History Characters / TheHobbit

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He shows up personally on Erebor's doorstep, leading an army to claim what he feels is his share of the gold.

* TheFairFolk: The king of Mirkwood's fair folk. More fey and mischievous here; the dwarves find them partying in the woods in a way similar to fairy rings and the king himself wearing a crown of flowers.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He holds the dwarves prisoner, but also provides aid to the people of Laketown after it's destroyed by Smaug. He also may be bigoted towards the dwarves, but when Bilbo hands him over the ''Arkenstone'' to help with parley, his concern with Bilbo's safety is not out of bigotry but out of awe at Bilbo's courage and timing.

* {{Foil}}: To Thorin. Both are heirs to lines of kings displaced by Smaug's rampage and taking over the Lonely Mountain. While Thorin's frequently stuck-up, cares only about himself, and lets his own greed take over him only to come to a last-minute truce during the Battle of the Five Armies, Bard ''appears'' stuck-up but underneath his cynical nature he's quite caring about the whole of Lake-town and easily allies himself with the Elvenking when they're both revealed to be headed up to the Mountain. The locals also show mild distrust of Thorin even before they venture to the Mountain but almost immediately want Bard as the new king and master of Lake-town when the old master does nothing about Smaug's attack.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He holds the dwarves prisoner, but also provides aid to the people of Laketown after it's destroyed by Smaug.

!![[center: [-'''Setting-wide:''' [[Characters/TolkiensLegendariumPeoples Peoples and Races]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsSauron Sauron]]-]]] [[center:[-''Characters/TheSilmarillion'': [[Characters/TheSilmarillionEruAndTheAinur Eru and the Ainur]], [[Characters/TheSilmarillionEnemies Enemies]], [[Characters/TheSilmarillionFirstGenerationElvenRoyalty First-Generation Elven Royalty]], [[Characters/TheSilmarillionHouseOfFeanor the House of Fëanor]], [[Characters/TheSilmarillionHouseOfFingolfin the House of Fingolfin]]-]]] [[center:[-'''''The Hobbit'''''-]]] [[center:[-''Characters/TheLordOfTheRings'': [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowship The Fellowship of the Ring]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsFreeMen Free Men]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheElves the Elves]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheForcesOfSauron the Forces of Sauron]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsOtherCharacters Other Characters]]-]]]

A Hobbit chosen by the wizard Gandalf to accompany 13 Dwarves on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and its treasure from the dragon Smaug.\\

The leader of the Company of Dwarves who have set out to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon. He is the uncle of Fíli and Kíli, and shares direct ancestry with Balin, Dwalin, Óin and Glóin (their mutual great-great-grandfather is Náin II).

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Poor Thorin had a pretty rough life. His kingdom, Erebor, was taken over by a dragon who either killed most of its inhabitants in the initial attack or forced them to flee to distant lands. Much of Thorin's life afterwards was spent working in menial, dead-end jobs that brought little respect from the humans around him. His grandfather Thrór was brutally murdered by Azog for daring to set foot inside the gate of Moria, the Longbeards' original stronghold. Then, Thorin had to fight in a war of vengeance against the orcs, climaxing in the Battle of Azanulbizar, which cost his people a huge percentage of their fighting strength (essentially every dwarven male of fighting age fought in the battle), including his brother. Not long after that, his father Thráin embarked on an attempt to take back the Mountain. After several years of getting nowhere, Thráin disappeared and was presumed dead, and Thorin spent the next hundred years burdened with the fact he'd have to do likewise or be a failure of a king, 'an heir, but an heir without hope'. Very little seems to ever go right or come easy to the poor guy.

* DisappearedDad: His father Thráin disappeared attempting to reclaim the Mountain when Thorin was ninety-five, leaving Thorin to care for and guide the exiled Dwarves of Erebor alone.

* OddNameOut: The only dwarf with a last name, and the only one whose name doesn't rhyme with or otherwise sound similar to that of at least one other dwarf in the company. Though it does rhyme with his great-great-uncle Borin (great-grandfather of Balin, Dwalin, Óin, and Glóin). And technically "Oakenshield" isn't a surname, it's an epithet he got when vowing to only weild a shield of oak in honor of fallen dwarves.

