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Dwarf (Middle-earth)
Encyclopedia
In the fiction
of J. R. R. Tolkien
, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda
, a fictional prehistoric Earth
which includes the continent Middle-earth
.
They appear in his books The Hobbit
(1937), The Lord of the Rings
(1954–55), and the posthumously published The Silmarillion
(1977), Unfinished Tales
(1980), and The History of Middle-earth
series (1983–96), the last three edited by his son and literary executor
Christopher Tolkien
.
the very few Dwarves who appear are portrayed as evil beings, employers of Orc
mercenaries and in conflict with the Elves
—who are the imagined 'authors' of the myths, and are therefore biased against Dwarves. Tolkien was inspired by the dwarves of Norse myths
and dwarves of traditional European fairy-tales (such as those of the Brothers Grimm
), from whom his Dwarves take their characteristic affinity with mining, metalworking, crafting and avarice.
, Tolkien was now influenced by his own selective reading of medieval texts regarding the Jewish people and their history. The dwarves' characteristics of being dispossessed of their homeland (the Lonely Mountain, their ancestral home, is the goal the exiled Dwarves seek to reclaim), and living among other groups whilst retaining their own culture are all derived from the medieval image of Jews, whilst their warlike nature stems from accounts in the Hebrew Bible
. Medieval views of Jews also saw them as having a propensity for making well-crafted and beautiful things, a trait shared with Norse dwarves. For The Hobbit almost all dwarf-names are taken from the Dvergatal or "Catalogue of the Dwarves", found in the Poetic Edda
. However, more than just supplying names, the "Catalogue of the Dwarves" appears to have inspired Tolkien to supply meaning and context to the list of names—that they travelled together, and this in turn became the quest told of in The Hobbit. The Dwarves' written language is represented on maps and in illustrations by Anglo-Saxon Runes
. The Dwarven calendar invented for The Hobbit reflects the Jewish calendar in beginning in late autumn. The dwarves taking Bilbo out of his complacent existence has been seen as an eloquent metaphor for the "impoverishment of Western society without Jews."
) Tolkien decided to create an analogue of a Semitic language influenced by Hebrew
phonology
. Like medieval Jewish groups, the Dwarves use their own language only amongst themselves, and adopted the languages of those they live amongst for the most part, for example taking public names from the cultures they lived within, whilst keeping their "true-names" and true language a secret. Along with a few words in Khuzdûl, Tolkien also developed runes of his own invention (the Cirth
), said to have been invented by Elves and later adopted by the Dwarves. Tolkien further underlines the diaspora
of the Dwarves with the lost stronghold of the Mines of Moria
. In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien uses the main dwarf character Gimli
to finally reconcile the conflict between Elves and Dwarves through showing great courtesy to Galadriel
and forming a deep friendship with Legolas
. The Gimli-Legolas relationship has been seen as Tolkien's reply toward "Gentile anti-Semitism and Jewish exclusiveness".
Tolkien also elaborated on Jewish influence on his Dwarves in a letter: "I do think of the 'Dwarves' like Jews: at once native and alien in their habitations, speaking the languages of the country, but with an accent due to their own private tongue..."
significantly to rewrite it with input from Guy Gavriel Kay
in preparation for publication.
in 1996.
In the last interview before his death, Tolkien, after discussing the nature of Elves, briefly says of his Dwarves: "The dwarves of course are quite obviously, wouldn't you say that in many ways they remind you of the Jews? Their words are Semitic, obviously, constructed to be Semitic."
it is explained that if we still spoke of dwarves regularly, English might have retained a special plural for the word dwarf as with goose—geese. Despite Tolkien's fondness for it, the form dwarrow only appears in his writing as Dwarrowdelf, a name for Moria.
Tolkien used Dwarves, instead, which corresponds with Elf and Elves. In this matter, one has to consider the fact that the etymological development of the term dwarf differs from the similar-sounding word scarf (plural scarves). The English word is related to old Norse
dvergr, which, in the other case, would have had the form dvorgr. But this word was never recorded, and the f/g-emendation (English/Norse) dates further back in language history.
, the Dwarves are described as shorter and stockier than Elves and Men, able to withstand both heat and cold. Though they are mortal, Dwarves have an average lifespan of 250 years.
In The Lord of the Rings
Tolkien writes that they breed slowly, for no more than a third of them are female, and not all marry; also, female Dwarves look and sound (and dress, if journeying—which is rare) so alike to Dwarf-males that other folk cannot distinguish them, and thus others wrongly believe Dwarves grow out of stone. Tolkien names only one female, Dís. In The War of the Jewels Tolkien says both males and females have beards.
Tolkien's Dwarves, much like their mythical forebears, are great metalworkers, smiths and stoneworkers. Fierce in battle, their main weapons are axes
(referenced in many subsequent fantasy works), but they also use bows, swords, shields and mattock
s. Unlike other fantasy dwarves, Tolkien does not explicitly have them use war hammer
s.
