realizing that the Uruks suspect one of them have the ring, Pippin urgently asks Merry if this is true; however, Merry quickly shushes Pippin and warns him that as soon as Saruman and his servants find out, then they are dead. An orc comes up from behind Merry and Pippin, but he is immediately killed by one of the Uruk-Hai, and they begin mutilating the dead orc's body. Pippin and Merry try to make their escape, but an orc grabs onto Pippin and threatens to stick him and tells him that while he can squeal, there will be no one there to save them. However, Pippin quickly crawls away, but finds a horse about to stomp on him. The young hobbit quickly rolls away and goes over to a knocked over knife and cuts his bonds and later cuts Merry's.

The duo ran off into Fangorn Forest while being pursued by Grishnákh. Pippin asks Merry if they lost him, but still find the orc pursuing them. Merry ushers his cousin up a tree first before following Pippin up the tree. The young hobbit sees Merry being attacked by the orc and desperately calls for his cousin. However, Pippin is more shocked when he sees that the tree that he is on is moving. The walking tree steps on the orc about to kill Merry, and Pippin yells at his best friend to run. However, the "tree" grabs onto the other hobbit as well and believes them to be orcs, despite Merry and Pippin's warnings.

After hearing the "tree" call them "Little Orcs", Pippin is shocked to hear it talk and cries to Merry that the tree is indeed talking. However, the "tree" tells them that he is no tree, and is in fact, an Ent. Merry explains that an Ent is a tree-herder, a shepherd of the forest. Seeing his cousin talk to the tree-like creature, Pippin warns Merry not to encourage it. The Ent reveals his name to be Treebeard. Pippin worriedly asks Treebeard which side he is on, but the creature reveals he is neutral because no one cares for the woods anymore and continues to call them "orcs." Merry and Pippin try to explain that they are not "orcs," but hobbits and throw several terms that Treebeard might know, but the Ent remains oblivious to each term and decides to let the White Wizard decide what they are. Pippin and Merry are immediately shocked to learn that the white wizard is in fact a revived Gandalf, who entrusts Pippin and Merry's safety to Treebeard, who promises to protect them both no matter what.

A couple of days later, Treebeard lays Pippin and Merry down for them to catch up on their sleep. During the night, Pippin dreams of him and Merry sitting in an unknown location, drinking and smoking again. Waking up before Merry, Pippin discovers a pool of water that manipulates one's height and begins drinking from the water. Merry wakes up and discovers that Pippin has grown taller and speaking in the tree's language. He steals the bucket of water Pippin is drinking from and begins to consume the rest of the contents. Pippin begins chasing his older cousin around, who continues to spill some water on a tree's roots, causing the roots to grow and grab onto Merry and Pippin's arms and legs. However, Treebeard immediately comes to their rescue and decides to take Merry and Pippin to a safe location. Treebeard recounts that the forest is no longer safe, as the trees have begun changing and will harm them and reveals to Merry and Pippin that the Ents are dying out. Pippin inquiries about the Entings, but Treebeard responds that there have not been any Ent children ever since they lost the Entwives. Pippin, sympathizing with Treebeard, apologizes and asks how the Entwives died. However, Treebeard reveals that they have been lost for many years and asks the hobbits if they have seen any female Ents. However, the hobbits reply that they haven't seen any while living in the Shire; Pippin asks Treebeard what they look like, but the old Ent replies that he has forgotten.

A couple of days later, Pippin notices smoke rising from the south. Treebeard reveals that the smoke is always rising from Isengard and recounts Saruman always visiting his forest, but no longer cares for the woods anymore. On top of Treebeard's branches, Pippin and Merry see an army of Uruks marching down the hill. Seeing Merry alarmed, Pippin urgently asks him what they're watching; Merry tells Pippin that the marching figures are Saruman's army and that the war of the Ring has already begun.

In late afternoon, Treebeard informs Merry and Pippin that he and other Ents will be consulting each other, deciding whether they will help fight in Rohan's war with Isengard. Nevertheless, Treebeard and the other Ents converse well into the night, much to the annoyance of Merry, worried about their friends' safety. Pippin later falls asleep, but Merry wakes his cousin up when the Ents finish their meeting. However, through most of the time in the first session, the Ents were just deciding now to say, "good morning." A few hours later, the Ents decide to not take part in this battle and plans to take Merry and Pippin back to the Shire, insisting their part of the tale is over. As they are getting ready to leave, Pippin tells Merry that maybe Treebeard is right and that they should go home because they are small in this world and will never make a difference in this big world. However, Merry turns to his cousin, laying his hands-on Pippin's shoulders and tells him that there may not be a Shire if they don't save their friends. Pippin then begins wondering what they should do now. Treebeard then tells the Hobbits he will take them to the western borders of Fangorn Forest and hopes for them to head north to their homeland from that location. Pippin, remembering Saruman cutting down trees, tricks Treebeard into taking them south past Isengard, as it will be the last thing Saruman will suspect. Merry, not catching on with Pippin's plan, urgently tells Pippin that they'll be caught if they do this. However, Pippin insists that they're not going to get caught this time. Treebeard takes them to the southern borders but sees that most of the trees that were his friends have been cut down. Pippin sympathetically looks at Treebeard and immediately apologizes for the loss of his friends. Treebeard decides to fight for Rohan's cause, and other Ents go to Helm's Deep while Treebeard's business is with Isengard. During the battle of Isengard, Pippin and Merry throw rocks and successfully win the battle.

