Meriadoc Brandybuck, usually called Merry, is a Hobbit, a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured throughout his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings.
Merry is described as one of the closest friends of Frodo Baggins, the main protagonist. Merry and his friend and cousin, Pippin, are members of the Fellowship of the Ring. They become separated from the rest of the group and spend much of The Two Towers making their own decisions. By the time of The Return of the King, Merry has enlisted in the army of Rohan as an esquire to King Théoden, in whose service he fights during the War of the Ring. After the war, he returns home, where he and Pippin lead the Scouring of the Shire, ridding it of Saruman's influence.
Merry (right) and Pippin in Ralph Bakshi's animated 1978 version of The Lord of the Rings
Dominic Monaghan as Merry in Peter Jackson's 2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, they live barefooted, and traditionally dwell in homely underground houses which have windows, built into the sides of hills, though others live in houses. Their feet have naturally tough leathery soles and are covered on top with curly hair.
Hobbit holes or smials as depicted in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
Tolkien stated that he liked gardens, trees, and wearing waistcoats, just as hobbits did; he was often photographed with trees.
Tolkien dated the Shire to the time of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, 1897, when Exmouth's Jubilee clock was built.
Fireworks (England's Royal Fireworks of 1749 pictured) are among the anachronistically modern material features of hobbits' lives.