The Lonely Mountain, known in Sindarin as Erebor, referred to both a mountain in northern Rhovanion and the subterranean Dwarven city contained within it. In the latter half of the Third Age, it became the greatest city in Middle-earth.
It was located northeast of Mirkwood, near the Grey Mountains, and was the source of the River Running.
Contents
History
Third Age
Durin's Folk discovered the mineral wealth of the Lonely Mountain and the colony became the ancestral home of the King under the Mountain. By TA 1999, it had become a Dwarven stronghold, where the Dwarves became a numerous and prosperous people. In this time, they became very rich and amassed a large amount of gold and treasure which included the jewel known as the Arkenstone. Thrain I used the Arkenstone as a symbol of his rule, and his sons and grandsons under him who were to follow.
The Front Gate of Erebor as seen in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
For two-hundred and eleven years the kingdom advanced, expanded, prospered, and endured until Thorin I abandoned it to join his kin in the Grey Mountains, and the Lonely Mountain was abandoned for three-hundred and eighty years. However, the Dwarves of the Grey Mountains began receiving attacks from the dragons that still lived in those mountains, and became embroiled in a costly war against them, which forced the Dwarves to abandon the Grey Mountains in TA 2590. They went their separate ways: Grór and his followers settled in the Iron Hills, and Thrór with his followers went to the Lonely Mountain.[2]
Under Siege
While Thorin Oakenshield was out hunting one day in TA 2770, Smaug flew in from the northern mountains and attacked the Lonely Mountain. After laying waste to both Erebor and the neighboring town of Dale, Smaug made the mountain his domain and hoarded the kingdom's wealth for himself. Thráin II and several companions escaped through a secret door. For many years thereafter the Dwarves lived in exile in the Blue Mountains until, seemingly by chance, Gandalf met Thorin in Bree, where together they planned to reclaim the mountain.[3]
Quest for Erebor
The Dwarves overlooking the Lonely Mountain and the city of Dale
In TA 2941, Bilbo Baggins and Thorin's company traveled to the Lonely Mountain to regain the treasure Smaug had stolen. Set into the side of the mountain was a secret door, five feet high and wide enough for three to walk through abreast. Gandalf had managed to obtain the door's key, which fit a keyhole which could be found only when the setting sun and the last moon of autumn (also known as Durin's Day) would mingle their light upon the keyhole. It took many days to find the door, and luckily for Thorin and Company, they did not arrive on Durin's Day so they had plenty of time to enter the mountain.
Smaug was eventually slain, shot out of the sky by a well-aimed arrow at his only weak spot by Bard the Bowman, a man of Lake-town and a descendant of Girion, the last King of Dale. He was later declared king of the restored Kingdom of Dale. Thorin thus reclaimed the mountain, but the elves of Mirkwood and men of Lake-town sought a part of the treasure, which Thorin refused to share. Dáin II Ironfoot came to Thorin's cousin, and the three races almost broke into war, until a host of Orcs and wolves attacked, eager to break the strength of all three kingdoms. Dwarves, elves, and men, together with the Eagles, battled the Orcs in what became known as the Battle of Five Armies. During the battle, Thorin was mortally injured, and the titles of King under the Mountain and King of Durin's Folk passed to Dáin.
War of the Ring
Battle of Dale
Sauron‘s forces preparing to attack Erebor
The demise of Smaug was not to be the last of the Lonely Mountain's many troubles. In TA 3019 on the 17th of March, a horde of Easterling soldiers from Rhûn swarmed over the Redwater river, opening up a second front in the northern theater of the War of the Ring. The sheer force of the feared and renowned Easterlings crushed the Men of Dale and routed their forces, which fell back to the protection of the Lonely Mountain.
Kings Brand and Dáin ready to defend their kingdoms
The dwarves and men fought a pitched battle against the invaders, in which Dain and Brand, the then-King of Dale, were killed, though their forces eventually emerged victorious. The impenetrable gates and walls of the Lonely Mountain, buttressed and secured with advanced, complex, and resilient dwarven stonecraft and smithwork, easily withstood the siege equipment of the Easterlings. The Lonely Mountain was a key strong-point, and gave its defenders great tactical leverage against the attackers; they were able to shoot arrows and fling stones down below practically free of reprisal. The many years spent improving the Lonely
The last resistance against the forces of Sauron
Mountain's defences had paid off, and the defenders outlasted the Easterlings in the siege. The Easterlings then withdrew, suffering disproportionate casualties because of their botched campaign and the difficulty in combating dwarven technology, weapons, armor, and defenses.
Fourth Age
As Dáin was killed during the War of the Ring, lordship of Erebor passed to his son Thorin III Stonehelm, who ruled well into the Fourth Age. During this time, Dwarves from the Lonely Mountain helped rebuild cities in Gondor and the fortress of the Hornburg, and some went to the newly established Dwarven colony in the Glittering Caves where Gimli was lord.
Portrayals in adaptations
The Hobbit film trilogy
Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy (2012-2014) featured computer-generated shots of the Lonely Mountain, Dale, and other Dwarven cities.
