as his sires had of old

sires of old = predecessors

rpshThorin would have the friendship and honour of the lands about, as his sires had of old,

... Thorin would have the friendship and honour of the people in the surrounding lands, as his forefathers had a long time ago.

Philipsires of old = predecessors

So it is! Thank you!

PS: would you describe a stubborn people in such words" he is a people who has a stiff neck" or what does the phrase "stiff neck" mean?

You are more likely to get a response to the "stiff neck" question if you post it separately rather than as a "piggy-back" item on an existing post.

rpshwhat does the phrase "stiff neck" mean?

stiff-necked - a description in the Bible of the Hebrews who did not follow ***'s laws. They wanted to make their own rules.
The phase comes from the required attitude of prayer or submission, where people bend their heads down in humbleness before *** or a king. People with stiff necks do not bend them.

rpshDoes the old mean a kind of affinity here?

No. "Of old" is just an old-fashioned way of saying "long ago".

AlpheccaStars rpshwhat does the phrase "stiff neck" mean?stiff-necked - a description in the Bible of the Hebrews who did not follow ***'s laws. They wanted to make their own rules. The phase comes from the required attitude of prayer or submission, where people bend their heads down in humbleness before *** or a king. People with stiff necks do not bend them.

rpshWhere could I find such interpretation without reading the Bible?

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable has an entry for "stiff-necked" and many other expressions. It cites the Bible, but it provides a different interpretation, that a stiff-necked horse does not respond to the reins well. Brewer's i

OK,I'll have a look. Thank you!

rpshPS:"I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again. Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)"The paragraph you have quoted is a joke?

It is an allusion to the Zen of Commas.