Where did Folco go?? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Estelyn Telcontar · 07-18-2002, 03:45 PM

Rereading LotR, I stumbled across a person who's mentioned as one of Frodo's good friends at the beginning, then never spoken of again - Folco Boffin! He helps with the packing for Frodo's move, along with Fatty Bolger, who does stick around for more of the story, showing up at the end as well. But I never found another reference to Folco...

Kuruharan · 07-18-2002, 04:15 PM

Alas, he seems to have gone the way of the Entwives.

At least Fatty Bolger was mentioned when he got out of the jug, but poor Folco seems to have vanished. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Aldagrim Proudfoot · 07-19-2002, 09:58 AM

Maybe he just didn't have anything else to do with the war of the Ring except maybe being one of the Hobbits at the Battle of Bywater.

Rimbaud · 07-19-2002, 10:52 AM

Unexpectedly found on an island out in the ocean, clutching a spear and muttering "Never Surrender" some years later.

Inderjit Sanghera · 11-27-2002, 08:36 AM

Jamaica? [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Morquesse · 11-28-2002, 12:14 AM

I find it interesting that Tolkien introduces a character, and makes little use of him. He could of skipped Folco all together, and it would have no effect on the plot.
Weird.

Legolas · 11-28-2002, 12:54 AM

Rimbaud must be reminiscing about Sean Connery's role in First Knight.

Kalimac · 11-28-2002, 01:12 AM

Where have all the hobbits gone?
Gone to Lockholes, every one...

Sorry, that was bad. It is weird that Folco was introduced and then dropped for no discernable reason, though I'm betting that Tolkien just forgot to cut him (in HoME, the names of the hobbit extras, especially in the first few chapters, went through so many revisions that it's a wonder there aren't more incomplete cuts of characters like Folco). It seems like it would have been mentioned if Folco had been in the Lockholes or in the Took Rebellion, or anywhere in the Shire for that matter.

So Folco left the Shire somehow. Three possibilities I can think of (besides, of course, the heretical "Tolkien forgot to follow through on the cut" possibility [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]).

1) Folco, inspired by Bilbo's and Frodo's stories, also by a streak of Tookishness which he may have had in him, took off for parts unknown and was never seen again (though who knows, he may have become as big a name among the Wild Men as Merry and Pippin did among the Rohirrim and the men of Gondor).

2) Folco went boating and met with a tragic demise.

3) Folco bumped into Trotter the Ranger Hobbit while visiting kin in Bree and decided to go traveling with him. Later, disgusted at Trotter's exile from the book, he chose to accompany him instead of abandoning the forsaken character and flocking to the side of Strider.

OK, it's late and I'm silly. Enough for now [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img].

Arwen Imladris · 11-28-2002, 08:23 PM

When will we ever learn
When will we ever learn...

Not to look at threads in which Kalimac has posted! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] Sorry. I'm just kidding. I don't know which is more sad, what you said or that I knew imediatly what you were talking about? Oh well.

doug*platypus · 01-11-2004, 08:22 PM

My Too Sense

I'm going to cling to the absolutely baseless belief that Folco was part of the rebels that Fredegar led, and that he was killed in a desperate charge against Sharkey's Men. Were any hobbits killed during the occupation, before the Battle of Bywater?

Finwe · 01-11-2004, 08:24 PM

I'm sure that some Hobbits were killed by the Ruffians. If they weren't killed outright, they could have been severely injured, and later died of their wounds.

Estelyn Telcontar · 10-23-2004, 03:01 AM

After over two years of just wondering, I've decided to 'find out' what happened to Folco. I'm having a most fascinating time filling the blank spots in the history of the War of the Rings as it concerns the Shire! Interestingly, some of the things I'm 'discovering' fit in with suggestions made on this thread long ago. I've started writing a fan fiction about Folco; for those who are interested in reading my version of what happened to Tolkien's lost character, it's posted here on the Barrow-Downs Fan Fiction forum. So far, only the prologue and Chapter 1 are there, but I will continue with the following chapters as I have time to write them.

mark12_30 · 11-04-2004, 08:28 AM

Geared up and awaiting chapter two.

07-18-2002, 03:45 PM	#1
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,645	Where did Folco go?? Rereading LotR, I stumbled across a person who's mentioned as one of Frodo's good friends at the beginning, then never spoken of again - Folco Boffin! He helps with the packing for Frodo's move, along with Fatty Bolger, who does stick around for more of the story, showing up at the end as well. But I never found another reference to Folco... __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

07-18-2002, 04:15 PM	#2
Kuruharan Regal Dwarven Shade Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: A Remote Dwarven Hold Posts: 3,685	Alas, he seems to have gone the way of the Entwives. At least Fatty Bolger was mentioned when he got out of the jug, but poor Folco seems to have vanished. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] __________________ ...finding a path that cannot be found, walking a road that cannot be seen, climbing a ladder that was never placed, or reading a paragraph that has no...

