Part 1: The Folk of Durin - The Longebeards
The Father of the Longbeards: Dúrin the Deathless
The oldest and probably most known dwarven clans is the one of Dúrin the Deathless. Dúrin in fact meaning “King” in ancient Dalish.
He was the oldest of the seven Dwarven fathers and he awoke shortly after the awakening of the Elves. In contrast to the other fathers that would follow him, and who awoke in pairs, Dúrin awoke by himself, below the mountain of Gundabad.
After his awakening, Dúrin began wandering through the wilderness until finally he built his halls in Khazad-dûm, after he had seen the star light in shape of a crown in the Kheled-zâram, or the Mirrormere, in the east of what is now known as Moria.
There he founded the folk of Dúrin, and the lineage of kings.
The name ‘the deathless’ was given to him, for the spirit of Dúrin is said to return to some of the kings of his lineage. Those Dwarves, in which the spirit of Dúrin lives on, do not only look like Dúrin the First, but also bear the memories, wisdom, and the knowledge of the oldest of the Dwarven fathers and all those in which the spirit of him had lived on.
This reincarnation would take place six times, according to the legends, and hence Dúrin VII was the last dwarf who carried this honourable name.
The symbol of Dúrin was the crown and the seven stars, as a sign of his royalty, as well as the anvil and hammer as the sign of the forge.
The Kingdoms of the Longbeards
Khazad-dûm was by far the greatest of all the Dwarven kingdoms that would ever exist in Endor. Its riches were boundless. Chief among them, the magical ore of Mithril. Mithril in fact is sindarin for what means translated in Westron grey or misty glitter. It could be beaten like copper, and polished like glass; and the Dwarves could make of it a metal, light and yet harder than tempered steel. Its beauty was like to that of common silver, but the beauty of mithril did not tarnish or grow dim.
During the Second Age, the kingdom of Khazad-Dûm was connected to the Elven city of Ost-in –Edhil through a street leavin the mountain from the Western Gate. The longbeards were known for their realtiviely friendly relations with Elves, especially the Noldor of Eregion.
However, darkness spread over this kingdom when in 1980 of the Third Age, an ancient evil was awoken. The Balrog of Moria, or Durin’s Bane killed Dúrin VI and the people of Khazad-dûm were forced to abandon the halls.
The Longbeards established several smaller Dwarvenholds in the years to come, chief amongst them was Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, which again was lost when in 2790 of the Third Age, the Dragon Smaug destroyed the city. Other dwarven holds include Thorin’s Gate in the Ered Luin, Barukkhizdín in the Iron Hills, and the Mines of the Grey Mountains: Mahalkukhizdín, Thakalgund, Zeleg-ubraz, and Danuk-khizdín.
Finally, in 2941 TA, Erebor was reclaimed and an expedition was sent out soon after to also reclaim the Halls of Moria, which had failed the last time in 2799 TA in the Battle of Azanulbizar, at the East Gates of Khazad-Dûm.
On the Dwarves of the Longbeards
The Longbeards, as already mentioned, are well known for their rather friendly relations to the Elves, which however suffered deeply after the loss of Khazad-Dûm, and again after the loss of Erebor, and culminated in the Battle of the Five Armies in 2941 TA.
Generally, they are a people of great merchants and craftsmen, prime tinkers and smiths.
They are considered typical Dwarves, strong and stout. Among Dwarves, they are especially known for their extremely long, often forked beards, and their extraordinary long lives – even for Dwarves. Several Longbeards lived far beyond the age of 220 years, even beyond 300 years.
It should be noted at this point that while the average age of Dwarves ranges only around 150 years, this is primarily due to them being slain in battle. This is, considering the warlike nature of most dwarves, not further surprising. If nature, however, was able to take its course, it is not unlikely for Dwarves to reach the age of 200.
Finally, and more in general, it is probably good to know and understand that Dwarves receive their first child at the age of 100. Others following every 10 years, with the first born, most commonly being a girl. However, these are normally kept secret from family trees. There is a way to find out whether a dwarf has an older sister though. If, for example, the first listed son is 110 years younger than his father, it is not far fetched to think that he does indeed have an older sister. This goes for all the Dwarven clans.