Since they lived underground, Dwarves did not grow their own food supplies if they could help it, and usually obtained food through trade with Elves and Men. In the essay "Of Dwarves and Men" in The Peoples of Middle-earth
it is written that Dwarven and human communities often formed relationships where the Men were the prime suppliers of food, farmers and herdsmen, while the Dwarves supplied tools and weapons, road-building and construction work.
Unlike Elves and Men, created by the supreme God Ilúvatar
, Dwarves were created by the Vala
(angelic being) Aulë
.
Throughout the First Age and most of the Second Age
, the Dwarves maintain mostly friendly trading relationships with Men and Elves (the Dwarves of Nogrod's treachery towards Thingol
of Doriath
being an exception). However, in the Third Age
, particularly after the closure of Moria
, they grow mistrustful of Elves, though in later times cordial relations are established with the Elves of Mirkwood and the Men of Dale. They also maintain somewhat ambivalent relations with Hobbits for most of the Third Age, although after the mission to retake the Lonely Mountain Bilbo Baggins
is held in great esteem there.
From their creation, the Dwarves spoke Khuzdul
, a constructed language made for them by Aulë. Because it was a constructed (though living) language, it was not descended from any form of Elvish, as most of the languages of Men were, although it is suggested that the language may have had influence on the early languages of Men. Khuzdul was for the most part a closely guarded tongue (one of the few recorded outsiders to have a knowledge of it was Eöl
), however, and the Dwarves never revealed their Khuzdul names to outsiders, going so far as to omit them from even their tombs. Khuzdul was written in Cirth
, a runic alphabet developed by the Elves. There is no extant corpus for the Khuzdul language, whether in Tolkien's novels or in his private works, other than the battle cry: Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu! (meaning "Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!") and the inscription on Balin
's tombstone, reading: BALIN FUNDINUL UZBAD KHAZAD-DÛMU, or Balin son of Fundin Lord of Moria. The remainder of the corpus of Khuzdul consists of single words.
the Dwarves were called Naugrim ("Stunted People"), Gonnhirrim ("Stone-lords"), and Dornhoth ("Thrawn Folk"), and also Hadhodrim. In Quenya
they were the Casári. The Dwarves called themselves Khazâd in their own language, Khuzdul
.
Tolkien took the names of twelve of the thirteen dwarves he used in The Hobbit (and Gandalf's name as well) from Völuspá
.
s or "Houses". The three who enter Tolkien's histories are:
After the end of the First Age, the Dwarves spoken of are almost exclusively of Durin
's line. Almost nothing is known of the histories of the other four Houses, except that they each sent a contingent west to fight in The War of the Dwarves and Orcs in the late Third Age, and their names:
, which had been exiled for reasons unknown in very ancient times. They were the first to cross the Ered Luin in the First Age
, and established strongholds in Beleriand
before the building of Nogrod and Belegost in the Blue Mountains, and before the Elves
arrived. These very ancient settlements were at Nargothrond
and Amon Rûdh.
The usual Sindarin
name was Noegyth Nibin; other include Nibin-Nogrim and Noegoethig, formed of nibin ("petty") and one of the Elvish names for the true Dwarves. In Quenya
they were called Pitya-naukor. The Petty-dwarves of West Beleriand
dwindled to a single family, and then at last became extinct.
The Sindar
, not acquainted with Dwarves yet, saw the Petty-dwarves as little more than bothersome animals, calling them (Levain) Tad-dail ("two-legged (animals)"), and hunted them. Not until the Dwarves of the Ered Luin established contact with the Sindar did they realize what the Petty-dwarves were. Afterwards they were mostly left alone, but not before the Petty-dwarves came to hate all Elves with a passion.
Petty-dwarves differed from normal Dwarves in various ways: they were smaller, far more unsociable, and they freely gave away their names: other Dwarves kept their Khuzdûl
names and language a secret. This may have been one of the reasons the Petty-dwarves were exiled.
By the time of the War of the Jewels, after the return of the Noldor
, the Petty-dwarves had nearly died out. The last remnant of their people were Mîm
and his two sons, Ibun and Khîm, who lived at Amon Rûdh. They gave shelter to Túrin Turambar
and his band at their home of Amon Rûdh. Mîm was later captured by a band of Orcs and saved his own life by betraying Túrin, though his sons were killed. Mîm later became the possessor of a treasure-hoard abandoned by the dragon Glaurung
, but was later killed by Húrin
, Túrin's father.
