- "It was a globe with a thousand facets; it shone like silver in the firelight, like water in the sun, like snow under the stars, like rain upon the Moon!"
- —Thorin II in The Hobbit[1]
The Arkenstone of Thráin, also known as the Heart of the Mountain, was a great and wondrous jewel that was sought by Thorin II which had been discovered beneath the Lonely Mountain during the reign of Thráin I, and then shaped by the Dwarves. The Arkenstone became the family heirloom of the Kings of Durin's Folk, but was lost when the dragon Smaug stole the mountain from the Dwarves.[1]
Appearance[]
The Arkenstone shone of its own inner light, and appeared a "little globe of pallid light" in darkness, and yet, cut and fashioned by the Dwarves, it took all light that fell upon it and changed it into "ten thousand sparks of white radiance, shot with glints of the rainbow".[2]
History[]
Not too long after the Kingdom under the Mountain was founded in Erebor in TA 1999, a team of Dwarves working under Thráin I[3] discovered a "great white gem" underneath the roots of the Lonely Mountain. They considered this gem to be the "fairest of all", naming it both the Arkenstone and the Heart of the Mountain.[1]
Bilbo Baggins delivers the Arkenstone of Thráin to Thranduil and Bard, by Ted Nasmith
After the Dwarves dug it out and "cut and fashioned" it into a multi-faceted jewel,[2] the great jewel became an heirloom of the Kings of Durin's Folk and was set in the Great Hall of Thráin. It was later taken by Thorin I to the Grey Mountains when he removed his people there.[3]
Many centuries later, King Thrór returned the Arkenstone to the Great Hall after dragons drove his people out of the Grey Mountains.[3] When Smaug came to the Lonely Mountain, the Arkenstone of Thráin became a part of his "bed of gold" in the Great Hall of Thráin.[4]
In TA 2941 during the Quest of Erebor, the Arkenstone of Thráin was among the many objects that Thorin II and Balin remembered and pondered on whether or not it was still in the Great Hall.[1]
The gem was the object most prized by Thorin II of all the treasures of the Lonely Mountain.[1]
After Smaug had left the Lonely Mountain for Lake-town, Bilbo Baggins climbed "the great mound of treasure". When he reached the top, he spotted the Arkenstone in Smaug's golden bed based on Thorin's earlier description of it and was drawn towards it. When Bilbo found himself reaching for it, he could not close his hand fully around it, yet was able to put it into his deepest pocket. He chose to take it as his fourteenth share of the hoard, despite feeling that the agreement may not have included the Arkenstone of Thráin.[2] Bilbo later wrapped it within some "old bundle of tattered oddments" and used it as a pillow.[5]
When Bilbo reported back to the Dwarves, he said nothing of the Arkenstone of Thráin, but pondered on what their reaction would be. Later, when the Dwarves began to re-explore the Great Hall, Thorin sought only the Arkenstone of Thráin, but did not tell anyone that he was looking for it.[2] He spent many hours in the following days searching in vain for the Arkenstone of Thráin.[6]
In the days after the Lake-men and the Elves of Mirkwood blockaded Erebor in a siege,[6] the Dwarves went about sorting the treasure. During this time, Thorin made his search for the Arkenstone of Thráin known to them, naming it unto himself and declaring that he would slay anyone who withholds it from him because he valued it above "a river of gold" and beyond any price. After hearing this, Bilbo feared what Thorin would do if it was found out that he was using it as a pillow. As such, he stayed silent as he began to make a plan.[5]
During one moonless night, Bilbo went to the "corner of an inner chamber" near the Front Gate and took out a rope and the bundle which he kept the Arkenstone in. After taking over the watch for Bombur, he carried the bundle out of the gate and showed it to King Thranduil and King Bard before giving it to Bard to aid him in his bargaining. Bilbo was willing to let his theft of the Arkenstone of Thráin stand against his 1/14th share of all the gold and silver of the hoard.[5]
