List of Middle-earth Objects - Jewellery - Arkenstone

Arkenstone

A wondrous large white gem sought by Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit. It was discovered beneath Erebor (the Lonely Mountain) by Thorin's ancestor, Thráin the Old, and shaped by the Dwarves. The Arkenstone became the family heirloom of Durin's line, but was lost when the dragon Smaug captured the mountain from the Dwarves (T.A. 2770). The Arkenstone shone of its own inner light, but having been cut and fashioned by the Dwarves, it also reflected and multiplied any light glancing upon its surface with marvellous beauty. It was also called the Heart of the Mountain, and as Thorin describes to Bilbo: "It shone like silver in the firelight, like water in the sun, like snow under the stars, like rain upon the moon..."

When Bilbo Baggins found it on Smaug's golden bed deep inside the Lonely Mountain (T.A. 2941), he pocketed it, having learned how much Thorin valued it. While the Dwarves with Thorin sorted the treasure, Thorin sought only the Arkenstone, unaware that Bilbo was hiding it in his pillow. When the Dwarves refused to share any of the treasure with Bard (who had killed Smaug) and King Thranduil, Bilbo crept out of the Dwarves' fort inside the Mountain, and gave them the Arkenstone; Bard, Thranduil, and Gandalf then tried to trade it for Bilbo's fourteenth share of Smaug's hoard. The dispute was interrupted by goblins and wargs from the Grey Mountains, the Battle of Five Armies ensued, and Thorin was killed. When Thorin was buried deep under Erebor, Bard placed the Arkenstone on Thorin's breast.

Tolkien took the name from Old English earcanstān (also spelled eorcanstān, eorcnanstān, etc.) or Old Norse jarknasteinn, meaning "precious stone". The word appears in several Old English poems; for example, "The Ruin" tells how a warrior long ago seah on sinc, on sylfor, on searogimmas, on ead, on æht, on eorcanstan—"gazed on treasure, silver, precious gems, wealth, possessions, a precious stone."

In the 2012 movie, the Arkenstone is portrayed as a round glowing gem. Unlike in the book, it is uncut. The gem was inserted into Thror's throne, and the king viewed it as a symbol of his rule by divine grace. He attempted to take it with him when Smaug invaded Erebor, but dropped it into a pile of gold where it was lost.