A title or sobriquet given to Gormadoc Brandybuck, one of the earliest ancestors of the Brandybucks known in any detail, and the great-great-great-great-grandfather of Meriadoc.
The name 'Deepdelver' is never explained in The Lord of the Rings, but the earlier versions of its Appendices contained in volume XII of The History of Middle-earth give us some clues. In the published genealogy of the Brandybucks, Gormadoc is the earliest ancestor shown, but in the original drafts, this place was taken by Gorhendad, the historical founder of the clan, who is explictly described as the builder of Brandy Hall.
As the history of Buckland evolved in Tolkien's mind, Gorhendad was pushed back too far into history to hold his place in the family tree, and so Gormadoc took his place. His ancestor Gorhendad is now no longer the sole builder of the Hall, but is instead noted simply as beginning its delving. So, there was now room for later generations to make expansions of their own, and Gormadoc could literally become the 'deep delver'. It seems that he excavated further into Buck Hill and expanded the great warren of Hobbit-holes begun there centuries earlier by his ancestor Gorhendad.
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- Updated 26 January 2006
- Updates planned: 2
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