Dale
From the One Wiki to Rule Them All, the Lord of the Rings Encyclopedia.
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Dale is a city state in north-eastern Rhovanion near the Lonely Mountain in Middle-earth.
In The Hobbit, Dale was a city of men on the River Running between the Lonely Mountain and the Long Lake. It was ruled by Lord Girion until its destruction in TA 2770 by the dragon Smaug.
Situated in the shadow of the Lonely Mountain, it was deserted for many years while the mountain was under the control of Smaug the Dragon. The town was repopulated after the Battle of Five Armies (featured in The Hobbit) where Bilbo Baggins and his dwarf companions broke into the dragon's stronghold to steal his treasure. During this period the Men of Esgaroth upon the Long Lake (a nearby town) managed to kill Smaug. With Laketown in ruins, the men sought a portion of Thorin's treasure in payment for their help in the overthrown of the dragon and to rebuilt their town, but in his pride Thorin refused. The squabble almost resulted in war between the men, their Wood elf allies and Thorin and his soon-to-arrive dwarven kin in the Iron Hills. Just before they were about fight, Gandalf arrived with a warning that the Orcs of the Misty Mountains and their warg allies sought to destroy them to avenge the death of the Goblin King and claim the treasure. This started the Battle of the Five Armies with the dwarves, the elves and the men joining forces against the orcs. When the battle was over, the dwarves restored their kingdom under the Lonely Mountain and men began to settle once more in Dale, with Bard, the man who slew the dragon becoming their first king.
Dale was sacked for a second time during the War of the Ring by invaders from the east. The people of Dale took refuge in Erebor with the dwarves, and it was during the siege of Erebor that King Dáin II Ironfoot of Erebor and King Brand of Dale were slain. However, after the fall of Sauron the siege was broken and Dale rebuilt once more.
Gandalf was indirectly responsible for the rebuilding of Dale, in that he set in motion the quest that would result in the slaying of Smaug and provided vital aid to it. Some argue that he saw the upcoming war, and did this in a successful attempt to create one more front for Sauron.
[edit] Kings of the Kingdom of Dale
[edit] Old Kingdom
[edit] Dale renewed
- Bard the Bowman a.k.a. Bard I
- Bain
- Brand
- Bard II
