Fíli and Kíli

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Fíli and Kíli are fictional characters in The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. They are brothers, the youngest of the thirteen Dwarves who set out on Thorin Oakenshield's quest along with Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins.

Fíli and Kíli are Thorin's nephews (he was the elder brother of their mother Dís), and are identified by their blue cloaks and yellow beards. Fíli's most distinguishing feature is his long nose, the longest of any of the Dwarves on The Quest of Erebor.

As the youngest Dwarves, Fíli and Kíli have the sharpest eyes and so they are often sent scouting or searching. They find the goblin cave in the Misty Mountains. Fíli hooks the boat on the other side of the enchanted river in Mirkwood. They scout Ravenhill and the Front Gate with Balin and Bilbo. They also find Erebor's secret door with Bilbo. Fíli and Kíli are the two most active Dwarves of Thorin's company, and apart from Balin, and possibly Bombur, they appear more frequently as "individual" characters in Tolkien's book than the rest of Thorin's companions who are most often named only in "group" references to the entire company.

Both brothers are killed in the Battle of Five Armies, as well as Thorin himself, and all are buried with honour.

Tolkien borrowed the names of Fíli and Kíli from characters in the Edda by Snorri Sturluson. Although Fíli is described as being the youngest in Chapter 8 of The Hobbit, in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings his birthyear is given as 2859 T.A. whereas Kíli's year is 2864 T.A.

Some readers have pointed out the interesting fact that Fíli and Kíli are the only two Dwarves of Thorin's company to die at the Battle of Five Armies despite being more popular, and certainly treated more sympathetically by Tolkien, than the rest. From this perspective, the "singling out" of Fíli and Kíli for death appears unusual. There are two possible (and not mutually exclusive) explanations for why Tolkien chose to treat these characters in this way.

Thorin Oakenshield was Fíli and Kíli's maternal uncle. They were his "sister-sons." Tolkien often referred to the special relationship between maternal uncle and nephew in early Anglo-Saxon culture. In his 1953 essay and play about the Battle of Maldon, "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, Beorhthelm's Son," Tolkien refers to this bond twice; once in the essay itself and again during an exchange between the play's two characters, Tidwald and Torthelm. Torthelm, stumbling upon a slain English knight whom he mistakenly believes is Beorthnoth's nephew, exclaims "His sister-son! The songs tell us, ever near shall be at need nephew to uncle." Another example of this special bond is the relationship between Théoden and Éomer in The Lord of the Rings. Éomer is the son of Théoden's sister.

Viewed in this context, Fíli and Kíli's deaths defending Thorin are a perfect example of the Old English concept of a special bond of love and loyalty between uncle and nephew.

A possible second factor in Tolkien's decision to kill off the two younger Dwarves at the end of The Hobbit concerns the succession to the throne of Erebor. Thorin, patriarchal head of Durin's Folk, becomes King Under the Mountain upon the death of the dragon Smaug. He is succeeded by Dáin II Ironfoot, his cousin, and the eldest surviving direct descendant of Durin. However, had Fíli and Kíli not been killed at the Battle of Five Armies, then one of the two brothers would have assumed the kingship, as they would have been the sole surviving heirs of the senior line. If the genealogy cited above in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings is correct, Fíli would have been King Under the Mountain. If Thorin's statement in The Hobbit that Fíli is the youngest is correct, then Kíli would have become King as the older brother. It could be that Tolkien had already envisioned the venerable Dáin as becoming King after the battle, and that he felt it would be somewhat awkward for one of the two young brothers to become King and play such a central role; when he noticed the problem of succession as he revised the book's draft, he decided that the noble deaths of the yellow-bearded Dwarves defending Thorin was a fitting end.

A final note sometimes raised by fans of Tolkien's works concerns the age of Gimli relative to Fíli and Kíli. In the story of "The Quest for Erebor" that appears in Tolkien's Unfinished Tales, Gimli states that he was considered too young to join Thorin and Company on the quest. Gimli, according to Appendix A, was born in 2879 TA, and was therefore 62 years old when the Dwarves and Bilbo set out for the Lonely Mountain. Fíli and Kíli, his cousins, were slightly older, being 82 and 77 years old respectively (if Appendix A is accepted as accurate). All three were still "minors" according to Dwarf-reckoning, and given that Dwarves commonly lived to over 250 years old, the age differences between the three young Dwarves were minimal. It is therefore interesting that Fíli and Kíli were allowed to accompany the rest of Thorin's party (all much older) while Gimli remained in the Blue Mountains.

Dwarves from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium

Azaghâl | Balin | Bifur | Bofur | Bombur | Borin | Dáin I | Dáin II Ironfoot | Dís | Dori | Durin(s) | Dwalin | Fíli | Flói | Frerin | Frár | Frór | Fundin | Gamil Zirak | Gimli | Glóin | Gróin | Grór | Ibûn | Khîm | Kíli | Lóni | Mîm | Náin I | Náin II | Náin son of Grór | Náli | Nár | Narvi | Nori | Óin | Ori | Telchar | Thorin I | Thorin II Oakenshield | Thorin III | Thráin I | Thráin II | Thrór

Kingdoms of the Dwarves

Belegost | Iron Hills | Khazad-dûm | Lonely Mountain | Nogrod