“The time of my thought is my own to spend” – a tribute to Dáin Ironfoot

Following a pair of relatively bleak and likely ill-considered posts, it’s about time to get back to some Tolkien, to some fun, and to something I actually know about.  Oh, and per the blog’s title….it’s time to finally delve deep (but not too deep or too greedily) into some Dwarvish love, Middle-Earth style.

I’ve loved the Dwarves of Middle-Earth for as long as I can remember.  The Elves are too alien, too foreign in their perceptions and their desires for me to relate to, as per their nature, they often seem wholly admirable or entirely pitiable (and don’t get me wrong, that’s a strength of their characterisation, not a criticism!).  Hobbits are sweet and some are admirable, but as a race, they’re too staid, too dull, for me.  And Men are…well, Men are Men.  Dwarves are flawed as well, sure, and funnily enough, they’re often flawed in ways that I don’t believe I share.  They are certainly greedy, and often quick to anger and slow to forgive.  They are suspicious, and they do not readily recognise good advice.  However, they’re also hard workers, and harder warriors.  Once their trust is gained, it is not easily lost.  And they are valiant, heroic, and perceptive of beauty – even if they do not readily display it.  Indeed, if it were not for this wiser, gentler side hidden beneath their doughty nature, I would find them difficult to like…..but as it is, they are entirely excellent.

Some day, I might just share a bunch of interesting Dwarven lore and fine Dwarven moments, as there is much of the former and many of the latter.  I’ll also probably take a look at the Legendarium’s most famous Dwarf….maybe even two or three looks.  I wanted to start, though, with an easier, less complex Dwarf, and one who represents nearly everything amazing about the Dwarves to me…namely, Dáin Ironfoot.

In truth, Dáin is an extremely minor character in the Legendarium.  Across The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, he has not more than a handful of lines – some of which occur in flashback during the Council of Elrond.  His role in The Hobbit is simply to provide tension during the siege of the Lonely Mountain, and stability following Thorin’s death.  In The Lord of the Rings, he is only ever mentioned by other characters, functioning as a minor precipitator and influencer upon the plot.

It is in the Appendices to The Lord of the Rings that we learn quite a bit more about Dáin’s life and death, and so it is there that we will start.  Indeed, it is perhaps pertinent to start even a little before Dáin’s entry into the Legendarium, with a quick recap of the War of the Dwarves and the Orcs.

Following Smaug’s taking of the Lonely Mountain in T.A.2770 (a good 249 years before the One Ring was destroyed, if your Middle Earth timelines are a little rusty), the Dwarves of Erebor had been lonely, dispossessed wanderers, and in T.A.2790, Thrór (grandfather of Thorin Oakenshield), half-crazed, travelled to Moria….which had been abandoned by the Dwarves for a good 800 years at that point.  Thrór was naturally captured, likely tormented, and definitely slain, and Azog – the Orcish leader who did the deed – had the ill sense to boast of it to Thrór’s travelling companion.  Driv.en to fury, the Dwarves of Thrór’s house declared war upon the Orcs in order to slay Azog, and from T.A.2793-2799, a bitter conflict was waged between the two.

At last, outside the eastern gate of Moria, the Battle of Azanulbizar was fought, where Azog showed himself.  The Dwarves were led by Thráin, Thrór’s son, and reinforced later in the battle by Dwarves from the Iron Hills led by Náin, a cousin of Thráin.  Though the battle went in the favour of the Dwarves, their losses were grievous indeed, and Náin himself was slain by Moria’s gate by Azog.  Seeing the battle turn against him, though, and being close to refuge within Moria, Azog turned to flee, and had he escaped then it seems unlikely the Dwarves would ever have had another chance for vengeance against him.

 Up the steps after him leaped a Dwarf with a red axe. It was Dáin Ironfoot, Náin’s son. Right before the doors he caught Azog, and there he slew him, and hewed off his head. That was held a great feat, for Dáin was then only a stripling in the reckoning of the Dwarves.

