Little is known of the descent of the Goodbodies, except that one branch of the family descended through Togo Goodbody and his wife Lily, as shown here. There were definitely older generations of Goodbodies before Togo's time, but only one of them is named: Cora Goodbody, who became mother-in-law to Lily's sister Pansy.
One of the many prominent families that lived in the Shire. The Goodbodies were connected with the Baggins family through Bilbo's great aunt Lily, who married one Togo Goodbody. Among the family trees in Appendix C to The Lord of the Rings, their descendants are summed up in just two words: 'Various Goodbodies'. Bilbo acknowledged the connection at his famous Birthday Party: we know that at least some of the various Goodbodies were present at that feast.
Notes
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We have no specific dates for Cora Goodbody, but we know that she married Rudolph Bolger, who was born in III 2778 (S.R. 1178), and so Cora was probably born relatively close to that year. At the time of Bilbo Baggins' famous Birthday Party, then, the family was at least two centuries old, and quite possibly older still.
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2 |
The name 'Goodbody' comes from Old English gōd bodîg, literally 'good body'. The intended meaning is not absolutely clear, but this is perhaps meant to suggest (as with various other Hobbit family names) that the Goodbodies were particularly well-fed.
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- Updated 17 October 2022
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