When did the dragon Smaug sack Erebor and force Balin into exile?
The year Balin turned seven, the dragon Smaug sacked Erebor. Dwarves fled into exile while their father Fundin later died in the Battle of Azanulbizar.
The year Balin turned seven, the dragon Smaug sacked Erebor. Dwarves fled into exile while their father Fundin later died in the Battle of Azanulbizar.
Orcs eventually overran the settlement after less than five years as Lord of Moria. An orc archer killed Balin in Dimrill Dale where his father had also died.
Scholar John D. Rateliff notes Balin is the only dwarf whose name does not come directly from Old Norse poem Völuspá. The name appears instead in Sir Thomas Malory's Middle English prose tale Le Morte d'Arthur.
Don Messick voiced Balin in Rankin/Bass animated version released in 1977. Ken Stott portrayed Balin in Peter Jackson live-action film series starting in 2012.
Tolkien expended enormous effort constructing a facsimile book to resemble the burnt volume abandoned at Balin's tomb. He carefully stained paper and burned marks into pages to make it authentic.