Brandywine Bridge
The Brandywine Bridge, also known as the Bridge of Baranduin, was the bridge on the East Road crossing the River Baranduin; it marked the eastern border of the Shire. The Hobbits measured distances from the east-end of the Brandywine Bridge.
History
Originally called the Bridge of Stonebows, it was built during the days of power of Arnor. Marcho and Blanco with their Hobbit followers passed that bridge to settle in the Shire. The Kings of Arnor required them to keep the Great Bridge in repair (as well as all other bridges and roads).
Frodo Baggins and his companions did not use the bridge when they left the Shire in Third Age 3018. However, on their return trip they came to the bridge on 30 October Third Age 3019. To their surprise they found the bridge blocked on both ends with two spiked gates. Despite a sign proclaiming "No admittance between sundown and sunrise" the four hobbits made their way over the bridge, after dispatching Bill Ferny. They stayed the night at the guard-house before moving on to rouse the Shire.
In Fourth Age 15 King Elessar rode to the Brandywine Bridge and greeted his old friends (but did not cross into the Shire for he himself had forbidden men to enter the land in an edict of Fourth Age 6). At this meeting he bestowed the Star of the Dúnedain on Samwise Gamgee and made Sam's daughter Elanor a maid of honour to Queen Arwen.
Etymology
"Stonebow" is from Old English stánbogan, meaning a stone arch. The only quotations for the word, in the Oxford English Dictionary and the online Bosworth Toller Dictionary of Old English, are from Beowulf, where it appears twice, at lines 2545 and 2718, describing the lair of the dragon who kills the hero.
In Sindarin, the name of the bridge was i Varanduiniant. i is the singular definite article "the", which causes the initial b- in Baranduin to take the lenited form v- (i.e., Varanduin); the final element iant means "bridge".
Other versions of the legendarium
The Bucklebury Ferry was said to be twenty miles south of the Bridge by Merry but this was corrected to ten in the 50th Anniversary Edition.
Portrayal in adaptations
The Brandywine Bridge in adaptations
![<tg-em>[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]</tg-em>](https://v6.elanillounico.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/The-Lord-of-the-Rings-Online-Brandywine-Bridge.jpg)
![<tg-em>[[The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest]]</tg-em>](https://v6.elanillounico.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Aragorn_s-Quest-Brandywine-Bridge.png)
2007: The Lord of the Rings Online:
The Brandywine Bridge is a landmark in the Bridgefields. Talking to a character near the bridge starts the quest "The Tale of the Shipwrecked Mariners".
2010: The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest:
The meeting of Elessar and the Mayor in Fourth Age 15 is featured in a cutscene after the last mission. It is portrayed as a low, wooden bridge.
Referencias
1. Esta ficha se ha importado inicialmente de TolkienGateway.net el día 21/05/2026.
