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The Arkenstone by Donato Giancola

The Arkenstone of Thrain was a great jewel discovered beneath the roots of Lonely Mountain and prized by his descendants as the "Heart of the Mountain".



The Arkenstone was discovered by Thráin I soon after the establishment of the dwarf-kingdom there, and the Dwarves used all their skill to work the gem into a shimmering multi-faceted jewel.


Ted Nasmith - Arkenstone



The Dwarves worked the stone into a multifaceted jewel. It shone by its own pale light, but when light fell upon it, the stone "...changed it into ten thousand sparks of white radiance shot with glints of the rainbow". It was a heavy gem but small enough for Bilbo Baggins to hold in one hand, yet not so small that he could close his own small hand around it.[2]




Other Versions of the Legendarium

In the writing of The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien halted after the capture of the Dwarves by the Wood-elves and sketched out the continuation of the story in plot notes. In these notes Bilbo stole a "gem", which became a "marvelous gem", and finally the "Jem [sic] of Girion" which the king of Dale had given to the Dwarves for the arming of his son.[5] As noted by John D. Rateliff, the Gem of Girion was to be offered by the Dwarves to Bilbo as his share of the payment,[6] thus solving the problem of how to transport Bilbo's one-fourteenth share back to Bag End.

Tolkien originally had the notion that Bilbo would kill Smaug. As his story progressed Tolkien decided that this strained credibility and so he introduced Bard as the dragon slayer and made him the heir of Girion. This led to a series of re-conceptualizations since now the Lake-men and the Elves were no longer mere opportunistic scavengers; there was one within their ranks with a legitimate claim to part of the treasure. The Gem of Girion became the Arkenstone and the one part of the hoard that Thorin would insist upon keeping. The elevation of Girion's gem led to the invention of the Necklace of Girion as the payment of Girion to the Dwarves for the arming of his son.[7]


  5. J.R.R. Tolkien, John D. Rateliff (ed.), The History of The Hobbit, Mr. Baggins, The Second Phase, "Plot Notes B", p. 364
  6. J.R.R. Tolkien, John D. Rateliff (ed.), The History of The Hobbit, Mr. Baggins, The Second Phase, "Plot Notes B", (vii) The Gem of Girion, p. 373