A Dictionary of Tolkien

by David Day

  Durin II

  Dwarf king of Khazad-dûm during the eighth century of the Second Age. During this time the Dwarves of his realm cut the caverns and tunnels of the realm all the way through the Misty Mountains, from east to west, and built the West-gate, allowing trade in precious materials with the Elven-smiths of Eregion.

  Durin III

  Dwarf king of Khazad-dûm. Durin III was the Dwarf king best known for his friendship with the Elven-smiths of Eregion during the sixteenth century of the Second Age. He was given the first of the Seven Dwarf Rings by Celebrimbor. Not long after, the War of Sauron and the Elves forced the Dwarves to close their doors on the world. Khazad-dûm became known as Moria, the “dark kingdom”.

  Durin VI

  Dwarf King of Moria (Khazad-dûm). Born in the year 1731 of the Third Age, Durin VI was ruler of Moria in 1980 when his people were delving after a mithril lode deep beneath the roots of the Redhorn mountain. Tragically, they broke into a sealed chamber and released a horrific evil spirit called a Balrog. Both Durin VI and his son, Nain I, were slain by the demon during the following year, and the Dwarves were driven forever from Durin’s kingdom.

  Durin VII

  Dwarf King of the Last Kingdom. Believed to be the seventh and last incarnation of King Durin, his coming signalled the last kingdom of Dwarves of Durin’s line.

  Dwalin

  Dwarf of Thorin and Company. Dwalin was the son of Fundin and the brother of Balin. He went on the Quest of the Lonely Mountain that re-established the Dwarf Kingdom under the Mountain at Erebor, where he remained until the end of his life. It was the second such quest for Dwalin, for he had been a companion of King Thrain II, the Dwarf-king in exile, a century before, on the disastrous journey to Erebor which led to the king’s capture and eventual death.

  Dwarves

  In a great hall under the mountains of Middle-earth Aulë, the Smith of the Valar, fashioned the Seven Fathers of Dwarves during the Ages of Darkness, when Melkor and his evil servants in Utumno and Angband held sway over all Middle-earth. Therefore, Aulë made Dwarves stout and strong, unaffected by cold and fire, and sturdier than the races that followed. Aulë knew of the great evil of Melkor, so he made the Dwarves stubborn, indomitable, and persistent in labour and hardship. They were brave in battle and their pride and will could not be broken.

  The Dwarves were deep-delving miners, masons, metal-workers and the most wondrous stone-carvers. They were well suited to the crafts of Aulë, who had shaped the mountains, for they were made strong, long-bearded and tough, but not tall, being four to five feet in height. As their toil was long, they were each granted a life of about two and a half centuries, for they were mortal; they could also be slain in battle. Aulë made the Dwarves wise with the knowledge of his crafts and gave them a language of their own called Khuzdul. In this tongue Aulë was called Mahal and the Dwarves Khazâd, but it was a secret tongue unknown, but for a few words, to all but Dwarves, who guarded it jealously. The Dwarves always gave thanks to Aulë and acknowledged that by him they were given shape. Yet they were given true life by the power of Ilúvatar.

  It is said that, once Aulë had made the Dwarves, he secretly hid them from the other Valar and thought himself and them hidden as well from Ilúvatar. Yet Ilúvatar was aware of Aulë’s deed and judged that Aulë’s act was done without malice, and thus He sanctified the Dwarves. Yet He would not permit that this race should come forth before his chosen children, the Elves, who were to be the Firstborn. So, though the Dwarves were full-wrought, Aulë took them and laid them deeply under stone, and in this darkness the Seven Fathers of Dwarves slept for many Ages before the Stars were rekindled and before the Time of the Awakening drew near.

  So it was that the Elves awoke in Cuiviénen in the East in the First Age of Stars. In the years that followed the Seven Fathers of Dwarves stirred, and their stone chamber was broken open, and they arose and were filled with awe.

  It is said that each of these Seven Fathers made a great mansion under the mountains of Middle-earth, but the Elven histories of these early years speak only of three. These were the Dwarf-realms called Belegost and Nogrod in the Blue Mountains, and Khazad-dûm in the Misty Mountains. The tale of Khazad-dûm is longest for this was the House of the First Father called Durin I and Durin the Deathless.

