Overview
Thorin is a claimant king driven by a sense of inherited wrong. His dignity and skill are real; so is the dragon-sickness that nearly destroys him, and his reconciliation with Bilbo gives The Hobbit its emotional climax.
- Ancestry
- Son of Thráin and grandson of Thrór, of the line of Durin.
Biography
Exile of a king
Thorin grew up in exile after Smaug took Erebor. He earned the name Oakenshield when he used an oak branch as a shield at the Battle of Azanulbizar.
The quest
In 2941 he led thirteen Dwarves and Bilbo toward Erebor. At the Lonely Mountain he faced Smaug, then claimed the treasure and refused to share it.
Ruination and redemption
His greed sparked a siege that was broken by an Orc army. He fought in the Battle of Five Armies, fell, and with his dying words made peace with Bilbo.
Character
Personality
- Proud
- Brave
- Proud to a fault
- Capable
- Susceptible to dragon-sickness
Abilities & limits
Strengths
- Leadership
- Battle-craft
Limitations
- Obsession with gold and birthright
- Contempt for diplomacy
Deeds
- Led the quest for Erebor
- Survived the Battle of Azanulbizar
- Reclaimed the Lonely Mountain
- Died reconciling with Bilbo
Relationships
Places
In the histories
Artifacts
Appearances
hobbit
Leader of the company throughout
Sources
The Hobbit · 1937
Published in Tolkien’s lifetime. The primary narrative of Bilbo’s journey.
Related entries
CharacterBilbo Baggins
A respectable Shire hobbit who is swept into the quest of Erebor and becomes the first hobbit to bear the One Ring.
CharacterBalin
A wise and kindly Dwarf of Thorin’s company who later led a doomed attempt to recolonise Moria.
CharacterThráin II
Father of Thorin Oakenshield, captured and tormented by Sauron, from whom Sauron took a Dwarf-ring.
CharacterThrór
Grandfather of Thorin and King under the Mountain before Smaug, later slain by the Orc Azog.