07-19-2002, 09:58 AM	#3
Aldagrim Proudfoot Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Hobbiton Posts: 328	Maybe he just didn't have anything else to do with the war of the Ring except maybe being one of the Hobbits at the Battle of Bywater. __________________ I do not suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it!

07-19-2002, 10:52 AM	#4
Rimbaud The Perilous Poet Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Heart of the matter Posts: 1,096	Unexpectedly found on an island out in the ocean, clutching a spear and muttering "Never Surrender" some years later. __________________ And all the rest is literature

11-27-2002, 08:36 AM	#5
Inderjit Sanghera Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Wolverhampton, England Posts: 716	Jamaica? [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] __________________ “If I’m more of an influence on your son as a rapper then you are as a father then you've got to look at yourself as a parent” ~>Ice Cube. "Life is so beautiful"->Don Vito Corleone

11-28-2002, 12:14 AM	#6
Morquesse Wight Join Date: May 2002 Location: Past the fields we know.... Posts: 202	I find it interesting that Tolkien introduces a character, and makes little use of him. He could of skipped Folco all together, and it would have no effect on the plot. Weird. __________________ I'm not ashamed to let you know I want this light in me to show. I'm not ashamed to speak the name of Jesus Christ.~Newsboys

11-28-2002, 12:54 AM	#7
Legolas A Northern Soul Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Valinor Posts: 1,850	Rimbaud must be reminiscing about Sean Connery's role in First Knight. __________________ ...take counsel with thyself, and remember who and what thou art.

11-28-2002, 01:12 AM	#8
Kalimac Candle of the Marshes Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Flyover Country Posts: 780	Where have all the hobbits gone? Gone to Lockholes, every one... Sorry, that was bad. It is weird that Folco was introduced and then dropped for no discernable reason, though I'm betting that Tolkien just forgot to cut him (in HoME, the names of the hobbit extras, especially in the first few chapters, went through so many revisions that it's a wonder there aren't more incomplete cuts of characters like Folco). It seems like it would have been mentioned if Folco had been in the Lockholes or in the Took Rebellion, or anywhere in the Shire for that matter. So Folco left the Shire somehow. Three possibilities I can think of (besides, of course, the heretical "Tolkien forgot to follow through on the cut" possibility [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]). 1) Folco, inspired by Bilbo's and Frodo's stories, also by a streak of Tookishness which he may have had in him, took off for parts unknown and was never seen again (though who knows, he may have become as big a name among the Wild Men as Merry and Pippin did among the Rohirrim and the men of Gondor). 2) Folco went boating and met with a tragic demise. 3) Folco bumped into Trotter the Ranger Hobbit while visiting kin in Bree and decided to go traveling with him. Later, disgusted at Trotter's exile from the book, he chose to accompany him instead of abandoning the forsaken character and flocking to the side of Strider. OK, it's late and I'm silly. Enough for now [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]. __________________ Father, dear Father, if you see fit, We'll send my love to college for one year yet Tie blue ribbons all about his head, To let the ladies know that he's married.

11-28-2002, 08:23 PM	#9
Arwen Imladris Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: In a box with a fox Posts: 1,347	When will we ever learn When will we ever learn... Not to look at threads in which Kalimac has posted! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] Sorry. I'm just kidding. I don't know which is more sad, what you said or that I knew imediatly what you were talking about? Oh well. __________________ "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up, sleepies, we must go, yes, we must go at once."

01-11-2004, 08:22 PM	#10
doug*platypus Delver in the Deep Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Aotearoa Posts: 963	My Too Sense I'm going to cling to the absolutely baseless belief that Folco was part of the rebels that Fredegar led, and that he was killed in a desperate charge against Sharkey's Men. Were any hobbits killed during the occupation, before the Battle of Bywater? __________________ But Gwindor answered: 'The doom lies in yourself, not in your name'.

01-11-2004, 08:24 PM	#11
Finwe Deathless Sun Join Date: May 2003 Location: The Royal Suite in the Halls of Mandos Posts: 2,609	I'm sure that some Hobbits were killed by the Ruffians. If they weren't killed outright, they could have been severely injured, and later died of their wounds. __________________ But Melkor also was there, and he came to the house of Fëanor, and there he slew Finwë King of the Noldor before his doors, and spilled the first blood in the Blessed Realm; for Finwë alone had not fled from the horror of the Dark.

10-23-2004, 03:01 AM	#12
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,645	After over two years of just wondering, I've decided to 'find out' what happened to Folco. I'm having a most fascinating time filling the blank spots in the history of the War of the Rings as it concerns the Shire! Interestingly, some of the things I'm 'discovering' fit in with suggestions made on this thread long ago. I've started writing a fan fiction about Folco; for those who are interested in reading my version of what happened to Tolkien's lost character, it's posted here on the Barrow-Downs Fan Fiction forum. So far, only the prologue and Chapter 1 are there, but I will continue with the following chapters as I have time to write them. __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

11-04-2004, 08:28 AM	#13
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,407	Geared up and awaiting chapter two.