- "It was a dwarf with a blue beard tucked into a golden belt, very bright eyes under his dark-green hood."
- —The Hobbit describing Dwalin
Dwalin was one of the Dwarves who traveled with Bilbo and Gandalf as a member of Thorin and Company on the quest to regain the Lonely Mountain from the Dragon Smaug. He was the brother of Balin and the youngest son of Fundin.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Born in TA 2772, two years after the dragon Smaug had desolated Erebor, Dwalin was the son of Fundin and younger brother of Balin. After fighting in the Battle of Azanulbizar at the age of 27, Dwalin accompanied Thráin II and Thorin Oakenshield to settle peacefully in the northern Ered Luin.
Later in TA 2841, Dwalin, along with his brother Balin, and a few others accompanied Thráin when he left the Ered Luin on a Quest to reclaim Erebor. The small party was dogged by the emissaries of Sauron. In TA 2845, Thráin was captured one night when he and his companions sheltered under the eaves of Mirkwood from a black rain. After a fruitless search for their king, the Dwarves gave up and returned to Thorin to inform him the news.
Quest of Erebor[]
Dwalin was the first Dwarf to arrive, alone, at Bag End when the unexpected party planned by Thorin and Gandalf began at Bilbo Baggins' hobbit hole. Wearing a dark-green hood and a golden belt, he walked into Bilbo's home as if expected, which greatly surprised Bilbo. Soon Balin arrived, and he and Dwalin sat talking while Bilbo kept answering the door for the arrival of more and more Dwarves. Later, when Bilbo griped aloud in his kitchen about the lack of help in setting out refreshments, Dwalin and Balin were the first (followed by Fíli and Kíli) to lend a hand. Later still, when the Dwarves filled Bag End with music, Dwalin played on a viol as big as himself.[1] Dwalin lent a green hood and cloak to Bilbo when they set out on their journey.
Graham McTavish as Dwalin in The Hobbit films
After Thorin's Company reclaimed the mountain from Smaug, Dwalin fought alongside his companions in the Battle of Five Armies. He survived the battle, and later received his fourteenth share of Smaug's hoard. He chose to live afterwards in Erebor under the rule of Dáin II Ironfoot, Thorin's cousin and now King under the Mountain.
Later life[]
Dwalin appears not to have joined his brother Balin's expedition to resettle Moria in TA 2989, meaning he was not among those who lost their lives there when the colony was overrun by Orcs five years later. He was one of seven of the ten Dwarves of Thorin's company who were still living in Erebor when Frodo came to Rivendell in TA 3018, as reported by Glóin. After the War of the Ring was over, resulting in the defeat of Sauron and the destruction of the One Ring, Dwalin lived there throughout his life in the Fourth Age in Middle-earth and passed away in FO 91 at the great age of 340, considered later than any other known date of death for a member of Thorin and Company.[2][3]
Dwalin's family tree[]
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In adaptations[]
Dwalin (1977)
Rankin/Bass films[]
In the 1977 Rankin/Bass animated version of The Hobbit, Dwalin was voiced by Jack DeLeon, and though only having one line at the Side-door of Lonely Mountain saying to Thorin "Well what know?" and it is unknown whether he survived the Battle of Five Armis.
The Hobbit film trilogy[]
In Peter Jackson's The Hobbit film trilogy (2012 - 2014), he was portrayed by Scottish actor Graham McTavish. The studio released the following statement regarding Dwalin in the trilogy:
Dwalin in the pantry at Bag End
Renowned as a great warrior, Dwalin speaks his mind plainly and is not one to suffer fools lightly. Fiercely loyal, he was Thorin Oakenshield's staunchest supporter with an unshakeable belief in his friend's leadership. A powerful and bruising fighter, Dwalin has a natural tendency to distrust anyone who is not a Dwarf and is particularly suspicious of Elves. Proud, brave and one of the tallest of the Dwarves, Dwalin will bow to none but those who have earned his respect.
A younger Dwalin (with a mohawk) is shown in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey fighting alongside Thorin at the Battle of Azanulbizar, dueling a Gundabad captain.
During the events of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Dwalin's weapons are stripped from him after being captured by the Wood-elves of Mirkwood. Following the company's escape and their encounter with Bard the Bowman, Dwalin openly voices his mistrust of Bard; suggesting that they throw him overboard and take his boat by force. He later equips himself with a large two-handed mace from Lake-town's armory for the raid on the Lonely Mountain.
