Chapter Six
Gerontius 'The Old' Took
We now come into living memory (for some) as I write about one hobbit who is undoubtedly the most revered elder in the Shire, even long after his death. For this hobbit reached a great age; the highest on record. Gerontius Took, more commonly known as ‘The Old Took’ is renowned for both his long years and the sheer number of direct descendants of his whom live today. Many in the Shire can claim him as an ancestor, particularly those of well-to-do families.
Gerontius Took was born in the year 1190 to the Thain Fortinbras the First (1145-1248). His great-uncle was great indeed, for he was Bullroarer Took – hero of the Greenfields. He was the only child of Thain Fortinbras, and was thus the heir to the thainship. At some point before or during the year 1232 he married Adamanta Chubb. With Adamanta, he had a record of twelve children – a record which is yet to be beaten. These children were Isengrim, Hildigard, Isumbras, Hildigrim, Isembold, Hildifons, Isembard, Hildibrand, Belladonna, Donnamira, Mirabella and Isengar. His eldest child was Isengrim (1232-1330) who became Thain Isengrim the Third after Gerontius’ death, but died childless. Therefore, Gerontius’ third eldest child and second son, Isumbras (1238-1339), inherited the thainship and became Thain Isumbras the Fourth after his brother’s death.
Gerontius himself became the twenty sixth Thain after the death of his father, Fortinbras, in 1248. This office he would hold for seventy two years - a remarkable amount of time. During this time, it is said that he shared a good friendship with the wizard, Gandalf the Grey, who has always had a close relationship with the Took family (for good or bad). Some sources even suggest that Gerontius was given a gift from the wizard: a pair of diamond studs which had magical properties, and did not come undone until told to. Many claim that it was Gandalf who had two of Gerontius’ sons, Hildifons and Isengar , leave the Shire to go on adventures from which they never returned. Whether or not it was the wizard’s doing remains unproven. But it would not be completely out of character for a Took to partake in such business. Whatever the circumstance of their friendship was, Gandalf provided the Old Took with a grand firework display during his Midsummer’s Eve party which was still talked about after the party.
The Old Took’s room in the Great Smials of Tuckborough is also a point of interest for folklore and legend. It is said that he lived in the room for many years (some say that he never left), and it became worn and shoddy with Gerontius as the years went by. If you were to visit the Great Smials today, then you would find the Old Took’s room to be unchanged since his death almost one hundred years ago. The air in the room is also thick, and it is said to be haunted by Gerontius’ ghost.
In the year 1320, the Old Took finally passed away. He was one hundred and thirty years of age, the oldest hobbit in recorded history. All of the Shire mourned his passing, for it seemed now that an era had ended with his death. Many were his descendants, and none were older or more revered than he. During his long thainship, the Shire fell victim to the Fell Winter of 1311 in which white wolves crossed the Brandywine River, which had become frozen in the bitter winter. What role the Old Took played in these events is unknown. He was, after all, very old at the time.
