Durin is the name of seven Kings of Dwarves in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They were held by the Dwarves to be the reincarnations of the first one, Durin the Deathless, resembling him in appearance and said to have preserved memories of their 'earlier lives'.
Tolkien took the name Durin, like most of the dwarf names in his work, from Norse mythology. This he later explained by the translation fiction: since Westron was translated with English, the language of Dale, used by Dwarves for their "outer" names, was translated with Old Norse. One way the original Old Norse term durinn can be translated, appropriately, is "sleepy".
Discussions of the Durins (specifically in The Peoples of Middle-earth) must be read with care, since their number expanded as Tolkien's story developed. The Durin killed by the Balrog in T.A. 1980, for example, was originally Durin III, but Durin VI in The Lord of the Rings. (And a common typo on the Web lists him as "Durin IV".)
Read more about Durin: Durin The Deathless, Durin II, Durin III, Durin IV, Durin V, Durin VI, Durin VII
Other articles related to "durin":
... - Dís (Middle-earth) - Dori - Dorlas - Draugluin - Duilin - Durin - Durin II - Durin III - Durin IV - Durin V - Durin VI - Durin VII - Durin's Bane - Dwalin ...
... Durin VII or Durin the Last was the direct descendant of king Thorin III Stonehelm (according to some sources, his son), ruler of Erebor and the Iron Hills in the Fourth Age ... He led Durin's Folk back to recolonize Khazad-dûm (Moria) some (unspecified) time after the beginning of the Fourth Age, where they remained "until the world grew old and the Dwarves failed and the days ...
... Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Durin's folk, also known as the Longbeards, were the most important clan of Dwarves ... name comes from that of their first king, Durin I "The Deathless" ... During the Second Age, Durin's folk entered into friendship with the Noldor of Celebrimbor in Eregion ...
... Durin VII was a descendant of Thorin III Stonehelm of Durin's folk, who was lord of the Dwarves of Erebor and the Iron Hills in Wilderland ...
... Stonehelm was the son and heir of Dáin II Ironfoot of Durin's folk, who was lord of the Dwarves of Erebor and the Iron Hills in Wilderland ... of Dwarves south to Aglarond, where a new lordship was established, most likely a colony of Durin's Folk under the vassalage of the King of Erebor ... Thorin III had a descendant, Durin VII the Last, who was held to be the final reincarnation of Durin the Deathless ...