  To the Elves of Beleriand in the Age of Stars the Dwarves of Belegost and Nogrod were a boon indeed. For they came into the realm of the Grey-elves with weapons and tools of steel and displayed great skills in the working of stone. And though the Grey-elves had not previously known of these people, whom they thought unlovely, calling them the Naugrim, the “stunted people”, they soon understood the Dwarves were wise in the crafts of Aulë, and so they also called them the Gonnhirrim, “masters of stone”. There was much trade between Elves and Dwarves, and through this traffic both peoples prospered.

  And though an ungainly people without graceful form, the Dwarves brought forth much beauty. Their mansions had grand halls filled with bright banners, armour, jewelled weapons and fine tapestries. Starlight shone down great light-wells and played upon mirroring pools and sparkling silver fountains. In echoing domes, by the light of crystal lamps, bright gemstones and veins of precious ores might be seen. In walls of jet polished like glass, dreaming marble forms were visible, and winding stair or twisting venue might lead to tall, fair tower or court of many-coloured stone. Tunnels led to courtyards and grottos with columns of alabaster, fluted by Time and the gentle promptings of Dwarf chisels.

  In the Ages of Starlight, the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains fashioned the finest steel that the World had ever seen. In Belegost (which was also named Gabilgathol and Mickleburg) the famous Dwarf-mail of linked rings was first made, while in Nogrod (which was called Tumunzahar and Hollowbold) resided Telchar, the greatest Dwarf-smith of all time. At this time these Dwarves forged the weapons of the Sindar and built for the Grey-elves of King Thingol their citadel of Menegroth, the Thousand Caves, reputed to be the fairest of mansions on Middle-earth.

  The War of the Jewels came in the First Age of the Sun and in it most of the Dwarves fought with the Elves against the servants of Morgoth. Of all Dwarves of that Age, greatest fame was won by King Azaghâl, the lord of Belegost. In the Battle of Unnumbered Tears only the Dwarves could withstand the blaze of Dragon-fire, for they were a race of smiths used to great heat, and on their helms they wore masks of steel that protected their faces from flames. Thus, the Dwarves of Belegost could stop the advance of the Dragon-horde, and though slain, King Azaghâl drove his sword into the belly of Glaurung, the Father of Dragons, and so Glaurung and his brood fled from the battle field.

  Not all the deeds of the Dwarves in that Age were praiseworthy. For, it is told, the Dwarves of Nogrod desired the Silmaril, and for it they murdered King Thingol and sacked Menegroth. In turn the Dwarves were caught by the Laiquendi at the Ford of Gelion and the Silmaril was taken from them, and those who escaped the ambush were attacked by Ents and utterly destroyed.

  From the ending of the First Age of the Sun the histories of Elves and Men that speak of Dwarves tell primarily of those of Durin’s Line who lived in Khazad-dûm. When the destruction of Beleriand came with the War of Wrath, the mansions of Nogrod and Belegost were broken and lost. The Dwarves of those kingdoms came into the Misty Mountains in the Second Age and made Khazad-dûm, that greatest mansion of Dwarves on Middle-earth, greater still. The vast halls filled with these prosperous people, whose craftsmen achieved matchless deeds and whose miners delved deep and long into the mountains’ heart. In the Second Age many of the Noldorin Elves of Lindon entered into Eregion near the West Door of Khazad-dûm and made a kingdom so they might trade with the Dwarves for the precious metal, mithril, which was found in abundance there. These Elves were the Gwaith-i-Mírdain, who were called the Elven-smiths in later times. By the wisdom of these Elves and Sauron’s deceit, the Rings of Power were forged in this place. And though Dwarves were given seven of these Rings, they were not drawn into the terr
ible wars that followed until the end of the Second Age. In Khazad-dûm, the Dwarves closed the doors of their mansions to the troubles of the World. None could force an entry into their realm, but ever after it was thought to be a closed and dark kingdom, and so Khazad-dûm was renamed Moria.

  Thus, the Dwarves of Durin’s Line survived into the Third Age of the Sun, though by then they had seen their greatest days and the Dwarvish people had begun to dwindle. Yet Moria stood for five Ages of Stars and three of the Sun and until the twentieth century of the Third Age was still wealthy and proud. But in the year 1980, when Durin VI was king, the delving Dwarves quarried too deep beneath the mountains and released a great demon. This was one of Morgoth’ Balrogs, and it came in wrath and slew King Durin and his son Náin and drove the Dwarves of Moria out for ever.

