Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) is playing his way into the hearts of Middle-earth fans in Episode 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Prime Video*. When the dwarf stands up to his old elf friend Elrond (Robert Aramayo), we are reminded of Legolas and Gimli’s relationship. But also for other reasons Name Durin may sound familiar to Lord of the Rings movie fans.
Middle-earth Story: Who is Durin in the Lord of the Rings Cosmos?
Anyone familiar with the three Lord of the Rings films and the Hobbit trilogy will understand the terms “Durin’s People”, “Durin’s Curse” and “Durin’s Son” have heard several times. Now, in Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series, we finally encounter a dwarf who actually bears that name. Just like his father. But what about the many durins in Middle-earth?
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Lord of the Rings Series: Durin, Disa and Elrond at the table
In JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings mythology, the Dwarves of the Vala
create Aulë
(a super-being of blacksmithing and craftsmanship), though without the permission of the other Valar or the god Illúvatar. Instead of destroying them again as punishment, they were only put to sleep afterwards, only to be reawakened after the elves and humans as the new Middle-earth people.
Of the race of dwarves exist a total of 7 dwarven tribes (to the delight of all Snow White fans). In addition to the Firebeards, Broadtribes, Ironfists, Stiffbeards, Blacksmiths and Stonefeet is one of Durin’s peoplealso known as “Longbeards”.
The dwarves of Durin’s people are Gimli and Thorin’s ancestors. They are all descended from the forefather of their tribe, Durin I. Tolkien created her line of kings in such a way that, according to legend all Durins are actually rebirths of the first dwarf progenitor were. Durin I (called “the Immortal”) lived in the First Age of Middle-earth, built Moria (Dwarf: Khazad-dûm) and founded his people. His reincarnation Durin II succeeded him in the Second Age. But the reincarnations were limited: in the Third Age, Durin VI was succeeded. the dwarf king Náin I after the sixth Durin was killed by a Balrog (dubbed “Durin’s Bane”).
Does Amazon’s Lord of the Rings Series Change Durin’s Rebirths?
That in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power at the end of the second episode both Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) as well as his Father King Durin III. (Peter Mullan) to be seen at the same time should not be possible according to Tolkien. After all, one must die before he can be reborn in his son’s body. So did Amazon’s Middle-earth epic change the story of the dwarves?
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Lord of the Rings Series: Father King Durin III. and son Prince Durin IV.
It is possible. Explaining the full reincarnation cycle of the Durin rulers in the already complex fantasy series may have been sacrificed in favor of a simpler father-son story for clarity. However, there is another theory on Reddit that could explain the Lord of the Rings “bug”: After that, the older durin a hallucination of the younger be. For so far we have only seen him interact with his son, after which the “consultation” promised by Elrond to his father could only take place in his head.
Durin’s Curse Hinted at: What’s in the Dwarven Box at the End of Episode 2?
Regardless, by the end of The Rings of Power Episode 2, Durin’s people have a secret that father and son are yet unwilling to reveal to either Elrond or us. Yet what is in the glowing chest?
The answer to that, in all likelihood, is something dwarves hold dear: the substance of mithril. So the hard silver steel that will save Frodo’s life much later in the form of chain mail in Moria. The valuable metal, also known as “Moria silver”, is also associated with later suffering, because because the dwarves dug too deep, they awakened (in the Third Age) Durin’s curse, i.e. one Balrog.
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The Rings of Power: Durin coming with Mithril
Various trailer material for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has already shown both the return of the Balrog and Durin with potential mithril. It’s still exciting how both are integrated into the story.
The Lord of the Rings Series Podcast: Salvation of Middle-earth?
On September 2nd, the most expensive series of all time started on Amazon Prime Video: The Lord of the Rings – The Rings of Power. In it we return to Middle-earth for the first time since Peter Jackson’s Hobbit films.
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In this episode we discuss what the series needs to achieve to make the disappointing Hobbit movies forget. But we also clarify a few important questions about the plot, for those who don’t have an overview yet.
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What do you think of Durin (and his father) in Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series?