* TheUnchosenOne: The prophecy of Laketown, when the rightful mountain king comes, ''the streams shall run in gladness'' (the journey upriver) ''the like will shine and burn'' (Smaug's attack) ''sorrow shall fail and sadness'' (this means that when the true king returns, sorrow shall ''fail'', as in there will be no more sorrow for a while). Thorin's brief reign was fairly miserable and the resulting battle was gloomy indeed. But after Dáin is crowned and sorts everything out responsibly that things truly become happier for the next sixty years.

Descendent of Náin II, son of Fundin and elder brother of Dwalin; first cousin of Oin and Gloin (their father was Fundin's brother). Thorin, another descendent of Náin II, is also his kinsman.

* BusCrash: He, Óin, and Ori die years after the events of the book, during an effort to reclaim ''another'' lost dwarf-realm: [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Moria]].

[[folder:Glóin]]
Brother of Óin, first cousins with Balin and Dwalin, descendent of Náin II (a status he shares with Thorin) and father of Gimli.

* TheCameo: Glóin's appearance in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
* ColorCodedCharacters: Glóin is described as wearing a white cloak.

* TookALevelInKindness: Age, wealth, and experience has made Glóin considerably more polite and kindly in ''The Lord of the Rings'' than the Dwarves appear to be in ''The Hobbit''.

Thorin's nephews, sons of his sister Dís.

* ThePollyanna: Fíli and Kíli are shown as happy and energetic even when all the rest are exhausted, this is implied to them being much younger than the others.
* SiblingTeam: Fíli and Kíli are almost never seen apart, and this often includes them taking on tasks that they would be better suited for than the older dwarves.

[[folder: The Rest of the Dwarves[[note]]Dwalin, Óin, Nori, Ori, Bifur, Bofur [[/note]]]]
The rest of the Company, consisting of Dwalin (younger brother of Balin), Oin and Gloin (sons of Gróin and first cousins of Balin and Dwalin), Nori (brother of Dori), Ori (cousin of Dori and Nori), Bifur (cousin of brothers Bofur and Bombur) and Bofur (cousin of Bifur, brother of Bombur).

* BandOfRelatives: About half of the dwarves [[labelnote:*]]Thorin, Fíli, Kíli, Balin, Dwalin, Óin, and Glóin [[/labelnote]] are fairly close kinsmen. All of them play instruments.
* BusCrash: Óin and Ori die following Balin to reclaim [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Moria]].

** Óin -- Brown

* OldSoldier: Dwalin and Óin were also probably at Azanulbizar since they're both older than Glóin, [who's directly stated to have fought there], but they're not confirmed as being there by Tolkien.

** Óin and Glóin, they are seen working together to light a fire but their teamwork has a vitriolic flavor as they bicker and fight when they have a hard time lighting the fire. They also go against the trolls as a duo.

The leader of the Eagles of Manwë at the time of the story.

* MeaningfulName: "Beorn" ("warrior") is an Anglo-Saxon cognate of ''bjørn'', Danish/Norwegian for "bear", which itself is a composite of "bee" and "wolf" (which is where "Beowulf" comes from too). Beorn also has hives with giant bees.

[[folder:Roäc the Raven]]

* CleverCrows: Ravens are historically pals with Dwarves. Roäc's grandfather was pals with Thorin's granddad, and Roäc's family keep themselves busy acting as messengers between Thorin and Dáin.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Ravens are, of course, black-feathered carrion birds and thus usually symbols of death. Roäc is considered a respectable and eminent figure. Then again, Thorin makes sure to note that ravens are not crows; the latter are employed by Sauron.

[[folder:Dáin II Ironfoot]]
Thorin's cousin (his grandfather Grór is the brother of Thorin's grandfather Thror), who leads an army to Thorin's aid at what becomes the Battle of the Five Armies.

* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: Dáin -- far more than Thorin and his companions -- is like the prototype for every Dwarven warrior since.