Down below, Merry and Pippin watch Saruman looking down and trying to find a way out of the tower while seeing his home being ransacked by Ents. Merry notes that their enemy doesn't look to happy up there, to which Pippin replies that he doesn't look happy at all. Pippin feels Merry hovering his hand over him and looks to his older cousin, asking what his doing. Merry, instead of answering truthfully, just answers that the world is back to normal. However, Pippin points out that they are not back to normal and is starving. He picks up an apple and realizes that there is still fresh food around. Pippin and Merry discover Saruman's store room and find Longbottom leaf. Pippin asks if they should share with Treebeard, but Merry insists they keep it to themselves and states that it could be from a relative of Treebeard's. Pippin scratches his nose, noting that they "shouldn't be hasty." Unknown to the Hobbits, Treebeard is watching them from outside. (The Two Towers)

Treebeard begins to take over Isengard and tasks Merry and Pippin to stay at the entrance until their allies get there.

### *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King*

Pippin and Merry continue to sit outside of Isengard while also using up the food they found in Saruman's storeroom and smoking all the longbottom leaf. Pippin looks at Merry and talks of how smoking the longbottom leaf brings him back to the tavern of the Green Dragon. A few moments later, they are reunited with Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas, where Merry informs the group of four they have been under orders from Treebeard who has taken over management of Isengard. While confronting Saruman, Pippin sits behind Aragorn on Brego, and notices the Palantir fall from a dead Saruman's sleeve. The hobbit dismounts from Brego, ignoring Aragorn calling him back and picks up the Palantir from under the water. Beginning to be mesmerized by the Orthanc's stone, Gandalf appears from behind Pippin and asks him to hand over the stone. The hobbit obeys, but not before Gandalf gives Pippin warning look.

Coming to live in Meduseld, Merry, Pippin and their allies all celebrate their victory at Helm's Deep over Isengard. Merry and Pippin both drunk, dance and sing a song about the ale at their home in the Shire. However, right in the middle of it, Pippin and Gandalf look at each other for a brief second before Merry calls Pippin's attention back, and they finish their song.

Later that night, Pippin steals the Palantir from a sleeping Gandalf and investigates it, ignoring Merry's protests to put it back. When Pippin toughes it, Sauron attacks the poor hobbit and tries to extract information from Pippin. However, the hobbit is resistant and tells him nothing of Frodo' quest or the Ring and has a vision of Minas Tirith in flames surrounding the White Tree of Gondor, now knowing where the enemy will Strike. Luckily, Aragorn snatches the Palantir from Pippin, who collapses to the floor. Gandalf immediately revives the hobbit and asks him what he saw. Pippin tells the wizard what he saw while under its influences. This experience has left a terrible way for Pippin, as the Enemy now thought he had the Ring instead of Frodo.

Gandalf takes Pippin to Gondor to protect him from Sauron's forces and to warn the city, Minas Tirith of the Enemy's next move. Before he leaves, Merry gives him a sack of longbottom leaf for him to smoke. In the city, just before they enter the throne room, Gandalf warns Pippin to not say anything. However, after seeing Boromir's horn split in half and recounting the breaking of the Fellowship. Pippin disobeys Gandalf and pledges loyalty to Lord Denethor for his son, Boromir saving him and Merry back in *The Fellowship of the Ring*. During the middle of the film, Pippin lights up the warning beacons of Gondor on Gandalf's orders to tell their allies from Rohan to get ready for war.

During the siege of Gondor, Pippin and Gandalf both learn from Faramir that Frodo and Sam are alive and heading to Mordor. During the night in between the two-day battles, Pippin is tossed out of Denethor's service after attempting to stop him from burning Faramir alive. Pippin then goes to Gandalf for help. He finally finds the wizard in the morning and warns him of Denethor's plans for Faramir. Gandalf goes to help Pippin, and they race to Faramir's rescue but are intercepted by the Witch-king of Angmar and his Fell-beast. However, after Theoden arrives, they are free to save Faramir.

At the end of the two-day battle, Pippin finds wounded on the battlefield, silently promising to look after Merry like he has done for him the past years. He later joined Aragorn's army for the Battle of the Black Gates. The mouth of Sauron confronts the team and, to Pippin's horror, led to believe that Frodo is possibly dead because the Mouth shows them Frodo's mithril shirt. However, Aragorn refuses to believe this and cuts off the Mouth's head, beginning the Battle. Pippin sees that the kingdom of Mordor collapses because of the Ring's destruction. Gandalf and the eagles save Frodo and Sam, whom Merry and Pippin reunite with. Attending Aragorn's coronation, the Hobbits are hailed as Heroes before heading home. At the end of the film, Pippin tearfully says goodbye to Celeborn, Elrond, Gandalf, Bilbo, Galadriel and Frodo as they cross over to the Grey Havens.

1. ↑ "Ernil i Pheriannath" translates to "Prince of the halflings. He was referred to as such by the people of Gondor. He was called this in *The Return of the King*.