. They were created by the Vala
Aulë
, in secret from the other Valar, intended to be his children to whom he could teach his crafts. Ilúvatar, however, knew of their creation, despite Aulë's efforts. When confronted by Ilúvatar, Aule confessed his deed and raised his hammer to destroy his creations. Upon seeing this, and understanding that Aulë had not acted in defiance or intent for domination, Ilúvatar decided that their creation was not an evil deed and sanctified them, though he did not allow them to "awake" before the Elves (whom he had designated as "The Firstborn"). Aulë sealed the seven Fathers of the Dwarves
in stone chambers in far-flung regions of Middle-earth to await their awakening.
in the natural caves beneath three peaks: Caradhras
, Celebdil, and Fanuidhol (known in Khuzdûl as Baranzinbar, Zirakzigil, and Bundushathûr, respectively). The city, populated by the Longbeards or Durin's folk
, grew and prospered continuously through Durin's life (which was so long that he was called Durin the Deathless, also a reference to the belief by his people that he would be reincarnated seven times). It was the only one of the Dwarf mansions to survive the First Age.
Far to the west of Khazad-dûm, the great dwarven cities of Belegost and Nogrod were founded in Ered Luin (The Blue Mountains) during the First Age, before the arrival of the Elves in Beleriand
. The Dwarves of Belegost were the first to forge chain mail, and they also traded weaponry with the Sindar and carved the Thousand Caves of Menegroth for the Elf king Thingol
. In Nogrod, the smith Telchar forged Narsil
and Angrist, two of the most fateful weapons in the history of Arda, as well as the famed Dragon-helm of Dor-Lómin.
The dwarves of Beleriand fought against the forces of Melkor during the first age, and the dwarves of Belegost were the only people able to withstand dragon-fire in the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, when King Azaghâl, who died in the battle, stabbed Glaurung, the first dragon.
The dwarves of Nogrod fought against Melkor as well. However, they slew Thingol
out of greed and stole the Silmaril
they had been charged to set into the necklace called Nauglamír. A number of retaliatory actions ensued, and the Nogrod army was destroyed by a force of Laiquendi
and Ent
s. Both dwarf kingdoms would eventually be destroyed, along with nearly all of Beleriand, after the War of Wrath
, with the dwarven refugees mainly resettling in Khazad-dûm.
, a magical and extremely valuable metal found only in its mines. During this time the Dwarves continued to trade with neighbouring Men and the Elves of Eregion
. Seven of the Rings of Power
forged by the Elven-Smiths were later given by Sauron, who had seized them, to the heads of the seven Dwarf clans (although the Longbeards maintained that Durin's Ring was given him by Celebrimbor
). The Dwarves of Moria at first fought in the War of Sauron and the Elves, but in the year 1697 of the Second Age, the doors of Khazad-dûm were shut and its inhabitants no longer ventured forth into the world. Thereafter it was known by the elven name of Moria, meaning "dark chasm".
known in the histories of Middle-earth, called Durin's Bane. They battled against the demon for one year, and after the death of two kings, the Dwarves who had not been killed fled from the Misty Mountains. For almost two decades they had no kingdom, but in the year 1999, Thráin I founded a kingdom at the Lonely Mountain
. This kingdom prospered for a time, and the great jewel known as the Arkenstone was discovered.
In 2210 Thorin I founded a kingdom in the Grey Mountains to the north of Mirkwood
. Both of these realms would eventually be consumed by dragons—the Grey Mountains in 2590 by a horde and The Lonely Mountain in 2770 by the dragon Smaug
. The refugees from the Grey Mountains who did not return to The Lonely Mountain colonized the Iron Hills
, one of the only Dwarf kingdoms never to be abandoned or taken. The main body of the Dwarves became a wandering people, and Thrór, who had been king of the Lonely Mountain when it was captured, was slain by Orcs in the year 2790 and his body mutilated. This led to the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, in which nearly all of the Orc hordes of the Misty Mountains were exterminated but half of the Dwarf host were killed, a blow that took the Dwarves several hundred years to recover from.
For a time an exile kingdom was founded in the northern Blue Mountains, but Thráin II
was driven to wandering the wilderness by his Ring, the last of the Dwarven Rings not yet taken by Sauron
or consumed by dragons. He was soon captured by Sauron, then reigning as the Necromancer in Dol Guldur
. Thráin was tortured, his Ring of Power taken, and finally died. In 2941 Thorin II Oakenshield, son of Thráin II and grandson of Thrór, recolonized the Lonely Mountain after Smaug the dragon was slain by Bard, the future King of Dale. After the ensuing Battle of the Five Armies, in which the Eagles, the Elves of Mirkwood, the Men of Dale, and the Dwarves of the Iron Hills (as well as Thorin's band) defeated an invading horde of Goblins and in which Thorin was killed, his cousin Dáin II Ironfoot
, already King of the Iron Hills, became King Under the Mountain, and the Lonely Mountain was not abandoned again.
Dwarves did not figure prominently in the major battles of the War of the Ring
although the Lonely Mountain was besieged for a time and Dáin killed in the Battle of Dale
. One dwarf, however—Gimli
—joined the Fellowship of the Ring and was a companion of the Ringbearer for a great part of his journey, and also fought at the Battle of Hornburg, the Battle of the Pelennor Fields
, and the Battle of the Morannon
.
