At the end of The Hobbit, Bilbo spots the Sackville-Bagginses when he finally gets home from the journey – and having not been able to see his beloved hobbit hole for a long time. Nevertheless, while he had missed his hole so dearly (which was a recurring theme in the entire book, primarily due to the Baggins side), he had came back different – almost, like he was a better version of himself.
He found the ring (which we later know to be the One Ring), and went to the Lonely Mountain, and the Battle of Five Armies. He also encountered Smaug, who was a large and dangerous dragon. After Bilbo gets back to his home in what we now know as Bag End, he was surprised to see many people gathered around his house.
There was a great commotion, and people of all sorts, respectable and unrespectable, were thick round the door, and many were going in and out – not even wiping their feet on the mat, as Bilbo noticed with annoyance.
J.R.R Tolkien, The Hobbit, “The Last Stage”
He later found out it was an auction, with many hobbits gathered around, who all thought he was dead, as he was presumed as such. They were surprised at Bilbo’s returning – and the news that he was in fact, still alive.
Inside were the Sackville-Bagginses, who were measuring his room as they thought they had it all sold at this point. The Sackville-Bagginses were Bilbo’s cousins. Bilbo ended up buying a lot of their furnitures back, though he had to accept that his silver spoons disappeared. He suspected them, and the Sackville-Bagginses never thought he meant it. They’d really wanted to live in his home, and so they were upset and not in friendly terms with Bilbo.
While Bilbo found that as a result of all of this, he’d lost his reputation, though he did remain an elf-friend. While he lost the respect of his own kind, the hobbits, at least for a while, except the nephews and nieces on the Took side, he did find the honor of dwarves, elves, and wizards.
But he didn’t mind – he started to enjoy his hole even more so than he did before.
He was quite content; and the sound of the kettle on his hearth was ever after more musical than it had been even in the quiet days before the Unexpected Party.
J.R.R Tolkien, The Hobbit, “The Last Stage”
Bilbo remained happy to the end – despite many shaking heads, especially at his love of writing poetry and visiting the Elves. He’d also continued interacting with the friends he went on the journey with. He was very peculiar – being “the wonder of the Shire for sixty years.” However, as his younger hobbit cousins grew up, he began befriending them, and eventually adopting Frodo after his parents were killed in a boating accident.
Who are the Sackville-Bagginses?
The Sackville-Bagginses, or the Sackville-Baggins Family, consisted of Lotho, Lobelia, and Otho (in the series). They were founded on Longo Baggins and Camelia Sackville (who was the heiress of the family) and their son, Otho, adopted a double name. Otho was Bilbo’s paternal first cousin.
Otho was eventually married to Lobelia Bracegirdle, and we now get what is known as the Sackville-Bagginses. They were never well-liked and known to be obnoxious and greedy.
The Climax of the Feud
They had held a grudge against Bilbo for many years, from the end of The Hobbit and through Lord of the Rings. This was because they had wanted Bilbo’s home in Bag End so much, and they were upset that Bilbo claimed it all back. Thus, they had a vision that they were going to claim this house during the year he was away on his quest, but they were enraged when it didn’t happen.
60 years later, in Lord of the Rings, it was told that Bilbo adopted Frodo as his heir. In fact, Bilbo was 99 when it happened – making it 48 years after the Sackville-Bagginses first tried to sell their home. Bilbo adopted Frodo, which crushed the dreams of the Sackville-Bagginses.
Twelve years later, they had their birthday party since they had the same birthday, September 22nd – where Bilbo turns 111 and Frodo comes of age at 33.
Can’t believe I’m expected to have responsibilities in my late twenties. By Hobbit standards I am barely a teenager.
— Icona 📚 (@Iconawrites) February 11, 2022
Bilbo still had the ring, and it is unknown when he knew where the ring came from. The ring had seemed to make him appear “well-preserved, but unchanged.”
Since he was rich, he was generous with his money and was able to remain on visiting terms with relatives – except the Sackville-Bagginses of course.
In Bag End, Bilbo expresses the need for a “holiday.” However, it is most likely not as a result of the neighbors but more so the weight of the ring.
There were many series of events at their party – fireworks, meals, and rockets, until Bilbo finally gave his speech and mysteriously vanished, though later he was confronted by Gandalf. It may have been a sign that Bilbo was to give up the ring, which he resisted at first, but eventually decided to give the ring to Frodo.
Meanwhile, Frodo had a hard time that afternoon with the Sackville-Bagginses. Merry explained to them that Frodo was “indisposed,” and that he was resting. Lobelia Sackville-Baggins twisted the words around to tell him that Frodo was “hiding,” though it was later revealed that he did indeed look indisposed. It was also later revealed that Otho would have been Bilbo’s heir, mainly “for the adoption of Frodo.” (LR) Soon after, Gandalf shows up with the Ring, while Bilbo heads off to Rivendell.
The Aftermath of the Feud
When Frodo left for his quest, Lobelia bought Bag End, and Otho had passed away some years before then at 102. One of the theories that were held was that he was going to leave Bag End anyway to settle in Brandybuck. He had plans to go back to Buckland. After the quest was over, Lobelia gave Bag End back to Frodo as she was crushed by her son Lotho’s murder, and announced that she will not be returning to Bag End.
Thus ended the feud between the Sackville-Bagginses, and Bilbo and Frodo. After Lobelia’s passing the following spring, her and her son’s remains were left to Frodo in order to help the Hobbits.
[…] After the quest, most of his time was spent reading, writing poetry and his memoirs, along with translating Elvish. […]