Balin (Middle-earth)
Encyclopedia
Balin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien
's legendarium
. He is an important supporting character in The Hobbit
, and is mentioned in The Fellowship of the Ring.
leader, the son of Fundin and elder brother of Dwalin. Balin was among the dwarves who travelled with Bilbo Baggins
and Gandalf
in the Quest of Erebor
, which the plot of The Hobbit centers around.
Balin was part of the company assembled by Thorin Oakenshield
to kill the dragon
Smaug
and retake the mountain kingdom of Erebor. He is the only one explicitly said to have been at the Mountain prior to the coming of the dragon. Curiously, The Hobbit states he was companions with Thorin on the day the dragon came, but according to Appendix A in The Return of the King
he was only 7 years old while Thorin was 24.
He was the second dwarf to arrive at Bilbo's house at the beginning of The Hobbit, preceded by his brother Dwalin. Like Dwalin, he played a viol
.
Among the dwarves in The Hobbit, Balin was the second-eldest dwarf on the quest (after Thorin), and so he spoke for the party when they were captured by the Elvenking
, as Thorin wasn't present.
He is described as "always their look-out man": He spots Bilbo approaching the Green Dragon Inn at Bywater, he spots the troll
s' fire, and he is the first to spot the elves
in Mirkwood
. Naturally he could not notice Bilbo (hidden by wearing the One Ring
) as look-out for the company after escaping the goblins
in the Misty Mountains
, and after this incident he came to respect Bilbo's abilities. He was the only dwarf who volunteered to accompany Bilbo down the secret passage to Smaug. Of all the dwarves in the quest, he was the only one Tolkien describes as visiting Bilbo afterwards at Bag End.
In T.A.
2989 Balin left Erebor and entered Moria
with Flói, Óin, Ori, Frár, Lóni
, and Náli
. He discovered Durin's Axe. Balin's colony was overrun by orc
s soon afterward, and Balin was killed by an orc archer in the Dimrill Dale in 2994.
In The Fellowship of the Ring, the title characters discover Balin's tomb in the Chamber of Mazarbul. Gandalf finds the dwarves' book of records, and discovers from it that Balin was killed by orcs.
Upon Balin's tomb is written in Dwarven Runes
: "Balin Fundinul Uzbad Khazad-Dumu". An inscription in smaller runes below this gives the translation into English
: "Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria".
voiced Balin in the 1977 animated version of The Hobbit.
In Peter Jackson
's film adaptations
of The Lord of the Rings
, Gimli
calls Balin his cousin, although their precise kinship relationship is "first cousin once removed
". Gimli takes up Balin's axe when the Fellowship discover the Chamber of Mazarbul. He uses it in the ensuing battle and in all battles thereafter. As opposed to Gimli's previous axe, the axe of Balin is larger and double-bladed with a shorter handle. In the book there is no reference to Gimli changing his weapon, which is not described in detail; there is also no mention of Balin's axe.
In the upcoming adaptation of The Hobbit, Balin will be played by Ken Stott
.
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's legendarium
Legendarium
Legendary may refer to:*A hagiography, or study of the lives of saints and other religious figures**The South English Legendary, a Middle English legendary*A legend-Entertainment:*Legendary, an album by Kaysha*Legendary...
. He is an important supporting character in The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
, and is mentioned in The Fellowship of the Ring.
In the books
He was a DwarfDwarf (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda, a fictional prehistoric Earth which includes the continent Middle-earth....
leader, the son of Fundin and elder brother of Dwalin. Balin was among the dwarves who travelled with Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist and titular character of The Hobbit and a supporting character in The Lord of the Rings, two of the most well-known of J. R. R...
and Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
in the Quest of Erebor
The Quest of Erebor
"The Quest of Erebor" is a work of fantasy fiction by J. R. R. Tolkien, posthumously published by his son Christopher Tolkien in Unfinished Tales...
, which the plot of The Hobbit centers around.
Balin was part of the company assembled by Thorin Oakenshield
Thorin Oakenshield
Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, King Under the Mountain is a major character in The Hobbit and is mentioned in passing in The Lord of the Rings...
to kill the dragon
Dragon (Middle-earth)
J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium features dragons closely based on those of European legend.Besides dragon , Tolkien variously used the terms drake and worm .-History:The dragons were created by Morgoth...
Smaug
Smaug
Smaug is a fictional character in the novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. He is a dragon, and the main antagonist within the story.-The Hobbit:...
and retake the mountain kingdom of Erebor. He is the only one explicitly said to have been at the Mountain prior to the coming of the dragon. Curiously, The Hobbit states he was companions with Thorin on the day the dragon came, but according to Appendix A in The Return of the King
The Return of the King
The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.-Title:...
he was only 7 years old while Thorin was 24.