Gallery
.jpg "Thorin's map (close up).jpg (36 KB)")
Translations
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Eensame Berg |
| Albanian | Mal i Vetmuar |
| Arabic | الجبل الوحيد |
| Armenian | Միայնակ լեռ |
| Azerbaijani | Tənha Dağ |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Адзінокая Гара (Lonely Mountain)
Эрэбар (Erebor) |
| Bengali | লোনলি মাউন্টেন |
| Bosnian | Usamljena planina |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Самотна планина (Lonely Mountain)
Еребор (Erebor) |
| Burmese | အထီးကျန်တောင်ကြီးတောင်ငယ် |
| Cambodian | ភ្នំឯកោ |
| Cebuano | Mingaw nga bukid |
| Chinese (Continental) | 孤山 |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 孤山 |
| Catalan | Muntanya Solitària |
| Croatian | Usamljena planina |
| Czech | Osamělá hora |
| Danish | Det Ensomme Bjerg |
| Dutch (Netherlands And Belgian) | Eenzame Berg |
| Esperanto | Soleca Monto |
| Estonian | Üksildane Mägi |
| Euskera | Mendi Bakartia |
| Filipino | Nag-iisang Bundok |
| Finnish | Yksinäinen vuori |
| French | Mont Solitaire |
| Frisian | Iensume Berch |
| Galician | Montaña Solitaria |
| Georgian | ეული მთა (Lonely Mountain)
ერებორი (Erebor) |
| German | Einsamer Berg |
| Greek | Μοναχικό Βουνό |
| Gujarati | લોન્લી માઉન્ટેન |
| Hawaiian | Mehameha Mauna |
| Hebrew | (Lonely Mountain) ההר הבודד
(Erebor) רבור |
| Haitian Creole | Mòn sèl |
| Hindi | सुुनसान पर्वत |
| Hmong | Roob kho siab |
| Hungarian | Magányos Hegy |
| Icelandic | Einmanna fjall |
| Indonesian | Gunung Sunyi |
| Irish Gaelic | Sliabh Uaigneach |
| Italian | Montagna Solitaria |
| Japanese | 孤独な山 (Lonely Mountain)
エレボール (Erebor) |
| Kannada | ಲೋನ್ಲಿ ಮೌಂಟೇನ್ |
| Kazakh | жалғыз тау (Cyrillic) Jalğız taw (Latin) |
| Korean | 외로운 산/에레보르 (Lonely Mountain)
에레보르 (Erebor) |
| Kurdish | Çiya bi tenę (Kurmanji Kurdish) |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | жалгыз тоо |
| Laotian | ພູເຂົາເປົ່າປ່ຽວດຽວດາຍ |
| Latin | Montem Sola |
| Latvian | Vientuļais Kalns |
| Lithuanian | Vienišąjį Kalną |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Осамена Планина |
| Maori | Maunga Mokemoke |
| Malaysian | Gunung Sepi |
| Maltese | Solitarju Muntanja ? |
| Marathi | एकाकी डोंगरावर |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | ганцаардаж уулын |
| Nepalese | एक्लो पहाड |
| Norwegian | Ensomfjellet |
| Occitan | Montanha Solitària |
| Persian | کوه تنهایی (Lonely Mountain)
اره بور (Erebor) |
| Polish | Samotna Góra |
| Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal) | Montanha Solitária |
| Punjabi | ਇਕੱਲੇ ਪਹਾੜੀ |
| Romanian | Muntele Singuratic |
| Romansh | Muntogna Solitari |
| Russian | Одинокая Гора |
| Scottish Gaelic | Aonaranach Bheinn |
| Serbian | Усамљена Планина (Cyrillic) Usamljena Planina (Latin) |
| Slovenian | Osamljena Gora |
| Slovak | Osamelú horu |
| Shona | Shurikirwa Gomo |
| Sindhi | اڪيلو جبل |
| Sinhalese | හුදකලා ගිරිය |
| Somalian | Cidlo Buurta |
| Spanish | Montaña Solitaria |
| Swedish | Ensamma Berget |
| Tajik Cyrillic | бекас Маунтин |
| Tamil | லோன்லி மலை |
| Telugu | లోన్లీ మౌంటైన్ |
| Thai | ภูเขาโลนลี่ (Lonely Mountain)
เอเรบอร์ (Erebor) |
| Turkish | Yalnız dağ |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Самотня гора (Lonely Mountain)
Еребор (Erebor) |
| Urdu | تنہا پہاڑ |
| Uzbek | Лонелй Моунтаин (Cyrillic) Yolg'iz tog ' (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Ngọn Cô Độc |
| Welsh | Mynydd Unig |
| Yiddish | עלנט באַרג |
| Dwarven Realms of Middle-earth throughout the Ages | |
|---|---|
| Years of the Trees: | Amon Rûdh | Belegost | Khazad-dûm | Mount Gundabad | Nogrod | Nulukkizdîn | Blue Mountains |
| First Age: | Amon Rûdh | Belegost | Khazad-dûm | Mount Gundabad | Nogrod | Nulukkizdîn | Iron Hills | Blue Mountains |
| Second Age: | Khazad-dûm | Belegost | Nogrod | Mount Gundabad | Blue Mountains | Iron Hills |
| Third Age: | Grey Mountains | Iron Hills | Khazad-dûm | Lonely Mountain | Blue Mountains | Dunland |
| Fourth Age: | Glittering Caves | Khazad-dûm | Lonely Mountain | Blue Mountains | Grey Mountains | Iron Hills |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands), "The Second Age"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "Durin's Folk"
- ↑ Unfinished Tales, Part Three: The Third Age, Chapter Three: "The Quest of Erebor"