In The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Dwalin, along with the other dwarves, follow Thorin as they barricade themselves inside Erebor. After Dain's army arrives and begins to fight Azog's huge Orc army, Thorin refuses to aid his cousin. Dwalin tries to persuade Thorin to aid them, saying that Thorin is less of a man than he has even been. Dwalin then follows Thorin, Fili, and Kili to Ravenhill to fight Azog. He witnesses Fili's death, and later comes to Bilbo's aid and fights off the Orcs. Dwalin then bows to Thorin's body after the battle. He is last seen with the rest of the company saying farewell to Bilbo.
Each of The Hobbit films' actors had a voice in the nature and design of their own weaponry. Graham McTavish, who plays Dwalin, named the Dwarf's twin battle axes Grasper and Keeper; when first shooting tests for Dwalin, McTavish said, "This one grasps your soul, this one keeps it" in regard to the axes.
Voice dubbing actors[]
| Foreign Language | Voice dubbing artist |
| Spanish (Latin America) | Enrique Cervantes |
| Spanish (Spain) | Gonzalo Abril |
| Portuguese (Brazil) (Television/DVD) | Ronaldo Júlio |
| Italian (Italy) | Bruno Conti |
| German | Tilo Schmitz |
| French (France) | Philippe Catoire |
| Czech Republic | Tomáš Karger |
| Slovak | Milan Bahúl |
| Hungarian | Attila Epres |
| Polish | Jan Janga-Tomaszewski |
Video games[]
In The Lord of the Rings Online, after Thorin's death, Gormr Doursmith took over Thorin's Halls' leadership but with his consequent defeat at the hands of Dwalin, Dwalin became Lord of the Longbeards in the Blue Mountains and Steward of Thorin's Halls. Before the War of the Ring, he led an expedition to Dourhands' territory, south of the city. Some members of his party fell ill to a strange disease, but were cured later by a fellow Longbeard who had discovered a cure at Dwalin's request. Eventually he discovered the source and stopped it, however he failed to prevent the resurrection of Skorgrim, the ancient King of the Dourhands. Under his leadership, the Longbeards recovered the region from the Dourhands. Dwalin says that he tries to rule the Halls as well as Thorin would in his tribute. He claims he hasn't seen his brother Balin for a while and also that he misses the Lonely Mountain.
In LEGO The Hobbit: The Video Game, Dwalin can use his hammer to push large Legos.
Behind the scenes[]
J.R.R. Tolkien borrowed the name from Dvalinn, a Dwarf from Norse mythology.
Contrary to belief among fans, nothing about Dwalin's life after the Quest of Erebor, save his date of death and the fact he continued to reside in the Lonely Mountain, is cited in any of Tolkien's works. Whether or not he had children is merely speculation, as none are listed for him in Gimli's genealogy.
Gallery[]
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Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Amharic | ዽዋሊን |
| Arabic | دوالين |
| Armenian | Դւալին |
| Assamese | ড্ৱালিন |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Дўалін |
| Bengali | ডোয়ালিন |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Дуалин |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 德瓦林 |
| Czech | Dvalin |
| Georgian | დვალინი |
| Greek | Ντουάλιν |
| Gujarati | દવાલિન |
| Hebrew | דוואלין |
| Hindi | ड्वलिन् |
| Japanese | ドワーリン |
| Kannada | ದ್ವಾಲಿನ್ |
| Kazakh | Дуалін (Cyrillic) Dvalin (Latin) |
| Korean | 드와 린 |
| Kurdish | Diwalîn (Kurmanji) |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Дwалин |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Двалин |
| Marathi | ड्वलिन |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Дүалин |
| Nepalese | ड्वलिन् |
| Norwegian | Dvalin |
| Pashto | ضوالین |
| Persian | ضوالین |
| Punjabi | ਡਵਾਲਿਨ |
| Russian | Двалин |
| Sanskrit | ड्वलिन् |
| Serbian | Дwалин (Cyrillic) Dwalin (Latin) |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Дwалин |
| Tamil | ட்வளின் |
| Telugu | ద్వాలిన్ |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Двалін |
| Urdu | ضوالین ? |
| Uzbek | Дwалин (Cyrillic) Dwalin (Latin) |
| Yiddish | דוואַלין |
| Thorin and Company | |
|---|---|
| Thorin II • Balin • Dwalin • Fíli • Kíli • Dori • Nori • Ori • Óin • Glóin • Bifur • Bofur • Bombur • Gandalf • Bilbo Baggins | |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Hobbit, Chapter I: "An Unexpected Party"
- ↑ The Hobbit
- ↑ The Complete Guide to Middle-earth