  Durin’s people were made a homeless, wandering folk, but in the year 1999 Náin’s son, Thráin, founded the kingdom under the Mountain in Erebor. For a while Thráin and some of the people of Moria prospered, for Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, was rich in ore and stones. But Thráin’s son, Thorin, left that place and in the year 2210 went to the Grey Mountains, where it was said the greatest numbers of the scattered Dwarves of Moria already lived. Here Thorin was accepted as king and with his Ring of Power his people grew wealthy again. After Thorin, his son, Gróin, ruled, then Óin and Náin II, and the Grey Mountains became famed for Dwarf-gold. And so, during the reign of Náin II’s son, Dáin, out of the Northern Waste there came many Cold-drakes of the deserts. Lusting for the wealth of the Dwarves, these Dragons came prepared for war and they slew the Dwarves and drove them out of the Grey Mountains.

  In the year 2590 the heir to Dáin I, Thrór, took part of the survivors of the Grey Mountain realm back to the kingdom under the Mountain in Erebor, while in the same year his brother, Grór, took those others who remained to the Iron Hills. And again, for a time, all these people prospered, for there was great trade between Dwarves, Men of Dale and Esgaroth, and the Elves of Mirkwood. Yet for Durin’s Folk the peace was short-lived, for in 2770, during the long reign of Thrór, the greatest Dragon of the Third Age, the winged Fire-drake called Smaug the Golden, came to Erebor. None could stand before this great Dragon. He slew wantonly, sacked Dale and drove the Dwarves from the Mountain. There for two centuries Smaug remained, lord of the Lonely Mountain.

  Again the Dwarves were driven from their homes. Some retreated into the Iron Hills colony for shelter, but other survivors followed King Thrór and his son, Thrain II, and grandson, Thorin II, in wandering companies.

  In this period Thrór was slain by the Orcs of Moria and his body was mutilated and his severed head was delivered to his people. The Dwarves, who had already suffered grievously from various evil hands, felt they could not bear this last insult. All the Houses of Dwarves gathered together and they decided to wage a great war.

  This was the terrible and bloody War of the Dwarves and Orcs. It raged for seven long years, and through all the Westlands the Dwarf army hunted out every Orc cavern and slew every Orc band, until at last it reached Moria’s East Gate in the year 2799. Here was fought the Battle of Azanulbizar, which is famous even in the histories of the Elves. In that battle the Orcs of the North were all but exterminated by the Dwarves. Yet the Dwarves had little joy in their victory, for half of all their warriors perished in that war. Such a loss could never be regained by this already dwindling folk. Even in spoils and territory they gained little from this war, for, though the Orcs were slain, the Balrog still held Moria and Dragons occupied the kingdom under the Mountain in Erebor and the Dwarf-realms of the Grey Mountains.

  The Dwarves returned to their kingdoms filled with sadness. The grandson of Grór, Dáin Ironfoot, returned to rule in the Iron Hills, while Thráin II with his son, Thorin II (now called Oakenshield), went west to the Blue Mountains and made a humble kingdom there. Yet Thráin II did not rule long, because while travelling he was captured by Sauron near Mirkwood and imprisoned in Dol Guldur. The last Ring of the Dwarves was taken from him and he was tortured to death.

  Yet Thorin Oakenshield remained in the Blue Mountains, for he did not know the fate of his father. Many wandering Dwarves came to the Blue Mountains and his halls grew, but he was unhappy and desired to return to Erebor to the kingdom under the Mountain, which had been his grandfather’s. With such thoughts still in his mind, Thorin Oakenshield approached the Wizard Gandalf in the year 2941 and they immediately fell to a plan of great adventure, which is told by the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins in the “Red Book of Westmarch”. This one Hobbit and twelve Dwarves accompanied Thorin in his mission to regain his kingdom. The twelve were: Fíli, Kíli, Dori, Ori, Nori, Óin, Glóin, Balin, Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur and Bombur. As is told in the Hobbit’s tale, Thorin achieved his quest. For, in the end, the Dragon Smaug the Golden was slain and Thorin II took possession of his rightful kingdom, although his grasp of it was brief. There followed the Battle of Five Armies, in which Orcs, Wolves and Bats battled against Dwarves, Elves, Men and Eagles. And though the Orkish legions were destroyed, so too was Thorin’s brave warrior life ended.

  This was not, however, the end of Durin’s Line, for Dáin Ironfoot had come to the Battle of Five Armies with five hundred warriors out of the Iron Hills and he was Thorin’s rightful heir, being, like Thorin, a great-grandson of Dáin I. So Dáin Ironfoot became Dáin II and he ruled wisely until the last days of the War of the Ring, when he fell with King Brand of Dale before the gates of the kingdom under the Mountain. Yet this Dwarf kingdom withstood the attack by Sauron’s minions, and Dáin’s heir, Thorin III, who was also called Thorin Stonehelm, ruled there long and prosperously into the Fourth Age of the Sun.

