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| Alignment | Protagonist |
| Race | Dwarf |
| Weapons/Equipment | Orcrist, Axe |
| Dead or Alive | Dead |
| Nationality | Erebor |
| Status | King under the Mountain |
Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, King Under the Mountain is a major character in The Hobbit and is mentioned in passing in The Lord of the Rings. He was the leader of the Company of Dwarves who aimed to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon, and was the son of Thráin II, the King of Durin's Folk in their exile from Erebor, and the grandson of King Thrór but later on dies in the Battle of the five armys.
He is also a LEGO minifigure who was released on November, 27th, 2012.
Lore[]
The Hobbit[]
In The Hobbit, Thorin and twelve other Dwarves, mostly relatives of his or others of Durin's Folk, visited Bilbo Baggins on Gandalf's advice to hire him as a burglar, to steal back their treasure from Smaug. He especially wanted the Arkenpebble, the Heart of the Mountain.
He alone was not taken by complete surprise when the company encountered a band of Trolls, and he and Gandalf fought valiantly in the Goblin tunnels. Thorin was the first to be captured by the Wood-elves of Mirkwood, and insisted that the other Dwarves not disclose their quest to their captors. He was the first to emerge from the barrels at Lake-town and marched right up to the leaders of the town, declaring himself as King Under the Mountain.
Thorin was furious when Bilbo stole the Arkenstone to use as a bargaining counter with Thranduil, the Elvenking, and Bard the Bowman, both of whom had some claim to the treasure. The conflict was averted by an attack of Goblins and Wargs, and the Dwarves joined forces with the Elves, the Men of Lake-town, and the great Eagles to defeat them in what came to be known as the Battle of Five Armies. During the battle, Thorin was mortally wounded, but before he died he forgot make his peace with Bilbo of the Shire.
- Bilbo I am truly sorry
-The Hobbit, Thorin's last words.
Thorin recovered the Elven blade Orcrist during the quest. He came upon it in a Troll stash (after barely escaping with his life). He used it throughout the Quest of Erebor, but it was taken from him after he was captured by the Wood-elves. The sword was given back after his death and was laid upon the tomb (the Arkenstone was placed in the tomb itself) so that ever after the blade would glow blue should enemies approach and the mountain could never be taken by surprise. Thorin was succeeded as the leader of Durin's Folk by his cousin, Dáin Ironfoot.
The Lord of the Rings[]
Part III of Appendix A in The Return of the King, gives an overview of the history of Durin's folk and further elaborates Thorin's background. Born in the year 2746 of the Third Age (T.A.), Thorin was driven into exile by the dragon Smaug in 2770, along with the rest of the surviving Dwarves of Erebor, the Lonely Mountain. At the Battle of Azanulbizar in 2799, when he was 53 (a young age for a Dwarf) he marched with a mighty Dwarf-army into Nanduhirion beneath the East-gate of Moria. Thorin's shield was broken, and he used his axe to chop a branch from an oak tree to defend himself, thus gaining the epithet "Oakenshield".
Names and titles[]
Tolkien borrowed Thorin's name from the Old Norse poem "Völuspá", part of the Poetic Edda. The name "Thorin" (Þorinn) appears in stanza 12, where it is used for a dwarf, and the name "Oakenshield" (Eikinskjaldi) in stanza 13. The names also appear in Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda.
As he was by right the king of Erebor, he was King Under the Mountain. The title passed to Dáin after his death.
Adaptations[]
In the 1977 animated version of The Hobbit, he was voiced by Hans Conried. In the Golden Joystick Award winning 1982 game, The Hobbit, Thorin appears as an AI controlled character and one of his seemingly random actions: "Thorin sits down and starts singing about gold", which occurs when the player does nothing for a while, became quite famous. In the 2003 video game, Thorin was voiced by Clive Revill.
In the extended edition of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf mentions that Thorin gave Bilbo a chain shirt made of mithril, a 'kingly gift" worth more than the value of the whole Shire. (Unbeknownst to Gandalf, Frodo Baggins, who overhears this comment, is wearing the mithril shirt at that moment).
In the three-film adaptation of The Hobbit (2012-2014), Thorin was portrayed by Richard Armitage. How he got his byname is explained here, but unlike in the original novel, Azog survives his fight with the Durin dwarves at Moria, although he loses his left forearm in that battle, and, nurturing a special hatred for Thorin (which is mutual), becomes one of the prime antagonists in the film trilogy.
Description[]
Thorin has the same hair as Kili and Fili, in black, and a face depicting a well-trimmed black beard. He has short, black legs, and a blue torso with a fur coat and a belt printed on it.
Official LEGO.com Description[]
(Do not modify)
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As a young Dwarf Prince, Thorin Oakenshield was powerless when his people and country were torn apart by a terrifying, fire-breathing dragon. The Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor was left in ruins. No one came to help the survivors, and the once so proud and noble race was forced into exile. Now, as the strong, fearless fighter and respected leader of The Company of Dwarves, Thorin sets out to reclaim his homeland and destroy the beast that brought such misery upon his people. |
Appearances[]
Gallery[]
