Meriadoc Brandybuck Meriadoc Brandybuck Meriadoc Brandybuck, usually referred to as simply Merry, is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured throughout his most famous work, "The Lord of the Rings". A lover of boats and maps, Merry is described as one of the closest friends of Frodo Baggins, the main protagonist. Merry is a member of the Fellowship of the Ring. He shares a close association with Peregrin Took (Pippin), another Hobbit who accompanies Frodo as a member of the Fellowship. Merry and Pippin become separated from the rest of the group at the breaking of the Fellowship
Brandybuck Clan stated to be a rendering of the original Westron (Common Speech) Brandagamba, "Marchbuck". In keeping with the conceit that "The Lord of the Rings" was derived from the translated Red Book of Westmarch, Tolkien claimed to have translated all its Westron words into English — including the names of characters. While "Marchbuck" ("march" bearing its archaic meaning of "border") is the exact representation of "Brandagamba", Tolkien rendered it "Brandybuck" to preserve the name's similarity with the River "Branda-nîn" ("Baranduin" in Sindarin), which Tolkien then rendered "Brandywine" in English to reflect an alternate name, "Bralda-hîm", meaning "heady ale", referring to the