Bill : With Tom and Bert,one of the three trolls encountered by Bilbo and the Dwarves on their eastward journey to the Lonely Mountain.He seems to have been the leader of the troll-band - at least,it was he who led them to the woodlands of Trollshaws,according to his companions.It was William's pocket that Bilbo tried to pick as his first act of 'burglary',an attempt that brought the entire expedition close to disaster.Luckily,Gandalf was able to trick William and his two companions into arguing together until sunrise,whereupon they all turned to stone.The name 'William Huggins' seems a very remarkable and unlikely one for a troll.It seems to be a translation by Tolkien of the troll's 'real' name,as with the Hobbits,Dwarves, Rohirrim and so on and the fact that it is recognisably English suggests that his original name was from a Mannish language.What William's name actually was,though,is a mystery.(By a curious coincidence,there was a real historical figure named William Huggins,a pioneering astronomer of the mid-nineteenth century,though it seems extremely unlikely that Tolkien's foul-mouthed troll would be based on this noted scientist!).
Eru : Called 'The One' and more commonly known in Middle-earth as Il�vatar.Eru was the creator of the Ainur and through their Music founded the realm of Arda.
Goldberry : A mysterious being described as the 'River-daughter',the companion of Tom Bombadil.
Gothmog : Lieutenant to the Lord of the Nazg�l at the Battle of the Pelennor - he took command of the forces of Minas Morgul after the loss of his lord.
Hunter :A shadowy creature of Elvish legend,said to have plagued the newly-awakened Elves at Cuivi�nen.Those Elves captured by the Hunter were thought to have been corrupted by Melkor to form the race of Orcs.
M�m : Last of the Petty-dwarves,who dwelt in his halls in Amon Rudh with his two sons (both of whom he outlived) and gave shelter to T�rin and his outlaw band.
Rider : A shadowy creature of Elvish legend,sent by Melkor to trouble the first Elves at Cuivi�nen.
River-woman : A mysterious being- apparently some kind of water-spirit - associated with the River Withywindle in the Old Forest.She was the mother of Goldberry,who was for this reason known as the 'River-daughter'.
Thuringwethil : Sauron's vampire messenger,bat-winged and iron-clawed,in whose form L�thien came to Angband on the Quest of the Silmaril.
Tom : One of the three trolls that captured Bilbo and the Dwarves.Tricked by Gandalf,he was turned to stone by the light of the Sun.
Tom Bombadil : A mysterious and powerful being,called by the Elves Iarwain Ben-adar (Oldest and Fatherless), who dwelt in the valley of the Withywindle,east of the Shire.What kind of being he was has never been certainly discovered (see The Riddle of Tom Bombadil below) but at some stage in the past,he seems to have settled at the edge of the Old Forest,setting himself boundaries but boundaries within which his power was extraordinary.Tom was a creature of contradictions,one moment defeating ancient forces with hardly an effort,the next capering and singing nonsensical songs.He appeared as an old man,at least in hobbit eyes,with a wrinkled and ruddy face,bright blue eyes and a bristling brown beard.He was said to be taller than a typical hobbit but too short to be a Man,so he seems to have been about five feet in height.His costume consisted of a blue jacket and yellow boots and he wore an old and battered hat,surmounted by a feather.He seems to have preferred to wear a swan-feather in his hat but before he met Frodo and company on the banks of the Withywindle,he had acquired the feather of a Kingfisher instead.In his own house,rather than a hat,he wore a crown of autumn leaves,perhaps revealing something of the elemental powers he possessed.
Ungoliant : The evil creature of spider-form who was Melkor's accomplice in the Darkening of Valinor and who fled with him to Middle-earth.The creatures that infested the Ered Gorgoroth were her offspring and descendants, as was Shelob who dwelt on the borders of Mordor.
