Thorin Oakenshield

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring* (mentioned, Extended edition only)

## Actor/Actresses

### Portrayed by

Richard Armitage

"*I have no right to ask this of any of you. But will you follow me one last time?*"
—Thorin to his company
**Thorin II** was a heroic Dwarf king who was the heir to the throne of Durin. During the battle of Azanulbizar, Thorin became known as **Thorin Oakenshield**.

## Biography

### Early Life

"*Help"? A dragon attacks Erebor. What "help" came from the Elves? Orcs plunder Moria, desecrate our sacred halls, the Elves looked on and did nothing!*"
—Thorin to Gandalf[src]
Thorin was born in the Lonely Mountain to Thráin II and his wife in TA 2746. He had a younger brother named Frerin and a younger sister named Dís. He would often stand by his grandfather, Thrór's throne alongside his brother, sister and their parents. At an unknown point of time, Thorin lost his mother, sometime after the birth of his sister Dís, but no one knows when Thorin lost his mother, probably either in battle, in childbirth or during the sack of Erebor.

Occasionally, Thorin would go down to the treasure room and witness how the gold had nearly destroyed his grandfather and grew a deep fear of falling like him.

### The Sack of Erebor

"*Balin, sound the alarm. Call out the guards, do it now!
"What is it?"
"Dragon.*"
—Thorin and Balin[src]
One evening, Thorin and his friend, Balin were out in the balcony, where they heard the sounds of a hurricane. Thorin told Balin to sound the alarm and call out the guard. When the elder dwarf asked what it was, the prince knew it was a dragon. During the invasion, Dale had been attacked and Erebor had been attacked. Thorin was also the only survivor of Smaug's attack at the front gate.

Because Smaug was a greater foe than the dwarves in history have ever faced (besides the Balrogs that resided in Moria), Durin's Folk made their way out of the Mountain while others went to find another way out (but ended being found and killed by Smaug after all. Thorin went to retrieve his grandfather before he could ever chase after the Arkenstone. Thorin made his way out of the mountain, where he noticed a band of elves on the hill led the Dwarves' ally, King Thranduil. Thorin begs for the King's help, however, Thranduil and the elves of Mirkwood turned their backs on Thorin and his family, and retreated back to Mirkwood, thus causing Thorin's long-living hatred towards Elves.

Thorin led his people to live in the villages of men and other dwarves, where he became a blacksmith. However, Thorin would never forgive the elves, or forget the events that had caused his family to lose their status and their home.

### Battle of Moria

"*There is one I would fallow. There is one I would call king*"
—Balin to Bilbo Baggins[src]

Sometime in his young adult life, Thorin went with his father and grandfather into battle, with knowledge that Thrór gave his Ring of Power to Thráin for safekeeping. During the Battle, Thorin went to confront Azog the Defiler but was held back by his father. While Thorin urged to his father that he would fight by Thráin's side, the man refused to have Thorin throw his life away and confronted Azog himself.

When Thráin never returned, Thorin charged the Pale Orc himself. Unknown to him, Balin watched the entire exchange in the battle. Thorin earned the nickname "Oakenshield" after using a branch from an oak tree as a shield after Thorin's original dwarven battle shield was destroyed. During this battle, Thorin had cut off Azog's arm, rendering him mortally wounded. As Azog was taken back to the mines of Moria, Thorin led his people against the orcs and won the battle.

However, though it was a victory, Thorin was still grieving as he looked for his father's body after half the dwarves told Thorin his father was dead. However, Thorin noticed that Thráin was not among the dead, which was led Thorin to believe that his father may be still alive.

### Re-establishing a Colony

Thorin became the dwarf king at a very young age after the battle. However, Thorin never married nor had any children. The young dwarf king led his people out of Dunland and they finally re-established their home in the Blue Mountains. His younger sister, Dis, later gave birth to two children, Fíli and Kíli. Since Thorin had no children, he was very close with his nephews, whom he raised as his own children. He named them his heirs.

### The Beginning of a Quest

#### Search for his Father

One day, he was told that his father had been seen wondering around the borders of Dunland, the dwarves' old home. Thorin went on an expedition on his own. However, when he returned to his home hand

## Personality

A dwarf king without a kingdom, Thorin matured at a younger age, taking responsibility and looking out for the people of the Once proud race, the House of Durin. He sought work wherever he could in order to provide for his people, family and friends.

