Durin's Folk

**Durin's Folk** (also called the **Longbeards**) were a clan of Dwarves that originally inhabited Khazad-Dum led by Durin I, "The Great". He was succeeded by many generations of kings, among them appeared six others also called Durin. (The Dwarves believed that these six were the reincarnation of Durin I, with memories of their past lives.)

## History

During the Second Age, Durin's Folk began a friendship with the Noldor of Celebrimbor in Eregion.

In the middle of the Third Age, they were expelled by the Balrog known as the "Durin's Bane". In TA 1980 their king Durin VI was killed by the creature that the following year also killed his son Náin I. Thráin I, Nain's son, fled along with his people to the Lonely Mountain where he founded the Kingdom of the Lonely Mountain. During the reign of Thorin I son of Thrain was heard rumors greater wealth in the Grey Mountains. Thorin decided to leave Erebor and take his people to the north, where they lived in peace until the reign of his grandson Nain II when they began to be attacked by dragons. During the reign of Dáin I, one Cold-drake invaded his kingdom and killed him along with his second child, Frór. Thrór, eldest son of Dain I, and now King of Durin's Folk, returned along with his uncle Borin and part of his people to the Lonely Mountain. His younger brother Grór left for the east where he founded his kingdom in the Iron Hills. Thrór ruled during long years of peace until a Fire Drake, Smaug, the last of the great dragons, descended from the north and sacked and took the Lonely Mountain. Durin's Folk became a nomadic people in exile. Many of them went to the Iron Hills and settled there. Thrór went insane, and tried to reclaim Khazad-Dum by himself, leading to his death at the hand of Azog.

This started the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, which ended at the Battle of Azanulbizar, where Azog was killed by Dáin Ironfoot, lord of the Iron Hills. After the battle, many of the Dwarves under the rule of Thrain II went to the west to the Blue Mountains and settled there. After 60 years Thrain's son, Thorin II, or "Thorin Oakenshield", was convinced by the wizard Gandalf to lead a company of 13 Dwarves and one Hobbit on a quest to recover the Lonely Mountain. The quest lead to the death of Smaug at the hand of Bard the Bowman, and the great Battle of Five Armies against armies of Orcs, in which Thorin and his nephews Fili and Kili were killed. But Thorin's sacrifice led to the Kingdom of the Lonely Mountain being restored under the rule of his cousin Dáin II, Lord of the Iron Hills, who became King under the Mountain in TA 2941. He died in the battle of Dale at the end of the Third Age, fighting hordes of Easterlings in Dale. His people were then besieged. After Sauron was defeated, his son Thorin III Stonehelm and Bard II, the new king of Dale, defeated the Easterlings.

Durin VII, the last to be named "Durin", later retook Khazad-Dum and became known as "Durin the Last".

## Kings of Durin's Folk

Here is a full account of all the Kings of Durin's Line, but the following list shows only the names of those Kings who were saved or whose reigns can be studied. As the descendants of Durin I were forced by circumstances to travel through Middle-earth, the main sites of their monarchy is shown along with the name of each king.

### Durin I, Khazad-Dum

Durin the Great was the oldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, created by Aulë during the First Age of the World. He was called "the Great" as he lived long before an age far more advanced than any other Dwarf, and so was revered as the eldest of their race.

Each of these seven Dwarves' parents founded a house. Durin's House was the Longbeards, and his people were named Durin's Folk.

According to the traditions of the Dwarves, he was put to sleep alone under Mount Gundabad in the north of the Misty Mountains, which remained a sacred site for them. He awoke some time after the awakening of the Elves in 1050 the Age of the Trees, and according to ancient legends he traveled long distances to find other families of Dwarves, and then other Dwarves followed. He founded what would become the largest and richest of the Mansions of the Dwarves: Khazad-Dum.

In the published version of the story, Durin died before the end of the First Age. In an old version of Appendix B ("The Tale of Years") he appears leading the Dwarves of the ruined kingdoms of Beleriand to find Erebor at the beginning of the Second Age, but Tolkien abandoned this idea.

