Let's Get Nerdy

    Who are “Durin’s Folk”? – Let’s Get Nerdy!

    Ashley Victoria RobinsonBy 5 Mins Read

    Amazon Studios The Rings of Power is here. We want all Spoilerites to have the best viewing experience possible and have the widest knowledge base about the Second Age of Middle-Earth. This is a weekly Let’s Get Nerdy article series highlighting a different piece of Tolkien I think you need to know about!

    The line of Durin.

    Here I am back on my balance game, Spoilerites! We’ve had two weeks in a row about elves, so it’s time to do a deep dive into the dwarvish side of J.R.R. Tolkien’s lore. Over the course of this series I’ve written about a couple different dwarvish lords named Durin, their leadership, and their cultural significance throughout The Second Age of Middle-Earth and have briefly explained the origin of the terms “Durin’s Folk”, but like my casual explanation of “Noldor Elves” I feel this phrase bears deeper examination.

    “Durin’s Folk” is a name for one of seven groups of dwarves in Middle-Earth. They are sometimes referred to as Longbeards – for reasons I imagine are self-explanatory. In the same way the name Durin’s Folk feels a touch self-explanatory. This particular group of dwarves is descended from a leader named Durin. The problem? At first blush it would be the sheer number of dwarves who have been named “Durin”. It was a popular name, especially during The Second Age of Middle-Earth. King Durin I is known as a “Father of Dwarves” and is one of the first of his race. Amongst the eldest and the first of the dwarves to wake.

    King Durin I had slept alone beneath the mountains and was the first to make his way to the legendary Misty Mountains. Although he did die before the end of The First Age of Middle-Earth King Durin I lived for so long he soon became known by the moniker Durin the Deathless.

    Durin by: Turner Mohan

    Khazad-dûm, the dwarf city founded by King Durin I, first deemed its denizens Durin’s Folk where they dwelt from the time of its founding during The First Age of Middle-Earth. During The Second Age many dwarf cities in the Blue Mountains fell with refugees making their way into The Misty Mountains and joining the ranks of Durin’s Folk beneath the ground.

    Unfortunately during this same time Orcs, formerly under the the leadership of Morgoth, also sought to live in the dark place below the mountains. Theses orcs (sometimes referred to as “goblins”), were the chief enemy of Durin’s Folk. Those Spoilerites familiar with the events of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring know how badly this orc invasion turns out for Durin’s Folk, which sadly leads me to conclude you probably know how their story turns out once we enter The Third Age of Middle-Earth.

    In past articles I have answered the questions: 

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    She/her. Canadian actress. Bi Queen. Canadian co-host of Geek History Lesson. Canadian comic book writer: Witchblade, Apollo IX, Jupiter Jet series, Science! The Elements of Dark Energy, Aurora and The Eagle. Award-losing: actor, writer, podcaster. https://linktr.ee/AshleyVRobinson

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