Thorin Oakenshield (Thorin II) is a fictional character inJ. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novelThe Hobbit. Thorin is the leader ofthe Company ofDwarves who aim to reclaim the Lonely Mountain fromSmaug thedragon. He is the son of Thráin II, grandson of Thrór, and becomes King ofDurin's Folk during their exile fromErebor. Thorin's background is further elaborated in Appendix A of Tolkien's 1955 novelThe Return of the King, and inUnfinished Tales.

Commentators have noted that Thorin isOld Norse both in name and character, being surly, illiberal,^[1] independent, proud, aristocratic, and like all Dwarves greedy for gold. Tolkien was aRoman Catholic; from aChristian perspective, Thorin exemplifies thedeadly sin ofavarice, but is able to free himself from it at the time of his death. This deathbed conversion has been compared to the moral transformation ofEbenezer Scrooge inCharles Dickens'sA Christmas Carol.

Thorin appears in Peter Jackson'sThe Hobbit film series, in theRankin/Bass animated version, and in the 1982 game ofthe same name.

InThe Hobbit, Thorin, a Dwarf-King in exile andtwelve other Dwarves visitedBilbo Baggins at his home inthe Shire. The wizardGandalf had advised Thorin and the other dwarves to hire Bilbo as aburglar to help them steal their treasure back from thedragonSmaug. Smaug had attacked the Dwarves's mountain,Erebor (also known as the Lonely Mountain), about 150 years before, and had taken both the mountain and the dwarves' treasure. Thorin was determined to get the treasure back. He especially wanted the Arkenstone, the Heart of the Mountain, which was an heirloom of the dwarves' Kingdom.^{[T 1]}

On their journey, the dwarves and Bilbo were taken captive by a band oftrolls; Thorin was the only dwarf not to be taken unawares. After Gandalf rescued the company (letting dawn turn the trolls to stone), they opened the trolls' lair. Thorin found the Elven bladeOrcrist in the trolls' cache.^{[T 2]} Later, Thorin used Orcrist to fightgoblins in the tunnels beneath theMisty Mountains. While the rest of the company battled the goblins, Bilbo found amagic ring in a tunnel under the Misty Mountains and used it to escape from the creature Gollum and from the goblins.^{[T 3]}

When the Dwarves were captured by theWood-elves ofMirkwood, Thorin insisted that the others not disclose their quest to their captors.^{[T 4]} Bilbo, invisible with his magic ring, evaded capture and organised the company's escape, which they accomplished by floating in barrels out of the Wood-elves' fastness. When Thorin emerged from his barrel atLake-town, he marched up to the town's leaders and identified himself as King Under the Mountain.^{[T 5]}

With provisions from Lake-town, Thorin led the company to Erebor.^{[T 6]} Seeing that Smaug was not there, the Dwarves reclaimed some of the treasure; Thorin gave Bilbo "a small coat of mail" made ofmithril as the first installment of the payment due for his services.^{[T 7][a]} The Dwarves then learnt from the ancientraven Roäc that Smaug had been killed:Bard the Bowman had managed to shoot Smaug as the dragon was in the process of destroying Lake-town.^{[T 9]}

Faced with demands fromThranduil the Elvenking and Bard for a fair share of the treasure to be distributed to the Wood-elves and the men of Lake-town, Thorin refused to acknowledge their right to any of the hoard. He fortified the Mountain against his new rivals and sent to his cousinDáin Ironfoot for reinforcements.^{[T 9]} Thorin was furious when he discovered that Bilbo had stolen the Arkenstone to use as a bargaining chip, and he sent him from the Mountain. Conflict amongst the dwarves, men, and elves was averted only by an invasion of goblins andwargs, whereupon the Dwarves joined forces with the Wood-elves, the men of Lake-town, and the greateagles in the Battle of Five Armies.^{[T 10]}

During the battle, Thorin was mortally wounded, but he made his peace with Bilbo before he died. When Thorin died, he was buried with the Arkenstone. Orcrist was laid upon his tomb. The blade would glow blue if Orcs should approach; thus, they could not take the Mountain by surprise. Thorin was succeeded as leader of Durin's Folk by his cousin Dáin.^{[T 11]}

Part III of Appendix A inThe Return of the King gives an overview of the history of Durin's Folk and more of Thorin's background. When Thorin was 53 (young for a Dwarf), he marched with a mighty dwarf-army against the orcs ofMoria. After the battle he led his people to establish a foothold in theBlue Mountains west of the Shire.^{[T 12]}

