Also known as: Ring-Bearer, Mr. Underhill, Elf-Friend, Nine-Fingered Frodo
Frodo is the central hero of The Lord of the Rings, a hobbit of the Shire who bore the One Ring from Bag End to Mount Doom. He was the orphaned son of Drogo Baggins and Primula Brandybuck, adopted by his cousin Bilbo Baggins and raised at Bag End. Frodo was unusual among hobbits for his love of Elves and languages, his thoughtful nature, and his willingness to look beyond the borders of the Shire.
When Gandalf identified Bilbo's magic ring as the One Ring of Sauron, Frodo accepted the burden of carrying it to Rivendell, and at the Council of Elrond, he volunteered to take it all the way to Mordor. This was an act of extraordinary courage from one of the smallest and least powerful people in Middle-earth. The Ring's weight grew steadily heavier as he approached Mount Doom, assaulting his will and slowly consuming his strength. He was stabbed by the Witch-king on Weathertop, stung by Shelob in Cirith Ungol, and endured the horrors of Mordor's blasted landscape.
At the last moment, standing on the edge of the Crack of Doom, Frodo's will finally broke and he claimed the Ring for himself. It was Gollum, biting the Ring from Frodo's finger and falling into the fire, who accomplished the Ring's destruction. This was not a failure on Frodo's part; Tolkien wrote that no one could have voluntarily destroyed the Ring at the place of its making, and it was Frodo's earlier mercy toward Gollum that made the final outcome possible. After the war, Frodo could not find peace in the Shire, for his wounds -- physical, emotional, and spiritual -- were too deep. He departed Middle-earth from the Grey Havens with Gandalf, Galadriel, and Bilbo, sailing to the Undying Lands where he might at last find healing.