The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Extant c. III 20001
Location
Settled in the Éothéod
Race
Division
Culture
Family
Descended through many generations from Vidugavia, Kings of Rhovanion
Settlements
Likely founded Framsburg
Pronunciation
fra'm
Meaning
'Bold, strong'2
Titles

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About this entry:

  • Updated 15 November 2014
  • This entry is complete

Fram

The slayer of Scatha the Worm

Frumgar
Fram
Léod

Lords of the Éothéod and their predecessors

Frumgar was the Lord of the Éothéod who led his people north through the Vales of Anduin to settle in the lands at its sources, and as his son, Fram was therefore likely to have taken part in that great migration. On Frumgar's death, Fram was made Lord in his place, and went on to become one of his people's greatest leaders: the chief township of the Éothéod, at the meeting of the rivers Greylin and Langwell, bore his name: Framsburg.

Fram's most famous feat was his defeat of the Long-worm Scatha of the Grey Mountains, and the recovery of that Dragon's great hoard. The hoard was claimed by the Dwarves3 of Ered Mithrin, from whom much of it had been stolen, but Fram refused them. Instead he mockingly sent them a necklace made from the Dragon's teeth. The death of Fram is not recounted in detail, but some accounts suggest that he was slain by the Dwarves for this insulting act.


Notes

1

We have no specific dates for Fram, but we do know that his father Frumgar led his people northward to the land of the Éothéod in the year III 1977. While we can't place Fram exactly, then, we can be confident that he must have been extant in the decades around approximately III 2000.

2

Fram is an Old English word with numerous gradations of meaning. While it primarily suggests 'bold' or 'valiant', the name 'Fram' could also mean 'rich' or 'splendid'. All these variations in meaning seem to connect well with Fram's famous defeat of Scatha and his recovery of that Dragon's hoard.

3

Doubt about the precise dates of Fram's rule makes it hard to be sure of the origins of these Dwarves. Fram lived at around the same time that Khazad-dûm was deserted and Erebor founded, so this may have been a stray group of Longbeards fleeing from the Durin's Bane (it's established that many Longbeards did gather in the Grey Mountains after the fall of Khazad-dûm). On the other hand, this would hardly have given them time to assemble a great hoard, or for Scatha to loot it, so these Dwarves may originally have been from other clans, already living among the Mountains, who were later joined by members of Durin's Folk.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 15 November 2014
  • This entry is complete

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