On the interactive atlas
Coordinates shown here are approximate, marking this place on the shared atlas map for orientation rather than cartography. It sits on the Third Age layer.
View on the interactive atlas →Geography
A wooden town raised on piles in the Long Lake, trading with the Dwarves of Erebor and the Elves of Mirkwood.
History
Prospered on trade until Smaug destroyed it in 2941; rebuilt and led afterward by Bard, who became King of Dale.
People & inhabitants
Men of Esgaroth, descendants of the people of Dale.
Significance
Here the dragon meets his end, and here the theme of greed and its consequences is dramatized by the Master’s cowardice.
Events here
Figures of this place
CharacterBilbo Baggins
A respectable Shire hobbit who is swept into the quest of Erebor and becomes the first hobbit to bear the One Ring.
CharacterSmaug
The great dragon who took the Lonely Mountain, hoarded its treasure, and was slain by Bard the Bowman.
CharacterGandalf
A Wizard of the Istari, keeper of the Elven-ring Narya, and the chief architect of the resistance to Sauron.
Sources
The Hobbit · 1937
Published in Tolkien’s lifetime. The primary narrative of Bilbo’s journey.
The Lord of the Rings · 1954–55
Three volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King.
