Skip to main content

tolkiens legendarium - Who were the seven forefathers of the Dwarves, besides Durin?


It is told in the Silmarillion that Aule created the seven fathers of the dwarves. The most prominent of course being Durin, the ancestor of most (all?) dwarves that feature in LotR and The Hobbit. Often, the dwarves are referred to as "Durins folk", but I assume that this applies only to the descendants of Durin. This people is also called "Longbeards".


Question: Who were the other forefathers of the dwarves? Are any of their peoples still around in Middle-Earth and what happened to them?



Answer



Aside from Durin, the names of the seven fathers are not known. This is noted in "Of Dwarves and Men" (published in History of Middle-earth 12):



But of these ancient times only one name was in the Third Age preserved: Durin, the name they gave to the prime ancestor of the Longbeards and by which he was known to Elves and Men. (It appears to have been simply a word for 'king' in the language of the Men of the North of the Second Age.)




The names of the clans are however known, and are also recorded in "Of Dwarves and Men":



In the Dwarvish traditions of the Third Age the names of the places where each of the Seven Ancestors had 'awakened' were remembered.




  • The Firebeards: in the Blue mountains

  • The Broadbeams: in the Blue mountains

  • The Longbeards: Mount Gundabad

  • The Ironfists: somewhere in the East

  • The Stiffbeards: somewhere in the East


  • The Blacklocks: somewhere in the East

  • The Stonefoots: somewhere in the East


Although there were seven clans there were only four awakening places: the Blue Mountains, Gundabad, and two in the East (unnamed, but presumably in the Red Mountains).


All of these clans were still around during the Third Age, and were in communication with each other; again from the same source:



Though these four points were far sundered the Dwarves of different kindreds were in communication, and in the early ages often held assemblies of delegates at Mount Gundabad. In times of great need even the most distant would send help to any of their people; as was the case in the great War against the Orks (Third Age 2793 to 2799).



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

How do Pokemon trainers collect their winnings?

According to Bulbapedia , Prize money is the money that a Trainer pays out at the end of a battle. So we know that the money comes directly from the trainer that just lost, and not some third-party committee or sponsor. But how is this done? It can be easy seeing the random trainers who challenge you along the way wanting to wager and then, after admitting defeat, sticking to their word and handing over their hard-earned pokebucks. Then there are the likes of Team Rocket and Giovanni, who also give money once they lose. This doesn't seem like something people in a criminal organization would willingly do. From this it appears that trainers have no say in whether or not they cough up the dough after losing, but I can't find anything on how exactly the funds are transferred from loser to winner. So how do Pokemon trainers receive their winnings?
Post a Comment
Read more