, Gimli led a group of colonists from the Lonely Mountain to the Glittering Caves, beneath Hornburg in Rohan
, where he established another Dwarf kingdom and ruled there for more than a century. After the death of Aragorn
in the year 120 of the Fourth Age, he sailed to the Undying Lands with Legolas
.
It is said that the Dwarf population began to dwindle because most male Dwarves did not desire wives, or could not find one that they desired. It does not help that Dwarf women are less than a third of the population. Yet much is still left a mystery in Dwarven history; the Dwarves' true fate is left unknown.
In Iron Crown Enterprises
' Middle-earth Role Playing
(1986) Dwarven player-characters receive statistical bonuses to Strength and Constitution, and subtractions from Presence, Agility and Intelligence. Seven "Dwarven Kindreds", named after each of the founding fathers: Durin, Bávor, Dwálin, Thrár, Druin, Thelór and Bárin are given in The Lords of Middle Earth—Volume III (1989).
In Peter Jackson
's live action
adaptation of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
, Gimli's character is occasionally used as comic relief and several of his appearances are intended to emphasize the difference between the Dwarves and Elves.
Other dwarves appear in passing in two scenes of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie: the "prologue" introduces the seven dwarf-lords that received the Rings of Power, and four more are present at the Council of Elrond (in contrast to the book, where only Gimli and his father Glóin are described). Peter Jackson's Dwarves are depicted as wearing scale armour.
In Decipher Inc.'s The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game (2001), based on the Jackson films, Dwarven player-characters get bonuses to Vitality and Strength attributes and must be given craft skills. In the Dwarves of Middle-earth (2003) supplement, the seven Dwarf Lords and their houses are named as Durin, Sindri, Linnar, Var, Uri, Thulin and Vigdis.
In the real-time strategy game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II
, and its expansion, both based on the Jackson films, Dwarves use throwing axes, war hammers, and circular and Roman-esque shields.
Tolkien's legendarium
The phrase Tolkien's legendarium is used in the literary discipline of Tolkien studiesto refer to the part of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy fiction being concerned with his Elven legends; that is, historic events that have become legendary from the perspective of the characters of The Lord of the...
of J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda
Arda
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Arda is the name given to the Earth in a period of prehistory, wherein the places mentioned in The Lord of the Rings and related material once existed...
, a fictional prehistoric Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
which includes the continent Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
.
They appear in his books The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
(1937), The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
(1954–55), and the posthumously published The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
(1977), Unfinished Tales
Unfinished Tales
Unfinished Tales is a collection of stories and essays by J. R. R. Tolkien that were never completed during his lifetime, but were edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and published in 1980.Unlike The Silmarillion, for which the narrative fragments were modified to connect into a consistent and...
(1980), and The History of Middle-earth
The History of Middle-earth
The History of Middle-earth is a 12-volume series of books published from 1983 through to 1996 that collect and analyse material relating to the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, compiled and edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien. Some of the content consists of earlier versions of already published...
series (1983–96), the last three edited by his son and literary executor
Literary executor
A literary executor is a person with decision-making power in respect of a literary estate. According to Wills, Administration and Taxation: a practical guide "A will may appoint different executors to deal with different parts of the estate...
Christopher Tolkien
Christopher Tolkien
Christopher Reuel Tolkien is the third and youngest son of the author J. R. R. Tolkien , and is best known as the editor of much of his father's posthumously published work. He drew the original maps for his father's The Lord of the Rings, which he signed C. J. R. T. The J...
.
The Book of Lost Tales
In The Book of Lost TalesThe Book of Lost Tales
The Book of Lost Tales is the title of a collection of early stories by J. R. R. Tolkien, and of the first two volumes of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth, in which he presents and analyses the manuscripts of those stories, which were the earliest form of the...
the very few Dwarves who appear are portrayed as evil beings, employers of Orc
Orc (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman...
mercenaries and in conflict with the Elves
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
—who are the imagined 'authors' of the myths, and are therefore biased against Dwarves. Tolkien was inspired by the dwarves of Norse myths
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
and dwarves of traditional European fairy-tales (such as those of the Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
), from whom his Dwarves take their characteristic affinity with mining, metalworking, crafting and avarice.
The Hobbit
The representation of Dwarves as evil changed dramatically with The Hobbit. Here the Dwarves became occasionally comedic and bumbling, but largely seen as honourable, serious-minded, but still portraying some negative characteristics such as being gold-hungry, overly proud and occasionally officious. According to the 2007 book The History of the HobbitThe History of The Hobbit
The History of The Hobbit is a two-volume study of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. It was published by HarperCollins in June and July 2007 in the UK, with both volumes released in the United States by Houghton Mifflin on September 21, 2007; a boxed set combining The Hobbit with The History of The...