Thorin valued friendship and loyalty above all else, even proclaiming he would rather take the members of his company than an army from the Iron Hills. He had even added that the only things he required were those with loyalty, honor and a willing heart. Thorin usually sought advice from Balin and relieved to know that members in his company would be willing to follow his lead. However, it was very dark when Thorin was underneath the Gold curse, as he had limited trust among his own friends.

Ever since losing his home, and his father, grandfather and brother. Thorin was known to be quite serious and feared to lose anyone he cared about and was protective of anyone, including people who he had hardly gotten to know. Even though Thorin said he was not looking out for Bilbo, he still willingly surrendered to the Trolls so they wouldn't rip him apart and even swung down to pull Bilbo up to safety. He also told the company to run through the secret passageway and guarded it. He was very scared that Fili was killed by the Mountain trolls, along with the rest of their company. Thorin was also worried that Bilbo did not survive the confrontation with Azog but immediately was relieved to see he was alright and was concerned when Bofur revealed that Bilbo was missing and even led Smaug away from Bilbo He was willing to kill if anyone else tried harming his friends or family, as he killed an orc that tried to kill Balin without hesitation. Thorin was also willing to risk his life for anyone on many occasions. He allowed Azog to kill him so he wouldn't ruin more innocent people's lives and even going to save Bilbo from Smaug.

Thorin was known for having trust issues, especially when he had the gold sickness, but there were times he was willing to take a risk. For a brief moment, Thorin distrusted Bilbo when they were captured by the trolls, but eventually saw that he was trying to This level of distrust even started when Thranduil turned his back on the dwarves, and also starting Thorin heavily disliking the elves. For one case, he bluntly tells Gandalf that he won't go near Rivendell, stating that he would not seek those who wronged his father and grandfather and initially looked at Orcrist with disgust because it was of Elvish make. However, sometimes Thorin forgot his hatred for elves. For example, accepted Orcrist, even though it was of Elvish make and nodded to Elrond for letting him have it. Without hesitation, he killed an Orc that was about to harm Legolas. For a second, he refused to let Elrond look at the map but did so they could find the secret passage way.

Despite his serious demeanor, he was known for being sarcastic and having a dry sense of humor. When Gandalf said he met unsavory characters who mistook him for a vagabond to the dwarf king, Thorin sarcastically said that he imagined they regretted it. After meeting Bilbo for the first time, Thorin sarcastically remarked that he looked more like a grocer than a burglar. Another time his seriousness had let loose was when he was happily stomping to Bofur's song and enjoying an old Dwarven song. Also, when he was insulting Smaug, Thorin called him a slug and smiled to his companions after giving the insult. Even while under his gold sickness, Thorin had actually sarcastically told Bilbo that he should not underestimate dwarves.

## Relationships

### Family

* Thráin II - Father
* Thrór † - Grandfather
* Frerin † - Young Brother
* Dís - Younger Sister
* Fíli † - Nephew
* Kíli  † - Nephew
* Dáin Ironfoot - Cousin

### Allies

* Thorin and Company - Kin, Friends and Companions
	+ Bilbo Baggins - Former Rival turned Savior, Close Friend and Temporary Enemy
	+ Gandalf
	+ Dwalin - Best Friend and Temporary Enemy
	+ Balin - Advisor And Third Cousin
	+ Óin - Third Cousin
	+ Glóin - Third Cousin
	+ Bifur
	+ Bofur
	+ Bombur
	+ Dori - Distant Cousin
	+ Nori - Distant Cousin
	+ Ori - Distant Cousin
* Seven Dwarf Kingdoms
	+ Durin's Folk
		- Dwarves of Erebor
		- Dwarves of Iron Hills
* People of Lake-town
	+ Master of Laketown - Supplier
	+ Bard - Smuggler turned Former Situational Enemy and Ally
	+ Bain
* Elves of Mirkwood
	+ Legolas Greenleaf
	+ Thranduil - Former Enemy turned Ally
* Beorn - Former Host
* Elves of Rivendell
	+ Lord Elrond - Former Host
	+ Lindir

### Enemies

* Sauron
* Orcs
	+ Azog the Defiler - Killer and Victim
	+ Bolg
	+ Ragash
	+ Yazneg
	+ Fimbul
	+ Azog's Executioner † - Attempted Killer
* Goblins of the Misty Mountains
	+ Grinnah
	+ Great Goblin
	+ Goblin Scribe
* Spiders of Mirkwood
* Smaug - Attempted Killer and Attempted Victim
* Lethuin - Formerly