Men of Dale

From Tolkien Gateway
Men of Dale
People
Eric David Anderson - Men of Dale.jpg
"Men of Dale" by Eric David Anderson
General Information
OriginsNorthmen
LocationsDale, Esgaroth, Kingdom of Dale
AffiliationDwarves of Erebor
LanguagesWestron, Dalish
MembersGirion, Bardings (Bard, Brand)
GalleryImages of Men of Dale

The Men who dwelt in Dale, a township at the feet of the Lonely Mountain.

History[edit | edit source]

There was a folk of Northmen by the Mountain Erebor already by T.A. 1856. That year, that folk was joined by other Northmen who fled Gondor after the disastrous defeat of the Battle of the Plains.[1]

More Northmen came up the River Running from the south after T.A. 2590, when King Thrór reestablished the Kingdom under the Mountain.[2]

There those Northmen built the town of Dale.[3] The town shared in the prosperity of the Dwarves and it was governed by the Lord of Dale.[4]

In 2770, during the time of Girion, Smaug descended upon the Dwarf-kingdom.[2] The Men fielded warriors against him but could not prevent the Sack of Erebor. After that, the dragon would crawl out of the Front Gate of the Mountain by night and carry away people (especially maidens) to eat. The remaining population soon fled and the deserted city fell into ruins.[3]

Many went to dwell on the Long Lake with the Lake-men, including the last descendant of Girion, Bard. When Dale was refounded as a Kingdom by Bard, its people were known as Bardings.[2]

Culture[edit | edit source]

The Men of Dale flourished with trade with the Dwarves of Erebor.

They spoke Westron with their own dialect, Dalish.

References