, Tolkien was now influenced by his own selective reading of medieval texts regarding the Jewish people and their history. The dwarves' characteristics of being dispossessed of their homeland (the Lonely Mountain, their ancestral home, is the goal the exiled Dwarves seek to reclaim), and living among other groups whilst retaining their own culture are all derived from the medieval image of Jews, whilst their warlike nature stems from accounts in the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
. Medieval views of Jews also saw them as having a propensity for making well-crafted and beautiful things, a trait shared with Norse dwarves. For The Hobbit almost all dwarf-names are taken from the Dvergatal or "Catalogue of the Dwarves", found in the Poetic Edda
Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, and from the early 19th century...
. However, more than just supplying names, the "Catalogue of the Dwarves" appears to have inspired Tolkien to supply meaning and context to the list of names—that they travelled together, and this in turn became the quest told of in The Hobbit. The Dwarves' written language is represented on maps and in illustrations by Anglo-Saxon Runes
Runic alphabet
The runic alphabets are a set of related alphabets using letters known as runes to write various Germanic languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet and for specialized purposes thereafter...
. The Dwarven calendar invented for The Hobbit reflects the Jewish calendar in beginning in late autumn. The dwarves taking Bilbo out of his complacent existence has been seen as an eloquent metaphor for the "impoverishment of Western society without Jews."
The Lord of the Rings
When writing The Lord of the Rings Tolkien continued many of the themes he had set up in The Hobbit. When giving Dwarves their own language (KhuzdûlKhuzdul
Khuzdul is a constructed language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is one of the many fictional language set in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth...
) Tolkien decided to create an analogue of a Semitic language influenced by Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
phonology
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
. Like medieval Jewish groups, the Dwarves use their own language only amongst themselves, and adopted the languages of those they live amongst for the most part, for example taking public names from the cultures they lived within, whilst keeping their "true-names" and true language a secret. Along with a few words in Khuzdûl, Tolkien also developed runes of his own invention (the Cirth
Cirth
The Cirth are the letters of an semi-artificial script which was invented by J. R. R. Tolkien for the constructed languages he devised and used in his works. The initial C in Cirth is pronounced as a K, never as an S....
), said to have been invented by Elves and later adopted by the Dwarves. Tolkien further underlines the diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
of the Dwarves with the lost stronghold of the Mines of Moria
Moria (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Moria was the name given by the Eldar to an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth, comprising a vast network of tunnels, chambers, mines and huge halls or 'mansions', that ran under and ultimately through the Misty Mountains...
. In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien uses the main dwarf character Gimli
Gimli (Middle-earth)
Gimli is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. A Dwarf warrior, he is the son of Glóin ....
to finally reconcile the conflict between Elves and Dwarves through showing great courtesy to Galadriel
Galadriel
Galadriel is a character created by J.R.R. Tolkien, appearing in his Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
and forming a deep friendship with Legolas
Legolas
Legolas is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. He is an Elf of the Woodland Realm and one of nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring.- Literature :...
. The Gimli-Legolas relationship has been seen as Tolkien's reply toward "Gentile anti-Semitism and Jewish exclusiveness".
Tolkien also elaborated on Jewish influence on his Dwarves in a letter: "I do think of the 'Dwarves' like Jews: at once native and alien in their habitations, speaking the languages of the country, but with an accent due to their own private tongue..."
The "Quenta Silmarillion"
After preparing The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien returned again to the matter of the Silmarillion, in which he gave the Dwarves a creation myth. The most Dwarf-centric story from The Book of Lost Tales, "The Nauglafring", was not redrafted to fit with the later positive portrayal of the dwarves from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, nor other events in the Silmarillion, leading Christopher TolkienChristopher Tolkien
Christopher Reuel Tolkien is the third and youngest son of the author J. R. R. Tolkien , and is best known as the editor of much of his father's posthumously published work. He drew the original maps for his father's The Lord of the Rings, which he signed C. J. R. T. The J...
significantly to rewrite it with input from Guy Gavriel Kay
Guy Gavriel Kay
Guy Gavriel Kay is a Canadian author of fantasy fiction. Many of his novels are set in fictional realms that resemble real places during real historical periods, such as Constantinople during the reign of Justinian I or Spain during the time of El Cid...
in preparation for publication.
The Later Silmarillion and last writings
Sometime before 1969 Tolkien wrote the essay Of Dwarves and Men, in which detailed consideration was given to the Dwarves' use of language, that the names given in the stories were of Northern Mannish origin, and Khuzdûl being their own secret tongue and the naming of the Seven Houses of the Dwarves. The essay represents the last of Tolkien's writing regarding the Dwarves and was published in volume 12 of The History of Middle-earthThe History of Middle-earth
The History of Middle-earth is a 12-volume series of books published from 1983 through to 1996 that collect and analyse material relating to the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, compiled and edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien. Some of the content consists of earlier versions of already published...
in 1996.
