There are many great acts of bravery in The Lord of the Rings — from Gandalf’s battle with the Balrog to Sam’s selfless decision to carry Frodo up Mount Doom. And yet, the quietest and perhaps greatest act belongs to Bilbo Baggins.
At first glance, Bilbo seems like a minor character. In The Fellowship of the Ring, he appears briefly: an elderly hobbit preparing to leave the Shire and pass on his treasures to Frodo. Among them is the greatest evil of Middle-earth — the One Ring. But in that moment, Bilbo suddenly cannot let the Ring go. Gandalf has to persuade him; a strange rage flashes in his eyes — the Ring’s influence is clear. And yet Bilbo does the impossible: he drops the Ring on the floor and walks away, breaking the cycle of temptation.
What Bilbo did is something very few could do
The Ring corrupted far stronger souls. Boromir fell to its temptation, trying to take it from Frodo. Isildur died because he refused to destroy it when he had the chance. Gollum murdered his own cousin for it and became a pitiful creature. Even Frodo — brave as he was — could not give it up at the end, and the mission was saved only by chance. Even Sam, the purest of them all, managed to return the Ring only because he held it for such a short time.
Bilbo, on the other hand, carried the Ring for sixty years. He used it many times — during his travels and even at his 111th birthday party, where he vanished in front of stunned guests. And yet the Ring never fully mastered him. At the critical moment, Bilbo let it go — without violence, without a fight.
Why it was a true act of heroism
Giving up the Ring meant conquering not enemies, but oneself. It meant resisting not outside pressure, but internal temptation. In this sense, Bilbo proved stronger than Isildur, Gollum, Boromir, and even Frodo. His act wasn’t heroic in the traditional sense — he didn’t fight battles, storm towers, or defeat monsters. But he overcame the most terrifying monster of all — the lust for power.
It was thanks to Bilbo that the Ring came to Frodo. His voluntary decision to let it go is what set the great quest in motion. Had he not done so, Middle-earth’s story would have ended in tragedy — the Ring would have been found and returned to Sauron.
The true hero of Middle-earth
That’s why Bilbo is granted passage to the Undying Lands — along with Frodo and Sam. His endurance, his resistance to the Ring for decades, and his final act of letting go make him one of the strongest characters in The Lord of the Rings. Quiet, humble Bilbo — who may have performed the greatest act of all.