The Lord of the Rings: Appendix A; III – Durin’s Folk, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Thus enters Dáin into the history of Middle-Earth.  It is an incredible feat threefold, for Azog was the inciter of the Dwarves’ wrath, and Dáin had just seen his own father slain by him.  Further, to describe Dáin as a ‘stripling’ may even understate it somewhat.  We know that dwarves were well capable of living over 250 years during the Third Age…..and that Gimli, at the tender age of 62, was considered ‘too young’ to join Thorin’s company (to his own disappointment [for reference, Kíli, youngest of the company and direct kin to Thorin, was 77]).

How young was Dáin at the Battle of Azanulbizar?  Thirty-two.  Thirty.  Plus two.  We don’t know much about the Dwarvish ageing process….but it seems safe to say that, in human years, Dáin must have been 15-20ish.  Old enough to be fully grown, and maybe old enough to have voted.  Maybe.  And Azog  was no pushover, either –  he is described as being “…a great Orc with a huge iron- clad head, and yet agile and strong” – who was able to win the fear and command of many Orcs.

And, though that might be the mightiest deed of the entire War, Dáin goes ahead and outdoes himself.  Following the killing of Azog on the very threshold of Moria, Dáin catches a glimpse of what lies beyond in those shadowed halls.  As the Orcs fled and the Dwarves came together to ponder their bitter, loss-filled triumph, Thráin tries to rally the Dwarves into entering Khazad-dûm and reclaiming it, only to be rejected by the Dwarves of other houses.

Then Thráin turned to Dáin, and said: ‘But surely my own kin will not desert me?’ ‘No,’ said Dáin. ‘You are the father of our Folk, and we have bled for you, and will again. But we will not enter Khazad-dûm. You will not enter Khazad-dûm. Only I have looked through the shadow of the Gate. Beyond the shadow it waits for you still: Durin’s Bane. The world must change and some other power than ours must come before Durin’s Folk walk again in Moria.’

LOTR Appendix A; III

How cool is that.  Dáin is one-hundred and twenty three years junior to Thráin, and of lesser nobility.  Yet, in a few sentences, he shows greater wisdom and restraint than the older Dwarf, without compromising his loyalty, and with a subtle reminder that this day belongs to him.  Further, the text is unclear as to what exactly it was that Dáin saw beyond “the shadow of the Gate.”  However, either he physically saw Durin’s Bane – the Balrog – and had the wisdom to step away, or he perceived its presence, even something of its nature, in the vast halls beyond.  Again, either way, it paints a picture of a wise, level-headed, perceptive and diplomatic leader.  Who is bloody young.  And an incredibly good warrior.

What.  A.  Guy.

Oh, and FYI?  He is brilliant every other time we encounter him as well.

Dáin’s largest block of page time comes towards the end of The Hobbit, which is also his next chronological appearance….some 142 years after the Battle of Azanulbizar.  Since that book’s events are fairly well known, I won’t cover them as completely as the War of the Dwarves and the Orcs, though a quick recap is in order.  Dáin is summonsed as aid by Thorin, who is besieged in the Lonely Mountain by Mirkwood Elves and Laketown Men, and the former arrives in Erebor with some 500 Dwarves as the siege reaches its full tension.  Importantly, Dáin is fully willing to battle the Elves and Men….but he only knows Thorin’s side of the story, and is furthermore Thorin’s kin.  Hence, his willingness is readily excused as being more than simple small-mindedness or lust for battle.

In any event, this strife is happily resolved by a massive army of Orcs attacking, led by Azog’s son, Bolg, unifying the quarrelling Free Peoples.  The Battle of Five Armies is a triumph for the latter, though at the cost of Thorin’s life, as well as the lives of his heirs…..leaving Dáin as the logical successor, both by lineage and by experience.  Dáin ascends to the throne, and immediately proves his sound judgement yet again in how he shares out the wealth of the Mountain, despite the grievances and rash words exchanged by others previously.

“Yet a fourteenth share of all the silver and gold, wrought and unwrought, was given up to Bard; for Dain said: “We will honour the agreement of the dead, and he has now the Arkenstone in his keeping.”

