Thorin Oakenshield

One of the great Dwarfs of the Third Age.

The story and the figure of Thorin II Oakenshield are that of a tragic character, one of those that have been seen countless times throughout the history of literature. Although transmitted through fantastic stories, a universal vision about the human being has the same credibility.

We could name from the Homeric heroes to the great Shakespearean protagonists, all united by the same common thread to which Thorin also belongs.

In Tolkien’s world, the misadventures of the dwarf show us how cruel life can be for dreamers, but at the same time, it is the confirmation of an unshakable faith in dreams and a will to fulfill what is promised that is carried to the ultimate consequences.

Thorin was born in 2746 of the Third Age in the dwarven kingdom of Erebor, on the Lonely Mountain. He was the grandson of King Thrór and son of Prince Thráin II, making him the heir to the throne.

The difficulties for him began early in life. When he was 24 years old, Thorin and all his people were expelled by the dragon Smaug, who attacked Erebor, attracted by the riches that the Dwarves harbored there. Despite fighting with the bravery typical of their race, they had to leave the Lonely Mountain and travel south. They settled in Dunland, becoming outcasts and without a home.

That situation did not last long, as Thrór knew that there was a place not too far away where they could go: Moria. It had once been the home of his people until a balrog ravaged the kingdom and drove out all its inhabitants, a few of them founding Erebor.

The time had come to return home.

Accompanied only by Nár, his servant, he headed towards Moria and, finding the gates open, he entered. His corpse, decapitated, was thrown down the steps of the Gates at the feet of Nár, who had remained outside. His murderer had been Azog, the orc king of Moria.

The servant returned with the rest of the Dwarves and explained what had happened to Thráin, who had become king and Thorin his heir. A message was sent to all the Dwarven peoples, and a great army was assembled for three years. Other descendants of the People of Durin, the original inhabitants of Moria, answered the call and a gigantic host headed for the Misty Mountains.

Countless orc strongholds were plundered, Thorin being one of those who wreaked the most havoc among the enemies. The thirst for vengeance in honor of his grandfather drove him to finish off as many orcs as possible.

Thus, for six years, the so-called War of the Dwarves and Orcs went on, culminating in the Battle of Nanduhirion at the Gates of Khazad-Dûm. In that terrible battle, the Dwarf lost his shield and helped himself with an oak branch to dodge the enemy’s blows. It was there, in the valley of Azanulbizar, that Azog met his death, and it was when Thorin got his nickname.

The Dwarves won the war, and Thráin encouraged his people to return to Moria to turn it back into Khazad-Dûm. However, very few were willing to follow their King, for they all knew that Durin’s Harm (the balrog) still lived in the mountain’s bowels.

With the war won but their home lost again, Thorin and his people began a wandering life in a world that held them in no respect. Elves and Men treated them as inferior beings. Working as blacksmiths here and there, they settled in the Blue Mountains, west of Middle-earth. They likely took advantage of the ruins of Nogrod to try to live with a certain dignity.

The proximity to the Elven kingdom of Lindon allowed them to prosper thanks to iron goods. Thorin became King of his people during this period when Thráin II (whose tragic end he never knew) died at 95.

The years passed, and the dwarven community prospered thanks to the arrival of many other wandering Dwarves. However, Thorin was burdened with many torments (his grandfather’s death and his father’s disappearance), and he also missed Erebor and cursed Smaug.

Over time, the need to slay the dragon and reclaim the kingdom beneath the Lonely Mountain grew within him, a feeling that gnawed at his insides.

When Thorin returned from a journey to Rivendel and stayed in Bree, he met the wizard Gandalf, who offered help in the mission to reclaim Erebor. Together with twelve more Dwarves (all known to Thorin and some relatives) and the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, they set out for the Lonely Mountain from the Shire.

After a long journey in which they suffered all sorts of alterations, they finally reached Erebor and confronted the dragon Smaug. They made him leave his lair, at which point the creature attacked Esgaroth, believing that the Men of the Vale were responsible for disturbing his sleep. There Smaug was slain by Bard the Bowman, and Erebor was free again.

Thorin soon occupied the old Dwarf kingdom and solemnly proclaimed himself the new King under the Mountain.

A few days later, an army of Man and Blackwood Elves arrived at the gates of Erebor. The Men claimed part of the riches of the Mountain as payment for the ravages that Smaug had wrought upon the City of the Lake. The Elves, for their part, asked Thorin that the Dwarves return to them hundreds of jewels that their ancestors had given away or that Smaug had stolen over the years.

Thorin refused, and after a request from Bard that he again refused, he locked himself in Erebor. All was set for a great battle between Elves and Men against Dwarves, who now had the forces of an army of Iron Hills Dwarves led by Dáin II, Thorin’s cousin who had received the message of help from his relative.

However, when everything was ready, another army composed of goblins and wargs arrived in front of Erebor. The troops were led by Bolgo, son of Azog, and they faced Dwarves, Elves, and Men. They were hosts coming from all over the Misty Mountains, thirsty for revenge for the events of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs.

Thus took place the so-called Battle of the Five Armies, a bloody contest in which deaths were high everywhere but ended with the absolute defeat of Goblins and Orcs. Bolgo was killed, and most of the enemy was slain.

Thorin managed to kill many of the evil creatures but was mortally wounded. After his death, his body was buried deep in the depths of the Lonely Mountain, and the kingdom of Erebor regained its former splendor in the hands of Dáin II.

Thus ended the life of Thorin Oakenshield, a Dwarf who was not knocked down by the blows of life and who fought to regain what he considered his own until he got it. His final sacrifice meant salvation for his people.