The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Not known for sure, but almost certainly reigned during the Fourth Age
Race
Division
Family
Pronunciation
doo'rin
Meaning
Durin seems to mean 'king'1
Titles

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  • Updated 5 February 2010
  • This entry is complete

Durin VII

The last descendant of Durin to bear his name

Kings of Durin's Folk

The last of the seven Durins appears once in Appendix A to The Lord of the Rings, as an undated descendant of Thorin III. As such, we know almost nothing of him apart from the bare fact of his existence.

In volume XII of The History of Middle-earth (The Peoples of Middle-earth), though, we have access to the proofs of Appendix A, and a little more of Durin's life is revealed. His birth, it seems, was prophesied at the Battle of Five Armies, and he was born several centuries later. He led Durin's Folk back to recolonise Khazad-dûm during the Fourth Age, where they remained 'until the world grew old and the Dwarves failed and the days of Durin's race were ended.'2 The status of this story is unclear, though: it never appeared in The Lord of the Rings, and may have been rejected by Tolkien after its composition.


Notes

1

Durin VII took his name from his ancestor Durin the Deathless, the first of the Fathers of the Dwarves to awaken. See the entry for Durin the Deathless for a more detailed discussion of the etymology of the name.

2

From The History of Middle-earth volume XII, The Peoples of Middle-earth 1 IX The Making of Appendix A (iv) Durin's Folk

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 5 February 2010
  • This entry is complete

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