Even a fourteenth share was wealth exceedingly great, greater than that of many mortal kings….To the Elvenking [Bard] gave the emeralds of Girion, such jewels as he most loved, which Dain had restored to him.

To Bilbo he said: “This treasure is as much yours as it is mine; though old agreements cannot stand, since so many have a claim in its winning and defence. Yet even though you were willing to lay aside all your claim, I should wish that the words of Thorin, of which he repented, should not prove true: that we should give you little. I would reward you most richly of all.”

The Hobbit, Chapter XVIII – The Return Journey, by J.R.R. Tolkien

So, we see:

• Dáin holding to agreements when it seems just with Bard
• Dáin granting Bard not just a sum of the treasure, but allowing him a part in its choosing, thus satisfying the Elvenking (and presumably allowing Bard the keeping of other fitting treasures)
• Recognising the role of Bilbo in the success of the Quest, in the resolution of the conflict between the Dwarves and the others, and seeing fit to honour Thorin’s later intent rather than his rash words

It is a small role that Dáin plays in The Hobbit….but a pivotal one, and one in keeping with his character already established.

In keeping with his lack of prominence, Dáin does not appear in person in The Lord of the Rings.  Nonetheless, we continue to feel his presence on the stage of Middle-Earth.  When Frodo speaks with Glóin in Rivendell, the Dwarf’s description of the Kingdom under the Mountain paints a picture of prosperity, of peace, and of beauty under Dáin’s rule.  Indeed, Glóin’s presence at Rivendell is commanded by Dáin, who is troubled and seeks counsel from Elrond concerning two matters…the first of which being a Dwarvish expedition led by Balin to Moria, which has been seemingly lost.  Glóin also mentions that Dáin “did not give leave willingly”, and though no more is said of Dáin’s counsel, it is clear that he remembered Durin’s Bane, and what he saw beyond the shadow those long years ago.  And indeed, as the Fellowship would later discover, a grim fate did indeed befall Balin and his company, and Moria remained unclaimed by Dwarvenkind.

Glóin follows this matter up with the other news he was sent to Elrond to deliver.

‘Then about a year ago a messenger came to Dáin, but not from Moria – from Mordor: a horseman in the night, who called Dáin to his gate. The Lord Sauron the Great, so he said, wished for our friendship. Rings he would give for it, such as he gave of old. And he asked urgently concerning hobbits , of what kind they were, and where they dwelt. “For Sauron knows,” said he, “that one of these was known to you on a time.”

‘At this we were greatly troubled, and we gave no answer. And then his fell voice was lowered, and he would have sweetened it if he could. “As a small token only of your friendship Sauron asks this,” he said: “that you should find this thief,” such was his word, “and get from him, willing or no, a little ring, the least of rings, that once he stole. It is but a trifle that Sauron fancies, and an earnest of your good will. Find it, and three rings that the Dwarf-sires possessed of old shall be returned to you, and the realm of Moria shall be yours for ever. Find only news of the thief, whether he still lives and where, and you shall have great reward and lasting friendship from the Lord. Refuse, and things will not seem so well. Do you refuse?”

‘At that his breath came like the hiss of snakes, and all who stood by shuddered, but Dáin said: “I say neither yea nor nay. I must consider this message and what it means under its fair cloak.”

‘ “Consider well, but not too long,” said he.

‘ “The time of my thought is my own to spend,” answered Dáin.

‘ “For the present,” said he, and rode into the darkness.

…..‘And so I have been sent at last by Dáin to warn Bilbo that he is sought by the Enemy, and to learn, if may be, why he desires this ring, this least of rings. Also we crave the advice of Elrond. For the Shadow grows and draws nearer. We discover that messengers have come also to King Brand in Dale, and that he is afraid. We fear that he may yield. Already war is gathering on his eastern borders. If we make no answer, the Enemy may move Men of his rule to assail King Brand, and Dáin also.’

