Fathers of the Dwarves

In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy universe of Middle-earth, the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves were the first of their race.

It is told in The Silmarillion that the Vala Aulë created the Dwarves because he was impatient for the arising of the Children of Ilúvatar (Elves and Men). He created seven Dwarves, and was teaching them the language he had devised for them (Khuzdul) when Ilúvatar confronted him. Aulë offered his creations to Ilúvatar, who accepted them and gave them life.

However, the Fathers of the Dwarves had to wait until the Elves first arrived, and Aulë laid them to rest in various places in the continent of Middle-earth.

Durin I was the eldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, and the first of his kind to awake in Middle-earth. Durin I belonged to what later became known as the clan of Longbeards.

The Dwarves were created in ancient times by Aulë, one of the Valar. Aulë was a smith and a craftsman and he wanted to teach his skills to the Dwarves. He made Durin first and then six others. But Eru had intended the Elves to be the Firstborn race so he commanded Aulë to put the Dwarves to sleep until after the Elves awoke. Eru gave each of the Dwarves their own souls so they could exist as independent beings. At first, when Eru had scolded Aulë for his creating the Dwarf Fathers, Aulë was going to destroy them, but Eru stopped him, noting that they now had their own souls. The Dwarves are thereby the "adopted Children" of Eru.

Durin was the first to awaken, and awoke in Mount Gundabad, in the northern Misty Mountains.

Two others were laid in sleep in the north of the Ered Luin or Blue Mountains, and they founded the lines of the Broadbeams and the Firebeards who later lived in Belegost and Nogrod respectively.

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