Quem tinha o broche que Tom Bombadil tirou dos Barrow-downs?

O máximo que sabemos é do Apêndice A do SdA:

It is said that the mounds of Tyrn Gorthad, as the Barrowdowns were called of old, are very ancient, and that many were built in the days of the old world of the First Age by the forefathers of the Edain, before they crossed the Blue Mountains into Beleriand, of which Lindon is all that now remains. Those hills were therefore revered by the Dunedain after their return; and there many of their lords and Kings were buried. (Some say that the mound in which the Ring-bearer was imprisoned had been the grave of the last prince of Cardolan, who fell in the war of 1409.)

Desde que o broche foi encontrado no tesouro dentro do carrinho de mão, isso abre pelo menos 4 possibilidades:

1. Pertencia a alguém da Primeira Era, desde antes da passagem dos Edain para Beleriand. Como praticamente não há nomes gravados daquela época, não podemos dizer com certeza quem é.
2. Pertencia a um parente do último príncipe de Cardolan (mas observe os "alguns dizem" na citação dada: não é de modo algum certo que o túmulo fosse o do último príncipe).
3. Pertenceu a um dos outros dunedain para quem os carrinhos de mão foram usados subseqüentemente.
4. Pertencia a outra pessoa; um viajante aleatório ou outra pessoa cujo broche foi adicionado ao tesouro, talvez.

Some say that the mound in which the Ringbearer was imprisoned had been the grave of the last prince of Cardolan, who fell in the war of 1409.

Fonte: O Senhor dos Anéis: O Retorno do Rei - Apêndice A

Supõe-se que foi a esposa / amante / concubina do príncipe. Eu não encontrei nada mais definitivo no material de origem.

O broche quase certamente pertencia à esposa, ou amor, do último príncipe de Cardolan.

Isto é sugerido pelos "alguns dizem" no Apêndice A O Senhor dos Anéis .

‘It is said that the mounds of Tyrn Gorthad, as the Barrowdowns were called of old, are very ancient, and that many were built in the days of the old world of the First Age by the forefathers of the Edain, before they crossed the Blue Mountains into Beleriand, of which Lindon is all that now remains. Those hills were therefore revered by the Dúnedain after their return; and there many of their lords and kings were buried. [Some say that the mound in which the Ring-bearer was imprisoned had been the grave of the last prince of Cardolan, who fell in the war of 1409.]’

Além desta declaração, sabemos que o carrinho de mão em que Frodo estava era usado pelos Dunedain, não pelos Homens da Primeira Era. Continha armas forjadas explicitamente para a guerra contra o Rei Bruxo de Angmar. Tom Bombadil nos conta isso no capítulo Fog in the Barrow-downs .

For each of the hobbits he chose a dagger, long, leaf-shaped, and keen, of marvellous workmanship, damasked with serpent-forms in red and gold. They gleamed as he drew them from their black sheaths, wrought of some strange metal, light and strong, and set with many fiery stones. Whether by some virtue in these sheaths or because of the spell that lay on the mound, the blades seemed untouched by time, unrusted, sharp, glittering in the sun.

‘Old knives are long enough as swords for hobbit-people,’ he said. ‘Sharp blades are good to have, if Shire-folk go walking, east, south, or far away into dark and danger.’ Then he told them that these blades were forged many long years ago by Men of Westernesse: they were foes of the Dark Lord, but they were overcome by the evil king of Carn Dûm in the land of Angmar.

‘Few now remember them,’ Tom murmured, ‘yet still some go wandering, sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness, guarding from evil things folk that are heedless.’

O último parágrafo diz que Tom está pensando nos Homens de Arnor: ele se refere especificamente a Aragorn e sua linhagem.

O narrador confirma em A Batalha dos Campos de Pelennor que foi forjado pelos homens de Arnor, especificamente para uso contra o Rei Bruxo de Angmar.

So passed the sword of the Barrow-downs, work of Westemesse. But glad would he have been to know its fate who wrought it slowly long ago in the North-kingdom when the Dúnedain were young,- and chief among their foes was the dread realm of Angmar and its sorcerer king. No other blade, not though mightier hands had wielded it, would have dealt that foe a wound so bitter, cleaving the undead flesh, breaking the spell that knit his unseen sinews to his will.

Então, sabemos que o conteúdo do carrinho de mão deve ter sido colocado entre 1300, quando:

c. 1300 Evil things begin to multiply again. Orcs increase in the Misty Mountains and attack the Dwarves. The Nazgûl reappear. The chief of these comes north to Angmar. The Periannath migrate westward; many settle at Bree. 1356 King Argeleb I slain in battle with Rhudaur.

e logo após 1409, quando:

It was at this time that an end came of the Dúnedain of Cardolan, and evil spirits out of Angmar and Rhudaur entered into the deserted mounds and dwelt there.

após o qual os Dunedain teriam deixado de usar os Barrows.

After Eärendur, owing to dissensions among his sons their realm was divided into three: Arthedain, Rhudaur, and Cardolan. Arthedain was in the North-west and included the land between Brandywine and Lune, and also the land north of the Great Road as far as the Weather Hills. Rhudaur was in the North-east and lay between the Ettenmoors, the Weather Hills, and the Misty Mountains, but included also the Angle between the Hoarwell and the Loudwater. Cardolan was in the South, its bounds being the Brandywine, the Greyflood, and the Great Road.

In Arthedain the line of Isildur was maintained and endured, but the line soon perished in Cardolan and Rhudaur. There was often strife between the kingdoms, which hastened the waning of the Dúnedain. The chief matter of debate was the possession of the Weather Hills and the land westward towards Bree. Both Rhudaur and Cardolan desired to possess Amon Sûl (Weathertop), which stood on the borders of their realms; for the Tower of Amon Sûl held the chief Palantír of the North, and the other two were both in the keeping of Arthedain.

(Apêndice A)

Mas mais do que isso, temos que considerar o relato de Bombadil de que "era justa ela" que a usava e "não a esqueceríamos". A implicação clara da declaração de Bombadil era que ele pessoalmente conhecia ou via a mulher que usava o broche. E o que sabemos sobre o que o povo de Cardolan estava fazendo na guerra em 1409?

A great host came out of Angmar in 1409, and crossing the river entered Cardolan and surrounded Weathertop. The Dúnedain were defeated and Arveleg was slain. The Tower of Amon Sûl was burned and razed; but the palantír was saved and carried back in retreat to Fornost, Rhudaur was occupied by evil Men subject to Angmar,21 and the Dúnedain that remained there were slain or fled west. Cardolan was ravaged. Araphor son of Arveleg was not yet full-grown, but he was valiant, and with aid from Cír-dan he repelled the enemy from Fornost and the North Downs. A remnant of the faithful among the Dúnedain of Cardolan also held out in Tyrn Gorthad (the Barrow-downs), or took refuge in the Forest behind.

Então quase certamente podemos dizer que o túmulo era o local de sepultamento das pessoas de Cardolan, e que não há razão para contestar a sugestão textual de que era o túmulo do último príncipe de Cardolan e possivelmente também sua esposa, ou amante - se ela não tivesse morrido antes e o broche enterrado com ele, como uma lembrança que ele manteve com ele depois de sua morte.