Highlights
- Thráin II, father of Thorin Oakenshield, led his people through trials, exile, and war against Orcs to reclaim their lost kingdom.
- Thráin’s desire to reclaim Erebor from Smaug led to his capture by Orcs, driving him nearly mad before passing on vital information.
- Gandalf’s encounter with Thráin led to the events of The Hobbit, as he sought Thorin to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug.
The story of Thorin Oakenshield and his quest to reclaim the lost kingdom of Erebor from the dragon Smaug is the foundation for one of the greatest fantasy stories ever told: J. R. R. Tolkein’s The Hobbit. Centuries before Thorin’s company once again set foot in the halls of their ancestral home, however, his father led their people through some of the greatest trials in Dwarven history. Who was King Thráin II, the father of Thorin Oakenshield, and how did his actions shape the fate of the rest of Tolkien’s mythology?
Much like his son, Thráin exemplified the pride and resilience that defines the greatest of the Dwarves in Middle-Earth. He was born under the Halls of the Lonely Mountain, and enjoyed years of peace in that great kingdom. His father, Thror, was a great and powerful ruler, as well as a direct descendant of Durin the Deathless, a bloodline which Thráin carried with pride. As heir to the throne, Thráin married sometime before TA 2746, and fathered three children: Thorin, Frenin, and Dís. Under the reign of his father, Erebor flourished, even establishing prosperous trade with the nearby city of Dale.
This, of course, was all to change. The wealth of Erebor had grown immense, and the Dwarves had accrued a massive hoard of treasure and gold within the caves of the Lonely Mountain. In TA 2770, the dragon Smaug, the last great drake of the North, sought to claim the treasure for himself. He attacked Dale and Erebor, filling the streets with fire and burning a swath through the land that would later be known as the Desolation of Smaug. Unable to fend off his assault, Thror, Thráin, and their people abandoned their home-land and fled south as Smaug laid claim to the blood-soaked halls of their kingdom.
The War of the Dwarves and Orcs
Exiled from their homeland, Thráin and his father led their people south from the Lonely Mountain, eventually settling in the hilly region of Dunland. They were destitute, but with Thráin’s leadership, the Dwarves of Erebor survived in the wilderness for twenty years. Thror, unfortunately, was unable to come to terms with what he had lost. He grew restless, desperate to once again have some sort of wealth to his name. He soon elected to leave his people in search of the lost kingdom of Moria. At his parting, he left Thráin his Dwarven Ring of Power (one of the Seven), a key to a hidden door in the Lonely Mountain, and a map to find that door.
Thror journeyed to Moria alongside his faithful companion, Nár. When the two finally came to the eastern gates of Moria, they found them wide open. Nár urged Thror not to enter the mines, but Thror shrugged off his friend and ventured alone into the darkness in search of his birthright. For days, Nár waited outside the gate, until Thror’s body was suddenly thrown from the darkness, decapitated. The Orc chieftain Azog came forth, and announced that he had killed Thror. He allowed Nár to flee, ordering him to warn all other Dwarves of the fate that awaited if they dared to return to Moria.
Nár returned to the Dwarves in Dunland, and delivered the news of Thror’s horrible death. Enraged, Thráin rallied not only his people, but the six other Dwarf chieftans as well, gathering an army that launched a series of attacks against the many forces of Orcs who had stolen their kingdoms. Thus began the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, a conflict which lasted nine bitter years, culminating in a battle on the doorstep of Moria. At long last, Azog was slain, and Thráin and his people enjoyed a bittersweet victory against the Orcs that had wronged them.
How Did Thráin Meet Gandalf?
After the great battle, Thráin and his people returned to Dunland for some time, before eventually relocating to the Blue Mountains, west of the Shire. Here, the lost Dwarves of Erebor began to prosper again, cultivating a comfortable way of life far from the halls they once roamed. Unfortunately, much like his father, Thráin soon began to feel restless. While his people enjoyed the peace of their new life, Thráin strayed further and further into a desire to reclaim Erebor from Smaug. This desire was likely fueled by the Ring of Power that was now in Thráin’s possession, a change most keenly perceived by Thráin’s son Thorin.
After years of brooding and planning, Thráin gathered a group of companions and set out to re-enter the Lonely Mountain. This company included Balin and Dwalin, both of whom would later accompany Thorin on a similar quest in The Hobbit. This group of Dwarves was assailed by agents of Sauron during their journey, but they made it all the way into the dark forest of Mirkwood, mere miles from Erebor. One morning, however, the company awoke to find that Thráin had vanished, having set out on his own. The group searched the forest for days, but they soon had to accept the loss of their king and return home to the Blue Mountains.
While his companions embarked on the long trek back to their people, Thráin’s own journey proved tnothing short of disastrous. Wandering through the dense foliage of Mirkwood, the king was captured by Orcs and taken to the Necromancer’s (AKA Sauron) fortress in Dol Guldur. Here, he was tortured, and the Dwarven Ring of Power was taken from him. As Sauron’s power grew in Mirkwood, Thráin remained locked deep within the dungeons of his evil fortress.
Five years after Thráin’s capture, Gandalf the Grey journeyed to Dol Guldur out of suspicion of the dark power that seemed to dwell in its walls. He found no sign of Sauron (who did not yet wish to be found), but did discover Thráin. Ragged and beaten, the once-great king had been driven nearly mad by the evils of the Dark Lord. He could no longer remember his own name, or even the name of his son, but he did pass on the Key to Erebor and the map of the hidden door to Gandalf. Moments later, Thráin II, King Under the Mountain, succumbed to wounds and perished.
Gandalf would leave Dol Guldur with a new purpose. His meeting with Thráin would lead him to embark on one of the greatest stories ever told, and seek out Thorin Oakenshield to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug once and for all.
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