Know Your LotRO Lore: The Hobbit formerly known as Smeagol
Sméagol's name has some interesting origins. In Tolkien's invented language Westron, his name is Trahald, which literally means "burrowing". His name is also related to the great dragon Smaug, where both names have a Germanic translation that relates to squeezing through a hole. Tolkien also credited the Old English word "smygel" which also means "burrow".
His exact birth year is not known, but it has been said that he was born anywhere from T.A. 2430-2440. He was born a Stoorish Hobbit, living with his extended family and raised by his grandmother. It was evident that young Sméagol had some problems unlike most Hobbits of his day, as his aggression will show.
In the year T.A. 2463, Sméagol and his close relative Déagol were fishing in the Gladden Fields. Déagol was pulled into the water by an extremely large fish, and happened upon a shiny ring while under the water. when Sméagol saw the ring, he instantly demanded it for himself, as that day was his birthday. When his companion refused, Sméagol strangled him and technically became the fourth bearer of the ring, after Sauron, Isildur and Déagol.
The Ring's corruption spread through Sméagol very quickly, and his people banished him into the Misty Mountains, where he lived peacefully in a cave for over four hundred years. While the Ring allowed him to live that long, the toll on his body was astonishing. Although Tolkien makes no reference to Sméagol's size in the first edition of The Hobbit, many early illustrators portrayed him as very large. Tolkien then realized that this was all wrong and clarified in later editions that he was of average Hobbit size.
Sméagol was later referred to as Gollum, which is the name we most-affectionately know him as today. This name was given to him because of the awful noise his made in his throat, which was described as a swallowing noise that resembled a "gollum" sound. In relation to the split personality he developed living in the caves alone, his friendlier side was usually referred to as Sméagol, while his more sinister side was Gollum. Samwise Gamgee noticed this personality disorder and named the good side Slinker and the bad side Stinker.
In July T.A. 2941, Bilbo Baggins first discovered Gollum's underground lake in Goblin Town, during The Hobbit. He stumbled upon the ring in the network of caves leading to Gollum's island, and claimed it as his own. When confronted by Gollum, Bilbo aimed to resolve their dispute through a traditional Hobbit Riddle Game, where the reward would be Bilbo's safe return out of the wretched tunnels. When Bilbo finally stumped Gollum with the question "What have I got in my pocket", he was awarded his freedom. It was only moments later when Gollum realized that his precious ring was missing, and that is what the Hobbit had in his pocket. Gollum then dedicated the rest of his life to searching for the ring and that tricksey thief Baggins! "We hates it, we hates it, we hates it forever!!"
It's interesting to note that in the first edition of The Hobbit, Gollum didn't appear quite as evil and menacing as in later versions. The confrontation originally ended with Gollum politely showing Bilbo out after losing the Riddle Game. Tolkien then went back and changed that part to coincide more with the developments he had written in The Lord of the Rings. He then explained the first edition away as a lie that Bilbo made up for the Dwarves and Gandalf, although Gandalf knew the truth.
For over 600 years, the power of the One Ring consumed Sméagol so much that it became his entire life's goal to get it back throughout the Lord of the Rings story. At last he had had his chance, on the edge of the Crack of Doom where he wrestled the Ring from Frodo just before Frodo was to destroy it forever. His victory was short-lived though as his dancing and celebrating led him over the edge and into the fires of Mount Doom, Ring in hand. His last cries as he melted in the fire, fulfilling a curse put on him by Frodo were "Precious!". The Ring was then destroyed and Sauron was defeated forever.