The next day, the Arkenstone was brought to the Front Gate in "a strong casket of iron-bound wood" borne by Gandalf. When Bard and Thranduil tried to trade it for a share of Smaug's hoard,Thorin grew wrathful and demanded to know how they possesses it. When Bard refused to answer and Thorin insisted, Bilbo revealed his treachery and Thorin cursed both him and Gandalf. After which, he announced that to reclaim the Arkenstone of Thráin, he would begrudgingly give the besiegers Bilbo's original fourteenth share, but without any friendship. Yet, despite this agreement, Thorin pondered on the possibility of reclaiming the Arkenstone with Dáin II's help and still withhold the treasure. He immediately afterwards sent raven-messengers to Dáin to make plans.[7]
The following day, when the forces of Dáin moved to strike the besiegers to reclaim the Arkenstone of Thráin, the sky swiftly darkened and Gandalf demanded that both sides halted because an army of Orcs, Wargs, and Bats led by Bolg had just arrived from the Grey Mountains. Thus the Battle of Five Armies ensued, and Thorin II was killed[8].[7]
Thorin’s burial with the Arkenstone of Thráin
After the battle, the Arkenstone was placed by Bard upon Thorin's chest within his tomb deep underneath the Lonely Mountain, and so was returned to the earth at last. Bard proclaimed that it until the Lonely Mountain fell, it would "bring good fortune to all" of Thorin's descendants.[8]
Etymology[]
The roots of the term Arkenstone were either a modernization of the Old English eorclanstán ("precious/holy stone"),[9] or an anglicization of the Old Norse iarkna-steinn from the Gothic word aírkna ("holy").[10]
The term "Arkenstones" (Old English: Eorclanstánas) was used by Tolkien in relation to the Silmarils in an Old English version of the annals that were written by Ælfwine[11]
In other versions[]
In an early draft of The Hobbit, the Arkenstone was originally called the Jem of Girion[12][13] and then the Gem of Girion, which was to be the easily transportable fourteenth share of Bilbo Baggins. However, after Tolkien decided to have Smaug slain by Bard and not Bilbo, the Gem of Girion was replaced by both the Arkenstone of Thráin and the necklace of Girion.[10]
In adaptations[]
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit[]
The Arkenstone in Gene Deitch's version of The Hobbit
In the twelve minute 1966 film, the role of the Arkenstone was merged with that of the black arrow, being made into the shape of a heart and fired by way of a large old mining crossbow to end the reign of Slag the Dragon. The arrow was fired by Bilbo, Mika Milovana, Thorin II, and Gandalf. The Arkenstone is also depicted on Mika Milovana's shirt.
The Hobbit 1977 animation[]
The Arkenstone of Thráin does not appear in the 1977 Rankin/Bass 1977 animated film. Instead of the Arkenstone being stolen, Thorin loses respect for Bilbo out of feeling that the Hobbit will never understand honor and war.
The Hobbit: The Prelude to The Lord of the Rings[]
In the 2003 video game, Bilbo Baggins is ordered by Thorin II during a mission to find the Arkenstone of Thráin; whereupon he hands it over to the Elvenking and Bard to hopefully avoid a war as he does in the book.
The Hobbit film trilogy[]
The Arkenstone set above King Thrór's throne
In Peter Jackson's The Hobbit film trilogy, the Arkenstone is discovered during the reign of Thrór, not Thráin I and feeds into the growing greed of Thorin's grandfather. Indeed, "Thrór named it 'The King's Jewel'" according to Old Bilbo. In the books, this greed is partly caused by possessing one of the Seven Rings of Power, but in the films it is the Arkenstone itself that causes 'Dragon sickness'. In addition, possession of the Arkenstone grants the holder the right to summon the seven armies of the Dwarves, an inherent contradiction given that Thrór does not possess it at the time of the Battle of Azanulbizar. Thorin begins to suffer from the dragon-sickness when he came across his grandfather's hoard of gold in the third film.