Unfinished Tales elaborates on Thorin's reasons for accepting Bilbo into his company. As depicted in the story "The Quest of Erebor", Thorin met with Gandalf inBree shortly before the quest began. Gandalf persuaded him that stealth, rather than force, was needed to infiltrate Erebor; they would therefore need a burglar. Gandalf feared thatSauron could use Smaug as a weapon, and was concerned that Thorin's pride and quick temper would ruin the mission to destroy thedragon. He thought that Bilbo would be a calming influence on Thorin, as well as a genuinely valuable addition to the company. Thorin, who did not think much of Hobbits, reluctantly agreed, calculating that Bilbo's presence would be a small price to pay for Gandalf's help.^{[T 13]}

Tolkien adopted Thorin's names from theDvergatal, the list of Dwarves, in theOld Norse poem "Völuspá", which is part of thePoetic Edda.^[3] The name "Thorin" (Þorinn) appears in stanza 12, where it is used for adwarf, and the name "Oakenshield" (Eikinskjaldi) in stanza 13. The name "Thorin" ultimately derives from that of the Norse godThor; it meansdarer orbold one.^[4][5] The names also appear inSnorri Sturluson'sProse Edda.^[6]

Dwarfs inGermanic folklore are skilled in metalwork, including making weapons, ships, rings and jewellery; they are knowledgeable, strong, and turn to stone in sunlight. They are characterised as having a strong association with gold, mining, wealth, living underneath mountains, and being long-lived, ungrateful, and getting into arguments about payment. The Tolkien criticTom Shippey suggests that Tolkien's "master-text" for his Dwarves was theHjaðningavíg. In that legend, the Dwarves are characterised byrevenge, as in "the long and painful vengeance of [Thorin's father] Thráin for [Thorin's grandfather] Thrór", and Shippey argues that Tolkien chose these qualities for his Dwarves.^[7][8]

Shippey writes that in chapters 6–8 ofThe Hobbit, Tolkien explores "with delight that surly,illiberal independence often the distinguishing mark ofOld Norse heroes".^[1] The philosophers Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson contrast the way Tolkien introduces hobbits, as "plain, quiet folks who never do anything unexpected", with how Thorin would have "introduce[d] himself, witharistocratic titles and songs of ancient lineage. We do not open the book to read of the wrath of Thorin the way we learn of the wrath ofAchilles in the opening lines ofThe Iliad."^[9]

The Tolkien scholarPaul H. Kocher writes that Tolkien characterises Dwarves as having the "cardinal sin of 'possessiveness'",^[10] seen sharply when Bard the Bowman makes what Bilbo feels is a fair offer for a share of Smaug's treasure, and Thorin flatly refuses, his "dwarfish lust for gold fevered by brooding on the dragon's hoard".^[10]

TheJesuit John L. Treloar, writing inMythlore, suggests that Tolkien, a Catholic, explores theseven deadly sins in his Middle-earth writings. He states that inThe Hobbit, both Smaug and Thorin exemplifyavarice, but respond to it differently. In his view, Smaug is evil and lets avarice destroy him, whereas Thorin, sharing the general weakness of Dwarves for this particular vice, nevertheless has sufficient good will to free himself of it at the time of his death.^[11]

Bassham and Bronson compare Thorin's deathbed "conversion" from hisgreed andpride, as he reconciles himself with Bilbo, toEbenezer Scrooge's "big moral transformation" from grumpymiserliness to generosity and cheerfulness inCharles Dickens's 1843 novellaA Christmas Carol.^[12]

In the1977 animated version ofThe Hobbit, Thorin is voiced byHans Conried.^[13]

In the 1985 Soviet television playThe Hobbit, Thorin was played byAnatoly Ravikovich.^[14]

InPeter Jackson's three-film adaptation ofThe Hobbit (2012–2014), Thorin is portrayed byRichard Armitage.^[15] The film adaptation adds to Thorin's quest an arch-enemy in the form of the villainousorc leader Azog,^[16] as well as a history of enmity with Thranduil, which began with a dispute between his grandfather Thrór and the Elvenking over the White Gems of Lasgalen.^[17][18] In his review, Erik Kain fromForbes wrote that Thorin stood out as a remarkable character with shades of dark and light, at once heroic and stubborn to a fault.^[19]

In the 1982 gameThe Hobbit Thorin appears as anAI 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.^[20] In the2003 video game, Thorin is voiced byClive Revill.^[21]

• Tolkien, J. R. R. (1937).Douglas A. Anderson (ed.).The Annotated Hobbit. Boston:Houghton Mifflin (published 2002).ISBN 978-0-618-13470-0.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954a).The Fellowship of the Ring.The Lord of the Rings. Boston:Houghton Mifflin.OCLC 9552942.
• Tolkien, J. R. R. (1955).The Return of the King.The Lord of the Rings. Boston:Houghton Mifflin.OCLC 519647821.
• Tolkien, J. R. R. (1980).Christopher Tolkien (ed.).Unfinished Tales. Boston:Houghton Mifflin.ISBN 978-0-395-29917-3.