Durin I of Khazad-dûm, known also as Durin the Deathless, was the oldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, first created by Aulë the Vala; and as such, the first living being that was not of the Ainur.
Biography[]
Durin was set to sleep alone beneath Mount Gundabad by Aulë, until the Elves awoke, for Ilúvatar ordained that Elves would be the firstborn.[1]
Upon his awakening at Mount Gundabad in the Years of the Trees of the First Age, Durin traveled until he came upon the Mirrormere, the lake that the Dwarves call Kheled-zâram. He created there a great city within the Misty Mountains.[2] This was Khazad-dûm, later known as Moria. Durin's awakening place of Mount Gundabad became a holy place to the Dwarves and Durin himself was revered by all Dwarves.
Durin founded the line of Dwarves called Durin's Folk. Durin was called the "Deathless" because he lived far longer than any other known Dwarf. It was also believed that he would be reincarnated among his descendants a total of six times.
Legacy[]
Durin's Axe and Durin's Helm remained in Khazad-dûm after it was deserted in the year 1981 of the Third Age. In TA 2989, the relics were rediscovered by Balin's expedition, and lost again in TA 2994 when the Dwarf-colony was destroyed, as told in the Book of Mazarbul. Later, while passing through Moria with the Fellowship in TA 3019, Gimli would sing a song about Durin.
Etymology[]
The name Durin, like other names of Tolkien's Dwarves, was taken from Old Norse. In Tolkien's fiction, the language of Dale had the same relationship to Rohanese and Westron as Old Norse has to English, so since Westron was rendered in English, the language of Dale was rendered in Old Norse. The Dwarvish names were in the language of Dale, which therefore was rendered in Old Norse in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
In adaptations[]
Durin I in The Lord of the Rings Online
In The Lord of the Rings Online, Durin I appears in several flashbacks telling the history of Gundabad. His early rule was marked by clashes with the servants of Morgoth, which led Durin to search for a new home for his people to the south. After finding true-silver near Kheled-zâram, Durin took the majority of his people there to found Khazad-dûm, leaving the rest to be ruled by his closest friend Mótsog in Gundabad. Hearing no word from Durin for many long years, Mótsog grew jealous of him and proclaimed himself King in open rebellion.
Fearing an ambush in Gundabad where secret entrances were known only to Durin himself, Mótsog build for himself a new stronghold to the south, Biriz-zahar. A bloody civil war followed, in which dwarves slew one another. Eventually, Durin himself was captured by Mótsog and put to mockery. His Queen Ragna the Fierce led a daring rescue attempt, which was interrupted when Morgoth saw a chance to destroy the Longbeards at their weakest. Sauron send nine dragons and at least one balrog to assault Biriz-zahar, as well as countless orcs.
Facing extinction, Durin convinced Mótsog to abandon the feud and to fight against the common foe. Through grievous losses, the dwarves won the day, killing five dragons and many thousands of orcs. Durin gave mercy to the few surviving rebels, though as penance they and their descendants were made to shear their beards for many generations after. The fate of Mótsog himself was not known, but it was believed in later ages that Durin slew the traitor.
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Arabic | دورين الأول |
| Armenian | Դուրին I |
| Basque | Durin Hilezkorra (Durin the Deathless) |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Дурын I |
| Bengali | প্রথম ডুরিন |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Дурин I (Durin I)
Дурин Безсмъртни (Durin the Deathless) |
| Catalan | Durin l'Immortal (Durin the Deathless) |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 都灵一世(不死都灵) |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 都靈一世 (不死都靈) |
| Dutch | Durin de Onsterfelijke (Durin the Deathless) |
| Finnish | Durin Kuolematon (Durin the Deathless) |
| French | Durin Trompe-la-Mort (Durin the Deathless) |
| Georgian | დურინ l |
| German | Durin der Unsterbliche (Durin the Deathless) |
| Greek | Ντουρίν Α΄ |
| Gujarati | પ્રથમ ડ્યુરીન |
| Hebrew | דורין הראשון (Durin I)
דורין הנצחי (Durin the Deathless) |
| Hindi | ड्यूरिन प्रथम |
| Italian | Durin il Senzamorte (Durin the Deathless) |
| Japanese | ドゥリン1世 |
| Kannada | ಪ್ರಥಮ ಡ್ಯೂರಿನ್ |
| Kazakh | I Дұрин (Cyrillic) I Durïn (Latin) |
| Korean | 두린 1세 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Дурин I |
| Latvian | Durins Pirmais (Durin I)
Durins Nemirstīgais (Durin the Deathless) |
| Macadonian Cyrillic | Дурин I |
| Marathi | पहिला ड्युरिन |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Дурин I |
| Nepalese | पहिलो डुरिन |
| Norwegian | Durin den udødelige (Durin the Deathless) |
| Pashto | دویم دورین |
| Persian | دورین اول |
| Polish | Durin Nieśmiertelny (Durin the Deathless) |
| Portuguese | Durin, o Imortal (Durin the Deathless) |
| Russian | Дурин I (Durin I)
Ду́рин Бессме́ртный (Durin the Deathless) |
| Sanskrit | दुरिन् १ |
| Serbian | Дурин I (Cyrillic) Durin I (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | පළමු ඩුරින් |
| Slovak | Durina Nesmrteľného (Durin the Deathless) |
| Spanish | Durin el Inmortal (Durin the Deathless) |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Дурин I |
| Tatar | Дурин I |
| Telugu | మొదటిది డ్యూరిన్ |
| Thai | ดูริน 1 (Durin I) ดูริน ผู้อมตะ (Durin the Deathless) |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Дурін I |
| Urdu | دورین پہلا |
| Yiddish | דורין די ערשטע |
References[]
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter II: "Of Aulë and Yavanna"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, chapter IV: "A Journey in the Dark"