The Lord of the Rings Online[]
In The Lord of the Rings Online, Thranduil claimed that the Arkenstone of Thráin was one of the list Silmarils and demanded that Thráin I show it to him, but he was denied his request. While Gandalf convinced Thranduil that this was not the case, the relationship between the Elves and the Dwarves remained tarnished. After the events of the Great War of the Ring, it was believed that the Arkenstone may have possibly been stolen. As a precautionary measure, Thorin III, Dís, Gandalf, and the surviving members of Thorin's old company, opened Thorin's tomb to pay their respects and to check on the Arkenstone of Thráin, which was confirmed to not have been stolen.
Gallery[]
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Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Arkensteen |
| Arabic | حجر الأركينستون |
| Armenian | Արկինստոն |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Аркенстон |
| Bosnian | Arkakamen |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 家傳寶鑽 |
| Cornish | Arkenlabedha |
| Czech | Arcikam |
| Danish | Arkensten |
| Dutch | Arksteen |
| Estonian | Laegaskivi |
| Faroese | Arkensteinur |
| Finnish | Arkkikivi |
| French | Pierre Arcane |
| Georgian | არკენსტოუნი |
| German | Arkenstein |
| Greek | Άρκενστοουν |
| Gujarati | આર્કનસ્ટોન |
| Hebrew | אֶבֶן-הַחֹשֶן/ארקנסטון/אֶבֶן-הַנֵזֶר |
| Hungarian | Arkenkő |
| Italian | Archepietra/Arkengemma |
| Japanese | アーケン石 |
| Kannada | ಅರ್ಕೆನ್ಸ್ಟೋನ್ |
| Korean | 아르켄스톤 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Аркэнташ |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Аркенкаменот |
| Marathi | आर्कनस्टोन |
| Norwegian | Dyrdesteinen |
| Old English | Arkenstan |
| Polish | Arcyklejnot |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | Pedra Arken |
| Punjabi | ਆਰਕਸਨਸਟੋਨ |
| Romanian | Piatra Arken |
| Russian | Аркенстон/Завет-камень |
| Sinhalese | ඇකරන්ස්ටෝන් |
| Spanish (Spain and Latin America) | Piedra del Arca |
| Swedish | Arkensten |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Аркенсанг |
| Telugu | ఆర్కెనశిల |
| Thai | อาร์เคนสโตน |
| Turkish | Arkentaşı |
| Turkmen | Arkendaş |
| Urdu | آركين پتھر |
| Yiddish | אַרקענסטאָנע |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 The Hobbit, Ch. XIII: "Inside Information", pg. 207-8
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The Hobbit, Ch. XIII: "Not At Home"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers, III. "Durin's Folk", pgs. 1407, 1416
- ↑ The Hobbit, Ch. I: "An Unexpected Party"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Hobbit, Ch. XVI, "A Thief in the Night"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Hobbit, Ch. XV, "The Gathering of the Clouds"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Hobbit, Ch. XVII, "The Clouds Burst"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Hobbit, Ch. XVIII, "The Return Journey"
- ↑ Peter Gilliver, J. Marshall, E. Weiner, The Ring of Words, III. Word Studies, "Arkenstone"
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 The History of The Hobbit: Mr Baggins and Return to Bag-End, The Second Phase, Chapter XIV (later XIII): "While the Dragon's Away...", (ii) "The Arkenstone as Silmaril", pg. 603
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. IV: The Shaping of Middle-earth, VI: "The Earliest Annals of Valinor", Appendix: "Old English versions of the Annals of Valinor, made by Ælfwine or Eriol ([Version] I)", pg. 282 (entry MMD)
- ↑ The History of The Hobbit: Mr Baggins and Return to Bag-End, The Second Phase, "Plot Notes B", pg. 364 (note 15)
- ↑ The History of The Hobbit: Mr Baggins and Return to Bag-End, The Second Phase, "Plot Notes B", viii: "Bilbo Kills Smaug", pg. 373 (note 5)