  The Dwarf Kingdom under the Mountain was not the last and only home of Durin’s Folk in the Fourth Age. Another noble Dwarf, descended from Borin, brother of Dáin I, had founded a kingdom of Dwarves at the beginning of the Fourth Age, after the War of the Ring. This Dwarf was Gimli, son of Glóin; he had won great fame in the war and he had been one of the Fellowship chosen for the Quest of the Ring. He had acquitted himself well in all tasks and the song of his axe had been a terror to his foes at the Battles of the Hornburg, Pelennor Fields and before the Black Gate. At the War’s end, Gimli had taken many of the Dwarves out of the kingdom under the Mountain into the wondrous caverns of Helm’s Deep, and by all he was named lord of Aglarond, the “glittering caves”.

  For more than a century Gimli the Elf-friend ruled Aglarond, but after the death of King Elessar he allowed others to govern and went to the realm of his great friend Legolas, Elf-lord of Ithilien. Here, it is claimed, Gimli boarded an Elven-ship and with his companion sailed over the Great Sea of the West to the Undying Lands.

  This is the last that the histories of Middle-earth tell of Dwarves. It is not known if their kingdoms survived the Fourth Age and the Dominion of Men. It is known that they dwindled further, but whether they still live within secret caverns of the World or have now gone to the Mansions of Aulë in the Undying Lands cannot be learned.

  Dwimmerlaik

  Middle-earth was a land that had seen many Ages of bloody war and strife. Multitudes had been laid to rest in its soil by sword, fire and pestilence. But then too there were those who, after death, by reason of some act of sorcery or broken oath, remained with unquiet spirits in the mortal World. Of these the “Red Book of Westmarch” speaks of the Barrow-wights, the Dead Men of Dunharrow, the Phantoms of the Dead Marshes, and the terrible Ringwraiths who in Black Speech were named Nazgûl.

  In the lands of Rohan in the time of the Riders of the Mark, all such haunting spirits were named Dwimmerlaik. Such were the superstitions of these Rohirrim horsemen that even the Elves of Lothlórien and the Ents of Fangorn were named Dwimmerlaik and were thought to be similar evil spirits.

  Ee

  Eä

  After Ilúvatar, the Creator, emerged from the Void and built the Timeless Halls for his angelic host with a word and the power of the Flame Imperishable, He made Eä, the “World That Is”, t
hat Elves and Men later named Arda, the Earth. Eä is all the created World of Arda: the continents, the great seas, the vaults of heaven, and all space and time within the created world.

  Eagles

  Noblest of the winged creatures of Arda were the Eagles, for they were brought forth by two mighty Valar: Manwë, Lord of the Air, and Yavanna, Queen of the Earth. The Eagles were numbered among the most ancient and wisest of races: they were made before the Stars were rekindled and the Elves awoke. In the Ages that followed, these birds were always messengers and servants of Manwë. On Taniquetil, the Great Mountain, the Eagles would rest, clasping the high crags with crooked hands. Over all the azure World they flew, for they were the eyes of Manwë and like thunderbolts fell on his foes.

  In the First Age of the Sun, a mighty breed of this race lived in Beleriand. They were called the Eagles of the Encircling Mountains and they lived in high eyries on the peaks called Crissaegrim. These Eagles were far-famed for their deeds in the War of the Jewels. Their lord was Thorondor and he was largest and most majestic of all Eagles. The full wing-spread of Thorondor was thirty fathoms and the speed of this great bird outstripped the fastest storming wind. Thorondor was strong and fearless and he perpetually fought the evil creatures of the Earth.

  It was Thorondor who rescued Maedhros the Noldor lord from a pinnacle of Thangorodrim. He also brought the broken body of King Fingolfin back from Angband and scarred the face of Morgoth with his long talons. In the Quest of the Silmaril both Beren and Lúthien were rescued from Angband by Thorondor. And, though Gondolin finally fell through treachery, the Eagles guarded that hidden Noldor kingdom for many centuries.

  Thorondor and his race earned their greatest glory in the War of Wrath. The “Quenta Silmarillion” tells how the Eagles were victorious in the Great Battle against even that most terrible evil – the winged Fire-drakes of Angband.