--> '''Dáin''' ''(to Bilbo):'' Yet even though you were willing to lay aside all your claim, I should wish that the words of Thorin, of which he repented, should not prove true: that we should give you little. I would reward you most richly of all.
* RightfulKingReturns: As Thorin's closest surviving relative, he inherits the kingship of the Lonely Mountain after Thorin (and Fíli, and Kíli) perished.
* RoyalBlood: Grandson of Grór, the youngest brother of Thrór II.

* YouKilledMyFather: Decapitated Azog as a boy after the orc slew his father Náin. He may have been as young as Glóin or even younger, but is only said to have been "a stripling" by the dwarves reckoning.

[[folder:Thráin II]]

* MementoMacGuffin: He inherited [[spoiler:the last of the seven Dwarven Rings from his father Thrór before the latter set out to recapture Moria. Sauron took it from him, with torment, in Dol Guldur.]]

* PyrrhicVictory: Thráin won the War of the Dwarves and the Orcs. The Dwarven losses were staggering.

* WarriorPrince: He was already fighting in the frontlines even before Thrór perished.

[[folder:Thrór]]

* MementoMacGuffin: He inherited [[spoiler:the last of the seven Dwarven rings from his father and, before setting out to recapture Moria, gave it to his son Thraín]].

* ThemeNaming: He had two younger brothers named Frór and Grór.

!!...And Foes

** Said Germanic verb evolved into ''smjúga'' in Old Norse. The past tense of that is ''smaug'', which was pronounced something like "smowg".

Orc-chieftain of Moria and father of Bolg, he started the War of the Dwarves and Orcs when he slew Thrór (grandfather of Thorin II Oakenshield), and later killed Thrór's nephew Náin before perishing at the hands of Náin's son Dáin II Ironfoot.

* ArchEnemy: He is this to Thráin, Thorin and ''all of Durin's Folk'' after Azog killed Thrór, the chief of the clan and Durin's Heir.

* OffWithHisHead: He was decapitated by Dáin.

* KarmicDeath: He started a war with the dwarves after beheading Thrór, where he was himself beheaded. Also, he taunted Thrór's companion by throwing a bag of coins at him. Years later, the dwarves put Azog's own head on a pike and stuffed that same bag into his mouth.

* LightningBruiser: He's said to have been large and yet quite agile. He may have murdered a defenseless Thrór but also slew the lord Náin in single combat.

* SevenDeadlySins: {{Greed}} is his driving characteristic, having been driven by it to take the Lonely Mountain from the dwarves and hoard all its valuables to himself for life. However, he also exhibits {{Pride}} (an extremely bloated and fragile ego), Envy (he plundered all his valuables from their previous owners and jealously guards them), Wrath (the smallest slight can aggravate him to murder or even genocide), Sloth (once he's amassed his hoard and is content he sleeps his days away atop the hoard for sixty years), and Gluttony (he serially ate maidens from Dale until the city was completely abandoned and he also ate the Company's ponies). The only one that's missing is Lust.

* SevenDeadlySins: {{Greed}} is his driving characteristic, having been driven by it to take the Lonely Mountain from the dwarves and hoard all its valuables to himself for life. However, he also exhibits {{Pride}} (an extremely bloated and fragile ego), Envy (he plundered all his valuables from their previous owners and jealously guards them), Wrath (the smallest slight can aggravate him to murder or even genocide), Sloth (once he's amassed his hoard and is content he sleeps his days away atop the hoard for sixty years), Gluttony (he serially ate maidens from Dale until the city was completely abandoned and he also ate the Company's ponies). The only one that's missing is Lust.

* SevenDeadlySins: He represents Greed; and it was Greed that summoned him. He's also infected the whole hoard with Greed, which makes things more complicated for our heroes once they accomplish their ostensible goal.

* TakenForGranite: They turn to stone (or rather, ''back'' to stone) when exposed to sunlight -- as the book says, "trolls, as you probably know, must be underground before dawn, or they go back to the stuff of the mountains they are made of, and never move again."

* AerithAndBob: They're the only characters in the novel with modern English names.

