Blacklocks

From Tolkien Gateway
Blacklocks
People
Daniel Falconer - Blacklock dwarf.png
"Blacklock dwarf" by Daniel Falconer
General Information
LocationsRhûn[1]
AffiliationStonefoots
LanguagesKhuzdul
Physical Description
Lifespanc. 250 years[2]
GalleryImages of Blacklocks

The Blacklocks were one of the seven houses of the Dwarves that dwelt in Rhûn. They were originally paired with the Stonefoots.[3]

The locations of the four Dwarven clans, including the Blacklocks, who lived in the East are unknown. The distance between their mansions in the East and the Misty Mountains, specifically Gundabad, was said to be as great or greater than that of Gundabad's distance from the Blue Mountains in the West.[4]

It is possible that the Blacklocks were among the "Houses of other Fathers" who sent troops to help Durin's Folk in the War of the Dwarves and Orcs.[5]

Late in the Third Age, when war and terror grew in the East itself, considerable numbers of Blacklocks and dwarves of the Eastern clans left their ancient homelands. They sought refuge in Middle-earth's western lands, where some of them may have met Frodo Baggins.[6]

Portrayal in adaptations

1982-97: Middle-earth Role Playing:

The unnamed Dwarven tribes were given invented names in an early supplement.[7] While these were published before the publication of Tolkien's late note on the name of the Dwarven houses of the East, it has been suggested that the Blacklocks could correspond to Drúin's Tribe (as portrayed in MERP).[8]

2002-5: The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game:

The House corresponding to the Blacklocks is called Var's Folk, said to wander the lands of the East and South. Their beards are "black as coal and thick as wire, often left tangled ad unkempt".[9]

2021: The Lord of the Rings Online:

The House corresponding to the Blacklocks is called the Temámir. Their Ring was either "Taurya", which was reclaimed by Sauron, or "Tulcya", which was consumed by the dragon "Thostír the Rank". Described as "perhaps the wisest of the Seven Houses", the Temámir were led by "King Brítu the Redeful" at the beginning of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. By the time of the Battle of Azanulbizar, all that remained of the royal line was a young princess named "Jegin", who became King of her people.

References

Dwarven Clans
Longbeards · Firebeards · Broadbeams · Ironfists · Stiffbeards · Blacklocks · Stonefoots · (Petty-dwarves)