After the death of Durin, Khazad-Dum was ruled by generations of his descendants until the Balrog, Durin's Bane appeared. In this long line, Tolkien writes, "Appearing occasionally was an heir like his ancestor who was called Durin". More complete versions of the **Durin's Folk** make clear that Durins appeared spaced among many generations.

### Durin II, Khazad-Dum

Tolkien did not write anything about his reign. There are indications that the Dwarves of Khazad-Dum reached an agreement with the first Men of the Vales of Anduin, who provided them food in exchange for weapons made by the Dwarves. Such cooperation has evolved into coordinated attacks against the Orcs with the heavy infantry of the Dwarves complemented by mounted archers of the valleys.

### Durin III, Khazad-Dum

Ruled around 1600 Second Age. And was the first Dwarf-Lord given one of the Seven Rings, although it was not widely known until the end of the Third Age. The Dwarves believe that he received this ring from Celembrimbor and not from Sauron, even with this having participated in the forging.

Hammond and Scull conclude that Durin III was most likely King of Khazad-Dum when the west Gate of Khazad-Dum was built. This is a reasonable reference but appears to be unfounded by some direct evidence from Tolkien's writings.

### Durin IV, Khazad-Dum

Tolkien did not write anything about his reign. He would have lived in Khazad-Dum at the end of the Second Age or the beginning of the Third Age.

### Durin V, Khazad-Dum (Third Age ? - Third Age ?)

Durin V lived in Khazad-Dum, and with the aid of the Dwarf-ring prospered. He was the last of the Durins to have reigned in peace as King of Khazad-Dum without knowledge of the Balrog that slept beneath them.

### Durin VI, Khazad-Dum (reigned until TA 1980)

Durin VI was King of the Dwarves of Khazad-Dum in the Third Age, when Dwarves mining in search of Mithril awakened the Balrog hiding deep within. The creature killed Durin TA 1980, and became known as "Durin's Bane". Durin VI was the first known reincarnation of Durin the Great to not have a natural death. He was succeeded by his son, Náin I, who was killed by the same Balrog in the following year and after this tragic event the ancient city was abandoned by its people.

### Náin I, son of Durin VI. Khazad-Dum

He ruled for only one year in Khazad-Dum before being killed by the Balrog. He was the last of the Kings of Durin's Line to rule in Khazad-dûm, being replaced by his son as King-in-exile.

### Thráin I, son of Náin I: Erebor. (ruled for 209 years, until TA 2190)

Thráin I led a large part of his people away from Khazad-dûm to the Northeast of Middle-earth. It was Thráin who founded the great Kingdom of the Lonely Mountain in TA 1999, under The Lonely Mountain near the city of Dale and Lake-town on the Long Lake. He was succeeded by his son.

### Thorin I, son of Thrain I. Grey Mountains

Hearing of greater riches in the Grey Mountains, he decided to leave the Lonely Mountain with the greater part of his folk, along with the Dwarven treasure: The Arkenstone, leaving the mountain abandoned for over three-hundred years until his descendant Thrór reclaimed it. He was succeeded as king by his son Glóin.

### Glóin the son of Thorin I. Grey Mountains (reigned for 96 years until TA 2385)

Glóin continued the reign of his father in the Grey Mountains, and was succeeded by his son.

### Óin, son of Gloin. Grey Mountains (He ruled for 103 years until 2488 TA)

During his reign, the Dwarves of Durin's Folk still lived in the Grey Mountains to the north. In the last years of his reign, the Shadow returned to Dol Guldur in Mirkwood and orcs began to multiply and in the later years of Óin, the orcs invaded Khazad-Dum, which was abandoned, and took it. This was only the first of the calamities that would fall on the Durin home for centuries to come.

Óin was 250 years old when he died, having reigned for 103 years. He was succeeded by his son, Náin, who became King Náin II.

### Náin II, son of Óin. Grey Mountains (reigned for 97 years until 2585 TE)

At that time, the prosperous Dwarves began to suffer an attack from the north by dragons, Náin had two sons, the oldest Dáin, and Borin. he was succeeded by his eldest son as was custom.