In the last interview before his death, Tolkien, after discussing the nature of Elves, briefly says of his Dwarves: "The dwarves of course are quite obviously, wouldn't you say that in many ways they remind you of the Jews? Their words are Semitic, obviously, constructed to be Semitic."
Spelling "Dwarves"
The original editor of The Hobbit "corrected" Tolkien's plural dwarves to dwarfs, as did the Puffin paperbound edition of The Lord of the Rings. According to Tolkien, the "real 'historical plural of dwarf is dwarrows or dwerrows. He referred to dwarves as "a piece of private bad grammar". In Appendix F of The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
it is explained that if we still spoke of dwarves regularly, English might have retained a special plural for the word dwarf as with goose—geese. Despite Tolkien's fondness for it, the form dwarrow only appears in his writing as Dwarrowdelf, a name for Moria.
Tolkien used Dwarves, instead, which corresponds with Elf and Elves. In this matter, one has to consider the fact that the etymological development of the term dwarf differs from the similar-sounding word scarf (plural scarves). The English word is related to old Norse
North Germanic languages
The North Germanic languages or Scandinavian languages, the languages of Scandinavians, make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages, a sub-family of the Indo-European languages, along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages...
dvergr, which, in the other case, would have had the form dvorgr. But this word was never recorded, and the f/g-emendation (English/Norse) dates further back in language history.
Characteristics
In The SilmarillionThe Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
, the Dwarves are described as shorter and stockier than Elves and Men, able to withstand both heat and cold. Though they are mortal, Dwarves have an average lifespan of 250 years.
In The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
Tolkien writes that they breed slowly, for no more than a third of them are female, and not all marry; also, female Dwarves look and sound (and dress, if journeying—which is rare) so alike to Dwarf-males that other folk cannot distinguish them, and thus others wrongly believe Dwarves grow out of stone. Tolkien names only one female, Dís. In The War of the Jewels Tolkien says both males and females have beards.
Tolkien's Dwarves, much like their mythical forebears, are great metalworkers, smiths and stoneworkers. Fierce in battle, their main weapons are axes
Battle axe
A battle axe is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were specialized versions of utility axes...
(referenced in many subsequent fantasy works), but they also use bows, swords, shields and mattock
Mattock
A mattock is a versatile hand tool, used for digging and chopping, similar to the pickaxe. It has a long handle, and a stout head, which combines an axe blade and an adze or a pick and an adze .-Description:...
s. Unlike other fantasy dwarves, Tolkien does not explicitly have them use war hammer
War hammer
A war hammer is a late medieval weapon of war intended for close combat action, the design of which resembles the hammer.The war hammer consists of a handle and a head...
s.
Since they lived underground, Dwarves did not grow their own food supplies if they could help it, and usually obtained food through trade with Elves and Men. In the essay "Of Dwarves and Men" in The Peoples of Middle-earth
The Peoples of Middle-earth
The Peoples of Middle-earth is the 12th and final volume of The History of Middle-earth, edited by Christopher Tolkien from the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. Some characters only appear here...
it is written that Dwarven and human communities often formed relationships where the Men were the prime suppliers of food, farmers and herdsmen, while the Dwarves supplied tools and weapons, road-building and construction work.
Unlike Elves and Men, created by the supreme God Ilúvatar
Eru Ilúvatar
Eru Ilúvatar is a fictional deity in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is introduced in The Silmarillion as the creator of all existence . In Tolkien's invented language of Elvish, Eru means "The One", or "He that is Alone" and Ilúvatar signifies "Father of All"...
, Dwarves were created by the Vala
Vala (Middle-earth)
The Valar are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are first mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion develops them into the Powers of Arda or the Powers of the World...
(angelic being) Aulë
Aulë
Aulë is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, who is primarily discussed in The Silmarillion, but appears also in Tolkien's other works. In Tolkien's pantheon of Middle-earth, Aulë is a knowledge deity, sometimes worshipped as a god by men, representing skill and craftsmanship,...
.
Throughout the First Age and most of the Second Age
Second Age
The Second Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. Tolkien intended for the history of Middle-earth to be considered fictionally as a precursor to the history of the real Earth....
, the Dwarves maintain mostly friendly trading relationships with Men and Elves (the Dwarves of Nogrod's treachery towards Thingol
Thingol
Elu Thingol is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Silmarillion, The Lays of Beleriand and Children of Húrin as well as in numerous stories in the many volumes of The History of Middle-earth...
of Doriath
Doriath
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, Doriath is the realm of the Sindar, the Grey Elves of King Thingol in Beleriand. Along with the other great forests of Tolkien's legendarium such as Mirkwood, Fangorn and Lothlórien it serves as the central stage in the theatre of its time, the First Age...
being an exception). However, in the Third Age
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
, particularly after the closure of Moria
Moria (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Moria was the name given by the Eldar to an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth, comprising a vast network of tunnels, chambers, mines and huge halls or 'mansions', that ran under and ultimately through the Misty Mountains...