* TheUnChosenOne: The prophecy of Laketown, when the rightful mountain king comes, ''the streams shall run in gladness'' (the journey upriver) ''the like will shine and burn'' (Smaug's attack) ''sorrow shall fail and sadness'' (this means that when the true king returns, sorrow shall ''fail'', as in there will be no more sorrow for a while). Thorin's brief reign was fairly miserable and the resulting battle was gloomy indeed. But after Dáin is crowned and sorts everything out responsibly that things truly become happier for the next sixty years.

* BadassBaritone: Thorin is said to speak in a low baritone, particularly suited for singing, and quite intimidating.

%%* CompellingVoice: Comes with the BadassBaritone territory.

* BerserkButton: To put it lightly, it's ''really'' not a good idea to steal from him, no matter how small the theft, or even think about it or even imply that you could possibly think about it at a later date. And it's an absolutely terrible idea to mock him or speak to him with any perceived disrespect with the result usually being a dramatic shoterning of one's lifespan.

The leader of the Company of Dwarves who have set out to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon. He is the uncle of Fíli and Kíli.

* BreakingSpeech: Gives Bombur an exceedingly nasty one because he’s annoyed about Bombur crying about being sick and in pain. It’s cut from nearly all adaptions, except for a graphic novel adaptation, which notably leaves out the bit about Thorin telling Bombur that they would have abandoned him if he hadn’t woken up when he did.

* TheComicallySerious: A good number of jokes in the story involving him spring from the fact that he's a pretty serious and humorless character--making it all the sillier when he gets dumped to the bottom of a pile of dwarves.

* DoomedHometown: The Lonely Mountain.

A dwarf with just enough HiddenDepths to break through being often described as "fat". For the first act, he can usually be counted on putting in the heavy work and being described as heavy. [[TraumaCongaLine But]] [[BrokenAce after that...]]

* DrivenToSuicide: After taking a heap of abuse from the other Dwarves for his magical coma creating problems and dealing with the aftermath from not eating for the six days, and repeatedly begging for (and being very harshly denied) a rest, Bombur decides that there’s no hope of getting out of the forest and refuses to be arm-twisted into struggling any further-and lies down and declares that he never wants to wake up again. He gets up when Balin spots a light in the distance, though he’s still clearly damaged.

* PersonalHorror: He loses his memories, thus waking up in the horrible place that is Mirkwood without remembering how he got there. He loses all his strength, previously going from being able to keep up with the others at a dead run to struggling withstanding. And then the heir of Durin makes it his personal mission to destroy his self-worth, which soon results in the company following said heir's lead in the bullying (or at least turning a blind eye to it, in Balin and possibly Bilbo's case-though with Bilbo's case it's important to note that he felt guilty enough about it to include the incident-as well as his own lack of involvement-in his memoir, which is how the reader learns about the whole sorry affair to begin with). As a result, Bombur is badly damaged and traumatized; his arc is about him making a very slow recovery (which, realistically, is far from complete by the end)
* OnlySaneMan: In chapter two after the whole troll trouble has been resolved, Bilbo is terrified, Gandalf adapts to it, Thorin’s reaction is to do his level best to gouge the troll’s eyes out (all by himself against three trolls who have already taken the rest of the company out)

* StoutStrength: Bombur pulls his own weight through the company’s considerable trials (when he hasn’t been starved for six days) despite being referred to as “fat”.

Father of Gimli

* TookALevelInKindness: Age, wealth, and experience has made Glóin considerably more polite and kindly in ''The Lord of the Rings'' than the Dwarves appear to be in ''The Hobbit.''

Thorin's Nephews

* ColorCodedCharacters: Blue, showing their connection to Thorin, but at the same time distinct from him-Fili and Kili are repeatedly shown as helpful and friendly and have cloaks simply referred to as blue with no decorations. Thorin, on the other hand, is established arrogant and haughty and is singled out as specifically having a ''sky'' blue cloak (with a silver tassel).

* DisappearedDad: Balin and Dwalin's father Fundin fell at Azanulbizar and so became one of the Burned Dwarves- the casualties of the battle were too numerous to be buried according to dwarven custom.
* DoomedHomeTown: The Lonely Mountain.