He was the second dwarf to arrive at Bilbo's house at the beginning of The Hobbit, preceded by his brother Dwalin. Like Dwalin, he played a viol
Viol
The viol is any one of a family of bowed, fretted and stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 15th century and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Renaissance vihuela, a plucked instrument that preceded the...
.
Among the dwarves in The Hobbit, Balin was the second-eldest dwarf on the quest (after Thorin), and so he spoke for the party when they were captured by the Elvenking
Thranduil
Thranduil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is a supporting character in The Hobbit, and is referenced briefly in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.-In literature:...
, as Thorin wasn't present.
He is described as "always their look-out man": He spots Bilbo approaching the Green Dragon Inn at Bywater, he spots the troll
Troll (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Trolls are large humanoids of great strength and poor intellect.While in Norse mythology, the Troll was a magical creature with special skills, in Tolkien's writings they are portrayed as evil, stupid, with crude habits, although still intelligent enough to...
s' fire, and he is the first to spot the elves
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
in Mirkwood
Mirkwood
Mirkwood is a name used for two distinct fictional forests in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. In the First Age, the highlands of Dorthonion north of Beleriand were known as Mirkwood after falling under Morgoth's control. During the Third Age, the large forest in Rhovanion, east of the Anduin in ...
. Naturally he could not notice Bilbo (hidden by wearing the One Ring
One Ring
The One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
) as look-out for the company after escaping the goblins
Orc (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman...
in the Misty Mountains
Misty Mountains
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Misty Mountains is a mountain range, running for 795 miles from north to south, between Eriador and the valley of the Great River, Anduin, and...
, and after this incident he came to respect Bilbo's abilities. He was the only dwarf who volunteered to accompany Bilbo down the secret passage to Smaug. Of all the dwarves in the quest, he was the only one Tolkien describes as visiting Bilbo afterwards at Bag End.
In T.A.
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
2989 Balin left Erebor and entered Moria
Moria (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Moria was the name given by the Eldar to an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth, comprising a vast network of tunnels, chambers, mines and huge halls or 'mansions', that ran under and ultimately through the Misty Mountains...
with Flói, Óin, Ori, Frár, Lóni
Loni
Loni is a town of Ghaziabad district in Uttar Pradesh, National Capital Region INDIA.It is very close to Delhi just 8 KM from Shahdara Metro Station.It comes under Ghaziabad .As per the notification No. 282/UP/2006 it also become a spearate Assembly Constituency as 53-loni. Loni has its own...
, and Náli
Nali
Nalî also known as Mullah Xidir Ehmed Şawaysî Mîkayalî Nalî also known as Mullah Xidir Ehmed Şawaysî Mîkayalî Nalî also known as Mullah Xidir Ehmed Şawaysî Mîkayalî (1800-1873 in Istanbul, Turkey, was a Kurdish polymath, who is considered to be one of the greatest Kurdish poet in Kurdish...
. He discovered Durin's Axe. Balin's colony was overrun by orc
Orc
An orc is one of a race of mythical human-like creatures, generally described as fierce and combative, with grotesque features and often black, grey or greenish skin. This mythology has its origins in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien....
s soon afterward, and Balin was killed by an orc archer in the Dimrill Dale in 2994.
In The Fellowship of the Ring, the title characters discover Balin's tomb in the Chamber of Mazarbul. Gandalf finds the dwarves' book of records, and discovers from it that Balin was killed by orcs.
Upon Balin's tomb is written in Dwarven Runes
Cirth
The Cirth are the letters of an semi-artificial script which was invented by J. R. R. Tolkien for the constructed languages he devised and used in his works. The initial C in Cirth is pronounced as a K, never as an S....
: "Balin Fundinul Uzbad Khazad-Dumu". An inscription in smaller runes below this gives the translation into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: "Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria".
Adaptations
Don MessickDon Messick
Donald Earl "Don" Messick was an American voice actor best known for his work for Hanna-Barbera. Perhaps his most well-known voice creations include Scooby-Doo, Papa Smurf, and Dr. Benton Quest....
voiced Balin in the 1977 animated version of The Hobbit.
In Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
's film adaptations
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, Gimli
Gimli (Middle-earth)
Gimli is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. A Dwarf warrior, he is the son of Glóin ....
calls Balin his cousin, although their precise kinship relationship is "first cousin once removed
Cousin
In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
". Gimli takes up Balin's axe when the Fellowship discover the Chamber of Mazarbul. He uses it in the ensuing battle and in all battles thereafter. As opposed to Gimli's previous axe, the axe of Balin is larger and double-bladed with a shorter handle. In the book there is no reference to Gimli changing his weapon, which is not described in detail; there is also no mention of Balin's axe.
In the upcoming adaptation of The Hobbit, Balin will be played by Ken Stott
Ken Stott
Kenneth Campbell "Ken" Stott is a Scottish actor, particularly known in the United Kingdom for his many roles in television.-Early life:...
.