, they grow mistrustful of Elves, though in later times cordial relations are established with the Elves of Mirkwood and the Men of Dale. They also maintain somewhat ambivalent relations with Hobbits for most of the Third Age, although after the mission to retake the Lonely Mountain Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist and titular character of The Hobbit and a supporting character in The Lord of the Rings, two of the most well-known of J. R. R...
is held in great esteem there.
Language
Khuzdul
Khuzdul is a constructed language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is one of the many fictional language set in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth...
, a constructed language made for them by Aulë. Because it was a constructed (though living) language, it was not descended from any form of Elvish, as most of the languages of Men were, although it is suggested that the language may have had influence on the early languages of Men. Khuzdul was for the most part a closely guarded tongue (one of the few recorded outsiders to have a knowledge of it was Eöl
Eöl
Eöl, called the Dark Elf, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is introduced in The Silmarillion as an Elf of Beleriand and is a character existing in some form from the earliest to the latest writings....
), however, and the Dwarves never revealed their Khuzdul names to outsiders, going so far as to omit them from even their tombs. Khuzdul was written in Cirth
Cirth
The Cirth are the letters of an semi-artificial script which was invented by J. R. R. Tolkien for the constructed languages he devised and used in his works. The initial C in Cirth is pronounced as a K, never as an S....
, a runic alphabet developed by the Elves. There is no extant corpus for the Khuzdul language, whether in Tolkien's novels or in his private works, other than the battle cry: Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu! (meaning "Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!") and the inscription on Balin
Balin (Middle-earth)
Balin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He is an important supporting character in The Hobbit, and is mentioned in The Fellowship of the Ring.-In the books:...
's tombstone, reading: BALIN FUNDINUL UZBAD KHAZAD-DÛMU, or Balin son of Fundin Lord of Moria. The remainder of the corpus of Khuzdul consists of single words.
Names
In the Grey-elvish or SindarinSindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
the Dwarves were called Naugrim ("Stunted People"), Gonnhirrim ("Stone-lords"), and Dornhoth ("Thrawn Folk"), and also Hadhodrim. In Quenya
Quenya
Quenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi in Quenya. The tongue actually called Quenya was in origin the speech of two clans of Elves...
they were the Casári. The Dwarves called themselves Khazâd in their own language, Khuzdul
Khuzdul
Khuzdul is a constructed language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is one of the many fictional language set in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth...
.
Tolkien took the names of twelve of the thirteen dwarves he used in The Hobbit (and Gandalf's name as well) from Völuspá
Völuspá
Völuspá is the first and best known poem of the Poetic Edda. It tells the story of the creation of the world and its coming end related by a völva addressing Odin...
.
Divisions
In The Silmarillion, it is stated that the Dwarves were originally divided into seven clanClan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
s or "Houses". The three who enter Tolkien's histories are:
- Longbeards (Durin's folkDurin's folkIn J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Durin's folk, also known as the Longbeards, were the most important clan of Dwarves. Their name comes from that of their first king, Durin I "The Deathless". They were the eldest and greatest of the seven Dwarf-clans.They originally...
), who inhabited the city of Khazad-dûm in the Misty MountainsMisty MountainsIn J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Misty Mountains is a mountain range, running for 795 miles from north to south, between Eriador and the valley of the Great River, Anduin, and...
; - Firebeards, who founded Nogrod in the Blue Mountains;
- Broadbeams, who founded Belegost in the Blue Mountains.
After the end of the First Age, the Dwarves spoken of are almost exclusively of Durin
Durin
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...
's line. Almost nothing is known of the histories of the other four Houses, except that they each sent a contingent west to fight in The War of the Dwarves and Orcs in the late Third Age, and their names:
- Ironfists
- Stiffbeards
- Blacklocks
- Stonefoots
Petty-dwarves
The Petty-dwarves were Dwarves of several housesFathers of the Dwarves
In Norse Mythology and in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves were the first of their race....
, which had been exiled for reasons unknown in very ancient times. They were the first to cross the Ered Luin in the First Age
First Age
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar is the heroic period in which most of Tolkien's early legends are set...
, and established strongholds in Beleriand
Beleriand
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work The Silmarillion, which tells the story of the early ages of Middle-earth in a style similar to the epic hero tales of Nordic...
before the building of Nogrod and Belegost in the Blue Mountains, and before the Elves
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
arrived. These very ancient settlements were at Nargothrond
Nargothrond
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Nargothrond , called Nulukkhizdīn by the Dwarves, was the stronghold built by Finrod Felagund...
and Amon Rûdh.
