Dwarves of the Grey Mountains

From Tolkien Gateway
This article describes a concept which is mentioned in J.R.R. Tolkien's works, but was never given a definite name.


Dwarves of the Grey Mountains
People
General Information
OriginsExiled Dwarves of Khazad-dum
LocationsGrey Mountains
RivalriesÉothéod[1]
LanguagesKhuzdul
MembersThorin I, Glóin (King of Durin's Folk), Óin (King of Durin's Folk), Thrór
Physical Description
Lifespanc. 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.

History[edit | edit source]

The Earliest Settlements[edit | edit source]

In the Elder Days, 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]

The Awakening of Durin's Bane[edit | edit source]

Durin's folk started to gather in the Grey Mountains in T.A. 1981 after Durin's Bane 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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

There still was a remnant of the Dwarves in the Ered Mithrin after the core of the population left.[3]

References