LOTR Book II, Chapter 2, ‘The Council of Elrond

We’re never told what exactly this messenger is, though it seems likely enough to have been a Nazgûl….even if he is not, though, Dáin’s parleying with him once again displays good sense.  He forestalls the messenger, without betraying his own secret suspicions or being tempted by the incredible reward promised, and his warning to Bilbo and Elrond is obviously extremely pertinent, though Dáin did not know to what extent.  Finally, we see that there is concern that the Men of Dale may yield, with the clear implication that Dáin would not consider this to be an option for his own people.  This may be at least a little unwarranted suspicion on the Dwarves’ part, but Glóin seems to believe this fear to be fair, and it may well have been.  And when battle comes to Erebor later, Dáin does his part to save many of the citizens of Dale by opening the Lonely Mountain to them, a far safer fortification than the Mannish towns.

Speaking of such….it’s time for Dáin’s final appearance and act in the Legendarium.  And oh, what an appearance it is, as the Lonely Mountain is beset by the forces of Sauron and the people of Dale fall back to its safety.  The rearguard stood in the gate of the Mountain, and in that guard was both King Brand and King Dáin, keeping the enemy at bay as their people secured the fortress and the citizenry.  And, one by one, the rearguard is slain, until King Dáin alone remains – standing over the body of King Brand, at the mighty age of 252, his red axe singing as one of Middle-Earth’s mightiest warriors and noblest kings met his end.

So fell Dáin Ironfoot, exiting history as he entered it – all alone, defending the bodies of family and friends and exacting vengeance masterfully for them at a wildly improbable age.  In truth, what is described is pretty much the sum of what is mentioned about him in the books….his part is extremely minor, but his impact is considerable, and he acquits himself with incredible magnificence at each and every turn.  Dáin is my favourite minor character of the Legendarium, exhibits everything good and noble about the Dwarves, and is just a heck of a guy – admirable in war and peace.

Unlike my previous Middle-Earth entries, you’ll notice that I managed to get through all that without referencing the Jackson films, too!  In truth…I considered bringing some comparisons and points of reference in throughout, particularly when considering Dáin at the Battle of the Five Armies.  However, then I realised that I really wanted to look at Tolkien’s version of the character as he stands alone….and that I could easily summarise where the movie version differs here, at the end of the post.

How does Jackson’s Dáin differ?  Oh, in so many ways.  And I hate all of them.  I hate everything about this character.  I hate his dumb, boisterous and wild nature…compare and contrast the thoughtful and measured king of the text.  I hate what he looks like.  I hate his stupid chariot and his stupid pig.  I hate that they couldn’t even be bothered to get his distinctive red axe right, and gave him some stupid hammer that belongs to a World of Warcraft knockoff game character instead.  I hate the direction that the film took the character in.  And even with a better-drawn and directed character, Billy Connolly was not the right choice for Dáin, treasure though he is.  He’s a little broad, a little hammy.  With Dáin, you want an actor who is convincing and compelling with every word, who could also believably battle Orcs from dawn to sunset.

I could go on – but I won’t. Partly because I’m just whinging now, but also because one of the greatest faults of the Jackson films is that they consistently miss the ‘point’ of Dwarves in general….Dáin is not an isolated failure, but a symptomatic example; and I want to break down why I feel that way in a post sometime down the road.  Suffice it to say that if you are mostly familiar with Dáin from the films….it might be worth reconsidering him somewhat.  And, if you wanted to adapt or portray Dáin in some way, then there are far more interesting, compelling and rich paths to take.  And, if I haven’t convinced you yet, allow Gandalf to have the final word on the matter.

‘I grieved at the fall of Thorin,’ said Gandalf; ‘and now we hear that Dáin has fallen, fighting in Dale again, even while we fought here. I should call that a heavy loss, if it was not a wonder rather that in his great age he could still wield his axe as mightily as they say that he did, standing over the body of King Brand before the Gate of Erebor until the darkness fell.

LOTR Appendix A; III

Even Gandalf is amazed by Dáin, amazed even beyond grief.  And if Gandalf was amazed by him and his deeds, then you probably should be amazed too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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