->"''I hear wolves' voices! Are the goblins at mischief in the woods?''"

->"''A very good tale! The best I have heard for a long while. If all beggars could tell such a good one, they might find me kinder.''"[[note]]After he confirms their story is true, he says he likes it even ''better''.[[/note]]

->"''Take him away and keep him safe, until he feels inclined to tell the truth, even if he waits a hundred years.''"

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He shows up personally on Erebor's doorstep.

->"''The dragon is coming or I am a fool!''"

* DoomedHomeTown: Lake-town itself.

* HyperCompetentSidekick: Towards the Master of Lake-Town. When the latter flees during Smaug's assault on the town, Bard [[HoldTheLine fights to the last]] [[spoiler:and ultimately kills Smaug. It reaches the point where the town wants to dispose of the Master and make Bard their new leader.]]

* LaserGuidedKarma: When Smaug devastated Dale, devoured its king Girion and plundered its treasures, the king's wife fled with her child to the neighboring town of Esgaroth. Decades later, the son of that child would face off against his grandfather's murderer.
* MirrorCharacter: To Thorin. A king in exile who wouldn't mind some gold.

* SpotlightStealingSquad: Once he appears he appears, Biblo is pushed to the sidelines, up until Bard actually departs from the story.
* TheStoic: His grim and gruff nature doesn't allow for a vast repertoire of emotions.

->"''We would see peace once more among Dwarves and Men and Elves after the long desolation.''"

* LastStand: He died on the same day the siege of Minas Tirith entered its final phase, defending the corpse of King Brand of Dale -- grandson of the man who freed the Lonely Mountain.

%%* DisappearedDad: To Thorin.
%%* DoomedHomeTown: The Lonely Mountain.

%%* DoomedHometown: The Lonely Mountain.

->"''Lake-men, some nasty scheme of those miserable tub-trading Lake-men or I'm a lizard. I haven't been down that way for an age and an age; but I will soon alter that!''"

-> '''William''': ''Poor little blighter! Let him go!''

-> "''Slash them! Beat them! Bite them! Gnash them! Take them away to dark holes full of snakes, and never let them see the light again!''"

* JerkassHasAPoint: He remains relatively civil until he sees that Thorin's sword. While his reaction to that is somewhat over the top, it's not that unreasonable for a goblin to get upset on learning that his uninvited guests brought with them ''Orcrist the Goblin Cleaver''.

* {{Revenge}}: The Battle of Five Armies is caused in part by the Misty Mountain goblins wanting to [[AvengingTheVillain avenge him]]. along with all the spoils for the taking. They stir up other clans of goblins and they all converge on the Lonely Mountain.

-> "''If beggars will not wait at the door, but sneak in to try thieving, that is what we do to them. If any of your people poke their foul beards in here again, they will fare the same. Go and tell them so! But if his family wish to know who is now king here, the name is written on his face. I wrote it! I killed him! I am the master!''"

->"''You were quite right, the meat's alive and kicking!''"

->'''People of Lake-town''': ''He may have a good head for business, especially his own business, but he is no good when anything serious happens!''

----

!![[center: [-'''Setting-wide:''' [[Characters/TolkiensLegendariumPeoples Peoples and Races]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsSauron Sauron]]-]]] [[center:[-''Characters/TheSilmarillion:'' [[Characters/TheSilmarillionEruAndTheAinur Eru and the Ainur]], [[Characters/TheSilmarillionEnemies Enemies]], [[Characters/TheSilmarillionFirstGenerationElvenRoyalty First-Generation Elven Royalty]], [[Characters/TheSilmarillionHouseOfFeanor the House of Fëanor]], [[Characters/TheSilmarillionHouseOfFingolfin the House of Fingolfin]]-]]] [[center:[-'''''The Hobbit'''''-]]] [[center:[-''Characters/TheLordOfTheRings:'' [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowship The Fellowship of the Ring]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsFreeMen Free Men]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheElves the Elves]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheForcesOfSauron the Forces of Sauron]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsOtherCharacters Other Characters]]-]]]

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: He is acclaimed king by many in Lake-town because [[spoiler:he kills Smaug]] and he leads the contingent of Men in the Battle of Five Armies because of this also. But [[spoiler:since Smaug had just destroyed Lake-town]] he still submitted to Lake-town's Master [[spoiler:until it was finally rebuilt.]]

