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Bill Ferny was a Man of Bree and a known agent of Saruman before and during the War of the Ring.

Biography[]

Bill Ferny resided in Bree and was known as a sneering, nefarious character who would sell anything to anyone, including dealings with shady travelers from the South, the agents of Saruman and Sauron. Ferny lived near the South-gate of Bree.[1]

In Bree, Merry saw Ferny selling information about the hobbits to the Nazgûl. Ferny may have also let loose the ponies that otherwise could have been used by the hobbits to leave the town. As a further bit of profit (and ignoring any loyalty to Saruman or the Black Riders), he sold a pony named Bill to Aragorn and the Hobbits, for which he demanded twelve silver pennies, over three times its value.[1]

Later, he supported Saruman's mechanization of the Shire, becoming a watchman at the Brandywine Bridge. Bill (the pony) repaid his former master for his mistreatment by kicking him. Ferny's ultimate fate is unknown, but as far as the folk of the Shire knew he was never heard from again.[2]

Portrayal in adaptations[]

The Lord of the Rings Online - Bill Ferny

Bill Ferny in The Lord of the Rings Online

Ferny is also featured in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game), in which he is killed confronting Strider in the streets.

Bill Ferny was featured as a character in The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game as a card called Bill Ferny, Swarthy Sneering Fellow.[3]

Ferny appears in The Lord of the Rings Online video game, spreading mischief in and around Bree. Early on, he is revealed to be in league with a band of brigands in the service of "Sharkey" (Saruman) that operate all over Bree-land. It is shown that he is intent in supporting an alliance between the brigands and some Orcs of the Misty Mountains, undoubtedly serving himself the most. He believes that such arrangement would allow him to pillage and plunder easier, hence his interest in it. Much to his chagrin, however, the alliance isn't forged.

In The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Ferny's father appeared as an assassin hired by Azog along with his partner Squint to hunt down Thorin II Oakenshield.


Translations[]

Foreign Language Translated name
Bulgarian Cyrillic Бил Папратак
Catalan Bill Falgueres
Chinese (Hong Kong) 比爾·羊齒蕨
Czech Vili Potměchut
Danish Jens Bregnø
Dutch Willem Varentje
Finnish Bil Imarre
French Bill Fougeron
German Lutz Farning
Hebrew ביל בן-שרך
Hungarian Páfrány Pockó
Italian Billy Felci
Portuguese (Brazil) Bill Samambaia
Romanian Bill Ferigă
Slovak Bill Papradník
Spanish (Spain and Latin America) Bill Helechal
Ukrainian Cyrillic Білл Папоротень

References[]

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