What is the name of the fictional innkeeper who owns The Prancing Pony in Tolkien’s Middle-earth?

Barliman Butterbur is the innkeeper who owns The Prancing Pony in Tolkien’s Middle-earth.

Butterbur is a Man of Bree and an important minor character in The Fellowship of the Ring. He initially forgets to deliver a message from Gandalf to Frodo, a mistake that contributes to the confusion surrounding Frodo’s departure from the Shire. He later explains the error and helps the Hobbits after they arrive in Bree.

Butterbur is energetic, well-meaning, and closely connected with local news. His inn serves as a meeting place for travelers, including Aragorn, who is known there as Strider. Butterbur also helps arrange the Hobbits’ journey after the attack on the inn.

He should not be confused with Bill Ferny, a dishonest man from Bree, or Hamfast Gamgee, Samwise’s father in Hobbiton. Tom Bombadil is another separate figure who lives in the Old Forest region.