They’re a group of fourteen who set out from the Shire on a great journey - a longshot quest to
recover their treasure and homeland from the dragon Smaug. And while some would die in the
climactic battle of their tale, others would live many long years - even beyond the War of the Ring.
Today, on Nerd of the Rings, we cover Thorin’s Company after The Hobbit.
While Thorin’s company of dwarves - plus a hobbit - would be organized, and often accompanied by,
the wizard Gandalf the Grey, the company itself typically refers to the fourteen core members
and not the wizard. It was in part to avoid the unlucky number of 13 that Bilbo is chosen to be
part of the company, so it seems Gandalf was never truly counted among their number. And
since we’ve quite thoroughly covered all of Gandalf’s life and travels in one of
the most popular videos here on the channel, we’ll stick primarily with the dwarves today.
As with Boromir in last week’s video on the Fellowship after The Lord of the Rings,
we’ll first acknowledge those whose final days came during The Hobbit itself. Thorin is mortally
wounded in the Battle of Five Armies, and as he lay wounded upon the battlefield,
his sister-sons Kili and Fili die defending their uncle.
Bilbo, who was knocked unconscious during the battle while wearing the ring,
is discovered in time to come to the King in his last moments:
He looked up as Bilbo came beside him. “Farewell, good thief,” he said. “I go
now to the halls of waiting to sit beside my fathers, until the world
is renewed. Since I leave now all gold and silver, and go where it is of little worth,
I wish to part in friendship from you, and I would take back my words and deeds at the Gate.”
Bilbo knelt on one knee filled with sorrow. “Farewell, King under the Mountain!” he said.
“This is a bitter adventure, if it must end so; and not a mountain of gold can amend it. Yet I am
glad that I have shared in your perils—that has been more than any Baggins deserves.”
“No!” said Thorin. “There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some
courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above
hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. But sad or merry, I must leave it now. Farewell!”
Then Bilbo turned away, and he went by himself, and sat alone wrapped in a blanket,
and he wept until his eyes were red and his voice was hoarse.
Thorin would be laid to rest deep within
Erebor. Bard would place the Arkenstone upon Thorin’s chest and Thranduil would lay Orcrist,
which had been taken from him in Mirkwood, upon Thorin’s tomb. It is said that ever after
the sword would gleam in the dark if foes approached the Kingdom Under the Mountain.
With the deaths of Thorin and his only heirs Fili and Kili, the kingship passes
to Thorin’s cousin Dain Ironfoot. After his adventure, Bilbo would return to his home
in the Shire after spending Yule at the house of Beorn and spending some time in Rivendell.
Seven years later, (2949 TA) Gandalf would once again visit Bilbo at Bag End,
this time accompanied by a single dwarf - Balin. Bilbo notices that not only
has Balin’s beard grown several inches, but that he has richer attire, like a jeweled
belt and gold buttons on his waistcoat. It is through Balin’s visit that Bilbo learns that
Erebor has once again grown prosperous under King Dain.
Balin and the other surviving dwarves would dwell within the kingdom they had fought to
retake for some time. However, not all of Thorin’s Company would be content to
live out their days in the Lonely Mountain. The first of the remaining Company to leave
Erebor is none other than Balin himself - who launches yet another quest.
We find out at the Council of Elrond in The Lord of the Rings, that there were many among
Durin’s Folk who longed to return to their people’s original home - Khazad-dum. King
Dain would not support Balin’s expedition and counsels against such an endeavor - saying it
was not yet time for Moria to be retaken. However, Balin would not be dissuaded and
he sets out on his expedition in 2989 TA - 46 years after the events of The Hobbit.
Balin is joined by Oin, Ori, and many other dwarves, making their way to the Dimril
Dale. After a brief battle with orcs of the Misty Mountains, they enter the East Gate of Moria - the
location of the earlier Battle of Azanulbizar. The group would eventually come to the 21st Hall of
Khazad-dum, and Balin would set up his throne in the Chamber of Mazarbul, becoming Lord of Moria.
Over the coming years, the colony would not only thrive, but succeed in reclaiming many
lost treasures of the dwarves such as Durin’s Axe and some of their precious mithril. However,
they would not discover the Ring of Thror - the dwarven ring of power that had passed
down through the line of kings from Durin III of the Second Age. Little did Balin know, this Ring
of Power had in fact been taken by Sauron from Thrain during his incarceration in Dol Guldur.
Alas, the Colony of Moria would not last. One day, five years into his lordship,
Balin travels out of the East Gate to look in the Mirrormere when he
is shot by an orc archer. While his fellow dwarves would recover his body,
it was too late to save Balin, who dies on that 10th day of November 2994 TA at the age of 231.
Balin’s body would be taken back to the Chamber of Mazarbul, where it is placed in a tomb. Oin and
Ori are among those to have survived until this point in the colony’s history. With orcs coming
from the East, Oin goes with a group of dwarves to find escape through the West Gate. However,
they open the doors to find the water is up to the door itself, and a monster is awaiting them.
