What was the name of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional innkeeper in Bree?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional innkeeper in Bree is Barliman Butterbur.

Barliman Butterbur owns and operates The Prancing Pony, the principal inn in Bree. He is introduced in The Fellowship of the Ring when Frodo and his companions stay at the inn during their journey from the Shire to Rivendell. Butterbur is described as busy, good-natured, and forgetful.

His forgetfulness affects the plot because he has received a letter from Gandalf intended for Frodo but fails to deliver it promptly. He later helps the travellers by arranging ponies and providing information about the dangerous road beyond Bree. His role is small compared with that of Aragorn or Gandalf, but he connects ordinary local life with the larger conflict.

Barliman’s surname refers to butterbur, a real plant in the daisy family. He is sometimes confused with Bill Ferny, a dishonest man from Bree, or with Hamfast Gamgee, Sam’s father in Hobbiton. Those characters do not own The Prancing Pony.