Meriadoc Brandybuck (See "The Lord of the Rings", Appendix C.) Merry later married Estella (Bolger) Brandybuck (T.A. 2985–?), the younger sister of Fredegar Bolger, who helped Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin on the first leg of their quest journey. Meriadoc and Estella had at least one son. The Council of Elrond convened on 25 October, T.A. 3018 in Rivendell. In "The Lord of the Rings", Merry is often considered, and was described by Tolkien as, the most perceptive and intelligent of the hobbits. Even before Bilbo Baggins left the Shire, Merry knew of the One Ring and its power of invisibility. He
Frodo Baggins Ring of the Dark Lord Sauron, who desired to use it to conquer Middle-earth. Realizing that he was a danger to the Shire as long as he remained there with the Ring, Frodo decided to leave home, at the age of 50, and take the Ring to Rivendell, home of Elrond, a mighty Elf lord. He left the Shire with three companions: his gardener Samwise Gamgee and his cousins Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took. They escaped just in time, for Sauron's most powerful servants, the Nine Nazgûl, had entered the Shire as Black Riders, looking for Bilbo and the Ring.