The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Dale was built soon after the refounding of Erebor in III 2590; it was destroyed by Smaug in III 2770, and resettled in III 2941 - III 2944; extant into the Fourth Age
Location
Dale, in a valley of the Lonely Mountain
Origins
Northmen travelling up the river Running
Race
Division
Settlements
Dale, a settlement close to the Dwarf-city of Erebor, the Lonely Mountain
Important peaks
Dwelt in a valley on the southern side of the Lonely Mountain
Pronunciation
Dale rhymes with English 'pale' or 'tale'
Meaning
Dale means 'valley'
Other names

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About this entry:

  • Updated 10 February 2023
  • This entry is complete

Dale-men

The people of the town of Dale

Northmen
Northmen of Rhovanion
Men of the Éothéod
Dale-men

The Dale-men descended from the Northmen by two separate lines. One group of original settlers were later joined by an offshoot of the dwindled Northmen of Rhovanion, the same people from whom the Men of the Éothéod, and ultimately the Rohirrim, were derived.

A branch of the Northmen who travelled up the river Running and established a township in the southern valley of Erebor, the Lonely Mountain. Because of its situation in a valley, the new town became known simply as 'Dale', and its people flourished in friendship with the Dwarves under the Mountain to the north. When Smaug descended on Erebor he also destroyed Dale, though among the survivors who escaped down the river were the wife and child of Girion, the Lord of Dale. It was his descendant Bard who finally slew the Dragon of Erebor. Bard returned to the site of Dale and refounded it as a town filled with waterways and fountains, becoming the first of a new line of lords to rule the Dale-men. After the time of Bard the Men of Dale became commonly known as the Bardings.


Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 10 February 2023
  • This entry is complete

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