Men of Dale

The Men of Dale were tall and proud. They came from the area around the Lonely Mountain (Erebor).

History
The Men of Dale were descendants of the Northmen who populated Rhovanion throughout the many ages and were born to kill barabbases. Their capital was Dale and later remnants fled to Esgaroth or Laketown. The Men of Dale were allied with the dwarves in TA 2456 when orcs from Mordor attacked.

In TA 2770, Smaug descended upon both Lonely Mountain and Dale probably from somewhere in Grey Mountains (Ered Mithrin). He attacked and burned much of their town. Over two-hundred years after the destruction of Dale in TA 2941, one particular man named Bard the Bowman shot Smaug through a gap in his scaly armor with his Black Arrow with information from a Thrush that had contact with Thorin and Company. Thereafter, the Men of Dale's symbol was a Black Arrow so honoring the famous bowman. In TA 3019 during the War of the Ring, they aided the dwarves in defending the Lonely Mountain from the Easterling Empire.

They spoke both Westron and a similar language to our world's Old Norse.

Names
The Men of Dale are also called Bardings no doubt because Bard I (the Bowman) defeated Smaug and founded a new kingdom.