### Dáin I, II Náin son. Grey Mountains (reigned for four years until 2589 TE)

Dáin I's short reign had a blunt end when he was killed next to his second child, Frór, by a great Cold-drake at the door of his own kingdom. He was succeeded by the eldest of his three sons.

### Thrór the son of Dáin I. Erebor (He ruled for 201 years until 2790 TE)

He led his people out of the north, infested with dragons, back to the Lonely Mountain, while his younger brother, Grór, took a piece of his people further east, to dwell in the Iron Hills. He was King under the Mountain for more than 180 years, until the great dragon Smaug descended upon the kingdom and sacked The Lonely Mountain. He escaped destruction with his son and grandson, and wandered the wilderness. He went mad, and tried to single-handedly reclaim the former home of his people, Khazad-Dum, which he found infested with Orcs. His death at the hands of Azog, leader of the Orcs, was the trigger for the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. He was succeeded by his son, Thrain II .

### Thrain II, son of Thrór, King in Exile. Dunland, later the Blue Mountains (reigned for 151 years until 2941 TA)

Thrain II avenged the death of his father by defeating Azog and his army of Orcs in Azanulbizar. In the first half of his life, he lived in Erebor, but later moved to the Blue Mountains west of Eriador. Before his reign ended, he decided to return to Erebor, but while traveling through the forest, he was captured by evil creatures and died in the dungeons of the Necromancer in Dol Guldur. He was succeeded by his son.

### Thorin II, or Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain II. Blue Mountains (reigned for only a few days until 2941 TA)

Thorin II was a ruler of the Blue Mountains for many years but, like his father, was determined to return to his former home in Erebor. Accompanied by Gandalf, twelve other Dwarves, and Bilbo Baggins, he journeyed far to the East and, against all expectations, recovered the Lonely Mountain from Smaug. After the death of Smaug, the Battle of Five Armies was fought at the feet of Erebor, and Thorin was killed. The only living descendants of Thrór's lineage, his young nephews Fili and Kili, had also perished in battle and so the monarchy was passed to the line of Grór, younger brother of Thrór, specifically for Grór's grandson, Dáin Ironfoot. Although he was not crowned King under the Mountain, Thorin had claimed the title by law, once he had recovered Erebor.

### Dáin II, or Dáin Ironfoot, Grór grandson. Erebor (reigned for 78 years until 3019 T. E.)

Dáin succeeded his father, Nain, as Lord of the Iron Hills. Became King under the Mountain as well as King of all the Durin's Folk after the death of his cousin Thorin Oakenshield, the first in Durin's lineage to inherit the kingdom without being the father-to-son succession. Reigned successfully for many years until the time of the War of the Ring when he was killed in the Battle of Dale, despite his great age valiantly fighting the Easterlings who, under Sauron's orders, attacked Erebor and Dale. After his death the Men and Dwarves were besieged inside Erebor. He was succeeded by his son.

### Thorin III, or Thorin Stonehelm. Erebor

Thorin III took the lead of his people after the death of his father. He endured a brief siege of seven days in Erebor, when news of the defeat of Sauron reached the Easterlings, he and the Men of Dale led by Bard II charged out of the mountain and routed the Easterlings. He helped rebuild the Lonely Mountain and Dale, and prospered. His realm became a close ally of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor of King Elessar. Thorin III had an heir, who was held to be the reincarnation of Durin the Great, and who succeeded him at his death as Durin VII the Last.

### Durin VII

Durin VII, or "the Last", was a direct descendant of King Thorin III Stonehelm (and according to some sources, was his son), ruler of Erebor in the Fourth Age. His birth was apparently prophesied at the rise of Dáin II after the Battle of Five Armies. He led the Dwarves of Durin's Folk in the recolonization of Khazad-Dum some time after the beginning of the Fourth Age, and there they remained "Until the world grew old and the days of Durin's race came to an end."

Durin I died before the end of the First Age, then between his reign and Thorin III, Kings of Durin's Line ruled for a period of about 6,500 years. Assuming that the average time of a reign of a King of Durin's Folk was approximately a century, it can be deduced that there have been about fifty names of Kings that are not on this list.