The Watcher in the Water takes Oin, claiming the life of the second of our dwarves from The Hobbit.
Out of Oin’s group, only four return from the west-gate. They would join
Ori and the other survivors in fortifying themselves within the Chamber of Mazarbul,
where they would await an inescapable doom. During their time awaiting the inevitable last stand,
Ori writes the final pages of the Book of Mazarbul, documenting the last days of the
dwarven colony in hopes that someday, it would be found and their story would
be read. Like Balin and Oin before him, Ori meets his end in the dark of Moria.
Indeed, it was because of the long silence out of Moria that Gloin and Gimli would end
up in Rivendell. We’ll talk more about Gloin shortly, but they are sent to Rivendell to
seek Elrond’s advice in part due to the unknown fate of Balin’s Colony.
Ori’s book would indeed be discovered some 25 years later by the Fellowship
of the Ring. After Gandalf reads the final pages,
he gives the book itself to Gimli, so that he may one day return it to King Dain,
so that their questions regarding the fate of Balin and his people may finally be answered.
While Balin, Oin, and Ori would depart Erebor, the remaining seven dwarves from
Thorin’s Company would remain living in the Lonely Mountain. As Bilbo deduced from Balin,
they would all indeed live wealthy lives after the quest, being well
rewarded for their part in reclaiming the dwarven treasure from the dragon.
They would all be still alive and well when, in 3018 TA,
a messenger comes to King Dain from Mordor, inquiring about Baggins of the Shire. The
messenger offers Dain the remaining three dwarven rings of power - and the realm of
Moria - in return for information about Bilbo. Dain however, turns him away. He would then send
Gloin and his son Gimli to Rivendell for Elrond’s council regarding the messenger,
the fate of the Moria colony, and to warn Bilbo that the enemy was looking for him.
Gloin’s report at the Council of Elrond would give much of what we know from the
later lives of the dwarves, including the fact that Bombur had now become so vast that he was
unable to move from couch to table without the aid of six young dwarves to lift him.
Gloin’s son Gimli would of course join the Fellowship of the Ring and we are left to
believe that, following the council, Gloin would return to Erebor, where war would await them. For
Sauron would send a great force of Easterlings to Erebor in his northern campaign against
the free peoples of Middle-earth. It’s entirely possible that the surviving seven dwarves - well,
maybe not Bombur given his lack of mobility - but it’s entirely possible that the other six
dwarves - Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Dori, Nori, and Dwalin would participate in the Battle of Dale.
Eventually, the dwarves of Erebor and Men of Dale would succeed in
repelling the forces of Sauron, and be left to live in peace.
We are told that Gloin dies in the 15th year of the Fourth Age, living to 253 years old. Notably,
this would seem to confirm that Gloin would reunite with his son
for many years before his death - no doubt hearing all about Gimli’s own adventures.
The final days of Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori,and Nori are not known to us. We only know that they
would pass sometime prior to the year 91 FoA, for that is the year that Dwalin himself would die,
the last of all the dwarves of the Company. Dwalin lives to a rather impressive 340 years old.
Amidst the endings for those of the company is the final days of its last member - Bilbo
Baggins. While I’ve already made a video here on the channel covering Bilbo’s life and travels,
it’s worth noting the continued connections Bilbo had to his fellow members of the Quest of Erebor.
Not only would Balin visit Bilbo in Bag End, but we are told in the years between the Hobbit and
The Lord of the Rings Bilbo would have many strange visitors - like dwarves and of course
Gandalf. And that he would also leave the Shire for journeys from time to time. When
the time came for him to turn 111, he had three dwarven companions who delivered the
presents he had ordered from Erebor and Dale to give away at his birthday party.
The three dwarves would accompany Bilbo as he leaves the Shire, making his way to Rivendell. As
he would later tell Frodo, after a short rest in Imladris, he would go on with the dwarves to Dale,
visiting the dwarves of Erebor, and site of his greatest adventure for the final time.
Bilbo would certainly have a fondness for his dwarven friends, and in a moment in the books
that could be passed by so easily, we see an example of his attachment.
From a locked drawer, smelling of moth-balls, he took out an old cloak and hood. They had
been locked up as if they were very precious, but they were so patched and weatherstained
that their original colour could hardly be guessed: it might have been dark green.
In these moments, before he leaves Bag End for the last time and gives
so many of his possessions away, Bilbo takes with him the cloak and hood given
to him by Dwalin as he set out on his very first adventure 60 years earlier.
as always I want to say a huge thank you to all my patreon and YouTube supporters who make this
channel possible Tom de Bombadil 19 listen me the Cinda Rabbi Rob Thomas Charles Leisure CCDC
red team Joe Tepper Leo vittori Sky carcass slide belts Dane ragnarson Berto Berg Graham
der cut the dark-haired one Weiland Micah Wu and Debbie if you enjoyed the artwork in this video
check out the artists in the description to purchase prints of their great work
for yourself thanks so much for watching and we'll see you next time on nerd of the Rings