Bert

Bert is one of the three trolls who waylay Thorin and Company in the Lone-lands, a figure of crude appetite and violent temper. He is introduced sitting around a large fire of beech-logs, toasting mutton and drinking from a jug, complaining about the lack of "manflesh" and the poor quality of the valley mutton they have been eating. His language is coarse and unrefined, far from "drawing-room fashion." Along with William and Tom, he represents the first major physical threat the company faces after leaving the safety of the hobbit-lands, a test of Bilbo's nascent burgling skills and the group's collective resourcefulness.

Role in the Troll Encounter

Bert is the most aggressive and suspicious of the three trolls. When Bilbo attempts to pick William's pocket, Bert is the one who insists on interrogating the captured hobbit, threatening to hold his toes in the fire to make him talk. He is quick to anger, calling William a "fat fool" and starting a physical fight with him after William objects to his rough treatment of Bilbo. This brawl, which sees the trolls locked in combat and rolling near the fire, provides the initial distraction that allows the dwarves to approach. However, Bert's vigilance is not entirely dulled; he and Tom quickly use sacks to capture the dwarves one by one as they come to investigate the light, eventually capturing all but Thorin, who puts up a brief fight before being subdued.

Defeat and Petrification

Bert's fate is sealed by Gandalf's clever manipulation. As the trolls argue over how to cook their prisoners—roasting, mincing, or boiling—Gandalf, hidden in the shadows, mimics their voices, prolonging the dispute until dawn. When the first light of day breaks over the hill, Bert, along with William and Tom, is turned to stone. The narrative notes that trolls must be underground before dawn or they "go back to the stuff of the mountains they are made of, and never move again." Bert is caught in the act of stooping, and he and his companions stand as stone figures for all time, a permanent monument to their own folly and the wizard's timely intervention. Their cave is subsequently looted, yielding the swords Orcrist and Glamdring, as well as a small knife that Bilbo later names Sting.