%%* TheCavalry: Along with the other Eagles.
* GiantFlyer: He's a giant eagle.

* AwakenTheSleepingGiant: By the time Bilbo gets to him, Smaug is just snoozing at the top of his giant pile of treasures and has been doing nothing but that for the past several decades. All his evil deeds are in the past, and it did not seem like he was planning to go out and commit more anytime soon. But Bilbo entering his lair to steal his prized possessions really REALLY pissed him off and the dragon rose to wreak havoc once more

* DontWakeTheSleeper: Because if Bilbo does wake him while he's inside the Lonely Mountain stealing a goblet from the hoard, Smaug will almost certainly kill him and then likely also the dwarves for the theft. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:Smaug wakes up between the end of Bilbo's first trip and his return trip, and notices a thief has stolen a piece of his treasure]]. Avoiding waking Smaug is actually a mission in the 2003 ''Hobbit'' video game.

* TheDreaded: No one even went near him for decades after he claimed Erebor. The Dwarfs, even Thorin, are too afraid to enter the Mountain when they know he's there. It's stated that [[spoiler:many of the people defending Lake-Town would've just fled from Smaug without a fight when he attacked, if not for Bard's orders and constant encouragement]].
* EvilCounterpart: To Thorin. Interestingly, they're both Kings under the Mountain according to themselves -- Smaug is TheUsurper to Thorin's RightfulKingReturns. Thorin and Smaug have the same [[FatalFlaw Fatal Flaws]] of {{Pride}}, and {{Greed}} (for the same freaking treasure no less), and both their goals and motivations are pretty self-centred. They also both blockade themselves and their treasure inside the same mountain and wish for others to leave them alone with it or otherwise face DisproportionateRetribution. Furthermore, both take a more active role in the plot in the present time frame for {{Revenge}}. Both of them expect others to treat them like nobility... but Thorin is definitely [[BerserkButton more tolerant of not getting this than Smaug is]], whilst Smaug has a [[FauxAffablyEvil lot more charm when he's talking to others than Thorin does]]. Smaug is a formidable OneManArmy and is seemingly alone in the world, whereas Thorin operates with (and often relies on) other dwarves and Bilbo Baggins. Smaug is huge whereas Thorin is a dwarf. Smaug is a GeniusBruiser whereas Thorin makes some bad decisions on his own. Smaug is red and gold, while Thorin wears blue and silver colors. Thorin commands the loyalty of the other Company dwarves to the point [[spoiler:his nephews die defending him]] and he makes a HeelFaceTurn out of his SanitySlippage; Smaug has no such redeeming qualities.

* MysteriousPast: Virtually nothing is known about Smaug's past before he attacked the Lonely Mountain except that he came from the north. It's however likely he was no more than a few centuries old at the time, primarily since he's identified as being young and not yet fully grown when he destroyed Erebor.

* OurWerebeastsAreDifferent: Tolkein drew on Slavic myth, not necessarily the more recent forms of shape-shifter myth. Beorn's ability is under his conscious control, and he retains at least enough human mentality to rescue [[spoiler:Thorin]] after he falls in battle. The power seems to run in his bloodline, since some of the Beornings after his time share the ability.

For the characters that are portrayed in the Amazon's ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'', see [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower here]]. They are set in a different continuity from the films.

* HuntingTheMostDangerousGame: Smaug's one passion beyond his treasure is hunting. If available, people are his favorite quarry. Livestock are a close second, as he can take pleasure in depriving them from others.

* BerserkButton: To put it lightly, it's ''really'' not a good idea to steal from him, no matter how small the theft, or even think about it. And it's an absolutely terrible idea to mock him or speak to him with any perceived disrespect.