Thorin Oakenshield (Thorin II) is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit. Thorin is the leader of the Company of Dwarves who aim to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon. He is the son of Thráin II, grandson of Thrór, and becomes King of Durin's Folk during their exile from Erebor. Thorin's background is further elaborated in Appendix A of Tolkien's 1955 novel The Return of the King, and in Unfinished Tales.
Commentators have noted that Thorin is Old Norse both in name and character, being surly, illiberal, independent, proud, aristocratic, and like all Dwarves greedy for gold. Tolkien was a Roman Catholic; from a Christian perspective, Thorin exemplifies the deadly sin of avarice, but is able to free himself from it at the time of his death. This deathbed conversion has been compared to the moral transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.
Thorin appears in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit film series, in the Rankin/Bass animated version, and in the 1982 game of the same name.
Appearances
The Hobbit
In The Hobbit, Thorin, a Dwarf-King in exile and twelve other Dwarves visited Bilbo Baggins at his home in the Shire. The wizard Gandalf had advised Thorin and the other dwarves to hire Bilbo as a burglar to help them steal their treasure back from the dragon Smaug. Smaug had attacked the Dwarves's mountain, Erebor (also known as the Lonely Mountain), about 150 years before, and had taken both the mountain and the dwarves' treasure. Thorin was determined to get the treasure back. He especially wanted the Arkenstone, the Heart of the Mountain, which was an heirloom of the dwarves' Kingdom.
On their journey, the dwarves and Bilbo were taken captive by a band of trolls; Thorin was the only dwarf not to be taken unawares. After Gandalf rescued the company (letting dawn turn the trolls to stone), they opened the trolls' lair. Thorin found the Elven blade Orcrist in the trolls' cache. Later, Thorin used Orcrist to fight goblins in the tunnels beneath the Misty Mountains. While the rest of the company battled the goblins, Bilbo found a magic ring in a tunnel under the Misty Mountains and used it to escape from the creature Gollum and from the goblins.
When the Dwarves were captured by the Wood-elves of Mirkwood, Thorin insisted that the others not disclose their quest to their captors. Bilbo, invisible with his magic ring, evaded capture and organised the company's escape, which they accomplished by floating in barrels out of the Wood-elves' fastness. When Thorin emerged from his barrel at Lake-town, he marched up to the town's leaders and identified himself as King Under the Mountain.
With provisions from Lake-town, Thorin led the company to Erebor. Seeing that Smaug was not there, the Dwarves reclaimed some of the treasure; Thorin gave Bilbo "a small coat of mail" made of mithril as the first installment of the payment due for his services. The Dwarves then learnt from the ancient raven Roäc that Smaug had been killed: Bard the Bowman had managed to shoot Smaug as the dragon was in the process of destroying Lake-town.
Faced with demands from Thranduil the Elvenking and Bard for a fair share of the treasure to be distributed to the Wood-elves and the men of Lake-town, Thorin refused to acknowledge their right to any of the hoard. He fortified the Mountain against his new rivals and sent to his cousin Dáin Ironfoot for reinforcements. Thorin was furious when he discovered that Bilbo had stolen the Arkenstone to use as a bargaining chip, and he sent him from the Mountain. Conflict amongst the dwarves, men, and elves was averted only by an invasion of goblins and wargs, whereupon the Dwarves joined forces with the Wood-elves, the men of Lake-town, and the great eagles in the Battle of Five Armies.
During the battle, Thorin was mortally wounded, but he made his peace with Bilbo before he died. When Thorin died, he was buried with the Arkenstone. Orcrist was laid upon his tomb. The blade would glow blue if Orcs should approach; thus, they could not take the Mountain by surprise. Thorin was succeeded as leader of Durin's Folk by his cousin Dáin.
The Lord of the Rings
Part III of Appendix A in The Return of the King gives an overview of the history of Durin's Folk and more of Thorin's background. When Thorin was 53 (young for a Dwarf), he marched with a mighty dwarf-army against the orcs of Moria. After the battle he led his people to establish a foothold in the Blue Mountains west of the Shire.