Frodo Baggins’ parents are absent in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, raising questions about their whereabouts. Frodo is one of the primary heroes of The Lord of the Rings movies, but the films do little to offer exposition to his past. It’s certainly not essential to the story to understand Frodo’s upbringing, but it helps contextualize the relationship between him and Bilbo, which is absolutely crucial to the path of the One Ring. Frodo deeply admires Bilbo, and his confusion surrounding his uncle’s behavior is important to his hesitation in taking on the quest.

Frodo Baggins is 33 at the start of The Fellowship of the Ring, having spent his entire life up to this point living in the Shire. It’s crucial to the story that, though he may be an adult, he’s naive to the larger events at work in Middle-earth. Bilbo and Gandalf are essentially his only connections to the world outside the Shire, and though he’s heard tales of trolls and dragons, Frodo doesn’t have his own experience. The Hobbit occurs about 80 years earlier on the Lord of the Rings timeline, though Frodo’s parents don’t appear in those movies either.

Frodo’s Parents Died In A Boating Accident Roughly 20 Years Before The Lord Of The Rings

Frodo Was Orphaned As A Child

Frodo Baggins is the only son of Drogo Baggins and Primula Brandybuck. Sadly, the two of them drowned in a boating accident in the year 2980, 20 years before The Fellowship of the Ring, when Frodo was eleven years old. Following that, he went to live with his mother’s relatives in Brandy Hall under Rorimac “Goldfather” Brandybuck, his maternal uncle. At some point between then and The Lord of the Rings, Frodo moved in with his paternal uncle, Bilbo Baggins, who lived in Hobbiton and fully adopted him.

There is relatively limited information about Drogo Baggins and Primula Brandybuck, but it’s not unintentional that Frodo Baggins is an orphan. It’s common in literature for a main protagonist to not have parents as it creates an inherent vulnerability and early obstacles for that hero to overcome. It’s a staple of the Hero’s Journey that’s common to characters like Harry Potter, Batman, Superman, and many, many more, making it equally as relevant to shaping who Frodo is when he departs for his journey.

Why Bilbo Baggins Adopted Frodo After His Parents’ Deaths

Bilbo & Frodo Were Fond Of One Another

Bilbo spent much of his time following the Quest of Erebor in relative peace, though he wasn’t known for being the most social hobbit, rarely keeping close friends. That said, he was particularly fond of young Frodo, potentially seeing similarities between them. Equally so, Frodo loved Bilbo and spent years before The Lord of the Rings learning his stories, reading his memoirs, ultimately developing him into the heroic young Hobbit who would one day destroy the One Ring.