Dwarves of the Grey Mountains
| Dwarves of the Grey Mountains | |
|---|---|
| People | |
| General Information | |
| Origins | Exiled Dwarves of Khazad-dum |
| Locations | Grey Mountains (Dáin's Halls) |
| Rivalries | Éothéod[1] |
| Languages | Khuzdul |
| Members | Thorin I, Glóin (King of Durin's Folk), Óin (King of Durin's Folk), Thrór |
| Physical Description | |
| Lifespan | c. 250 years |
The Dwarves of the Grey Mountains were the Dwarves of Durin's Folk who lived in the Grey Mountains in northern Middle-earth.
The Earliest Settlements
In the First Age, the Longbeards established mansions in Moria and the Iron Hills, and they considered the Grey Mountains, which lay between these mansions, to be within their territory. Some Men—mostly related to the House of Hador of Beleriand—settled between the Grey Mountains and Greenwood, and they allied with the Longbeards against Morgoth's Orcs.[2] This alliance ended in the Second Age after Sauron destroyed Eregion, which prompted the Longbeards to seal Moria. During this time, Orcs took control of the Grey Mountains.[2]
Because of constant attack by both Orcs of Morgoth and possibly Dragons, they were not heavily explored or settled until the Third Age.
The Awakening of Durin's Bane
Durin's folk started to gather in the Grey Mountains in T.A. 1981 after a Balrog was awakened in their ancestral home of Khazad-dûm, which its people fled in fear. Another portion of Durin's folk lead by King Thráin I established the Kingdom under the Mountain founded the Kingdom under the Mountain in T.A. 1999[3] at Erebor.
Around T.A. 2000[4], many centuries before Durin's Folk established a kingdom in the Ered Mithrin, Scatha, a mighty Long-worm of the Grey Mountains and one of the greatest Dragons to infest that range of the north, had plundered treasure from the Dwarves and kept it in his hoard. He was slain by Fram son of Frumgar in the early days of the Éothéod. His recovered hoard was the subject of great dispute between the Men of the Éothéod and the Dwarves of that region, who claimed the hoard as their own. Fram rebuked their claim, and sent them the teeth of the dragon, with the words, "Jewels such as these you will not match in your treasuries, for they are hard to come by." It was rumoured that for this insult the Dwarves killed him.[5]
The Seat of Durin's Realm
In T.A. 2210 King Thorin I, learning that most of his people were gathering in the Grey Mountains, left the Lonely Mountain to join the Dwarves to the north, for those mountains were rich and little explored.[3]
The War of the Dwarves and Dragons
For many years, Durin's folk prospered in the Ered Mithrin but, the dragons of the Forodwaith eventually multiplied and became strong, and in T.A. 2570[6] the Dragons made war on the dwarves, sacking and plundering their halls. The Dwarves held out for around twenty years, but finally in 2589[6] the Dragons attacked the halls of King Dáin I. King Dáin, and his second son Frór, were killed by a Cold-drake outside his door to his halls.[3]
Following the death of their king, most of Durin's Folk abandoned the Grey Mountains. In 2590,[6] King Thrór and his uncle Borin returned to the Erebor with the Arkenstone to re-establish the Kingdom under the Mountain. However, Thrór's younger brother Grór led others to the Iron Hills.[3]
Later History
There still was a remnant of the Dwarves in the Ered Mithrin after the core of the population left[3], but were probably few; working whatever mines they could hold from the Orcs and Dragons.
It is likely that the Dwarves reclaimed all their old halls and mines sometime during the Fourth Age, if not after Dáin II Ironfoot became king of Durin's folk in the late Third Age.
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The House of Eorl"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "X. Of Dwarves and Men", "Relations of the Longbeard Dwarves and Men"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "Durin's Folk"
- ↑ Robert Foster, The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, entry "Scatha"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The House of Eorl"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age"