The usual Sindarin
Sindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
name was Noegyth Nibin; other include Nibin-Nogrim and Noegoethig, formed of nibin ("petty") and one of the Elvish names for the true Dwarves. In Quenya
Quenya
Quenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi in Quenya. The tongue actually called Quenya was in origin the speech of two clans of Elves...
they were called Pitya-naukor. The Petty-dwarves of West Beleriand
Beleriand
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work The Silmarillion, which tells the story of the early ages of Middle-earth in a style similar to the epic hero tales of Nordic...
dwindled to a single family, and then at last became extinct.
The Sindar
Sindar
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the fictional Sindar are Elves of Telerin descent. They are also known as the Grey Elves. Their language is Sindarin...
, not acquainted with Dwarves yet, saw the Petty-dwarves as little more than bothersome animals, calling them (Levain) Tad-dail ("two-legged (animals)"), and hunted them. Not until the Dwarves of the Ered Luin established contact with the Sindar did they realize what the Petty-dwarves were. Afterwards they were mostly left alone, but not before the Petty-dwarves came to hate all Elves with a passion.
Petty-dwarves differed from normal Dwarves in various ways: they were smaller, far more unsociable, and they freely gave away their names: other Dwarves kept their Khuzdûl
Khuzdul
Khuzdul is a constructed language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is one of the many fictional language set in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth...
names and language a secret. This may have been one of the reasons the Petty-dwarves were exiled.
By the time of the War of the Jewels, after the return of the Noldor
Noldor
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor are Elves of the Second Clan who migrated to Valinor and lived in Eldamar. The Noldor are called Golodhrim or Gódhellim in Sindarin, and Goldoi by Teleri of Tol Eressëa. The singular form of the Quenya noun is Noldo and the adjective is Noldorin...
, the Petty-dwarves had nearly died out. The last remnant of their people were Mîm
Mîm
Mîm is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth. He is introduced in The Silmarillion as the last of the Petty-dwarves....
and his two sons, Ibun and Khîm, who lived at Amon Rûdh. They gave shelter to Túrin Turambar
Túrin Turambar
Túrin Turambar is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. "Turambar and the Foalókë", begun in 1917, is the first appearance of Túrin in the legendarium. J.R.R...
and his band at their home of Amon Rûdh. Mîm was later captured by a band of Orcs and saved his own life by betraying Túrin, though his sons were killed. Mîm later became the possessor of a treasure-hoard abandoned by the dragon Glaurung
Glaurung
Glaurung is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth legendarium. He is introduced in The Silmarillion as the first of the Dragons. He is also a major antagonist in The Children of Húrin. He was known as The Deceiver, The Golden, The Great Worm and the Worm of...
, but was later killed by Húrin
Húrin
Húrin is a fictional character in the Middle-earth legendarium of J. R. R. Tolkien. He is introduced in The Silmarillion as a hero of Men during the First Age, said to be the greatest warrior of both the Edain and all the other Men in Middle-earth...
, Túrin's father.
History
The Dwarves are portrayed as a very ancient people who awoke, like the Elves, at the start of the First Age, before the existence of the Sun and Moon.Creation
In Tolkien's works, the Dwarves (in the form of seven patriarchs) were created during the Years of the Trees (also known as the Ages of Darkness), when all of Middle-earth was controlled by the forces of MelkorMorgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
. They were created by the Vala
Vala (Middle-earth)
The Valar are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are first mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion develops them into the Powers of Arda or the Powers of the World...
Aulë
Aulë
Aulë is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, who is primarily discussed in The Silmarillion, but appears also in Tolkien's other works. In Tolkien's pantheon of Middle-earth, Aulë is a knowledge deity, sometimes worshipped as a god by men, representing skill and craftsmanship,...
, in secret from the other Valar, intended to be his children to whom he could teach his crafts. Ilúvatar, however, knew of their creation, despite Aulë's efforts. When confronted by Ilúvatar, Aule confessed his deed and raised his hammer to destroy his creations. Upon seeing this, and understanding that Aulë had not acted in defiance or intent for domination, Ilúvatar decided that their creation was not an evil deed and sanctified them, though he did not allow them to "awake" before the Elves (whom he had designated as "The Firstborn"). Aulë sealed the seven Fathers of the Dwarves
Fathers of the Dwarves
In Norse Mythology and in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves were the first of their race....
in stone chambers in far-flung regions of Middle-earth to await their awakening.
First Age
Some time after the Elves had awoken at Cuiviénen, the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves were released from their stone chambers. The eldest of them, called Durin, wandered until he founded the city of Khazad-dûmMoria (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Moria was the name given by the Eldar to an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth, comprising a vast network of tunnels, chambers, mines and huge halls or 'mansions', that ran under and ultimately through the Misty Mountains...
in the natural caves beneath three peaks: Caradhras
Caradhras
In the fictional universe of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, Caradhras, also called the Redhorn , and known in the Dwarves' language as Barazinbar, is one of the mightiest peaks in the Misty Mountains...
, Celebdil, and Fanuidhol (known in Khuzdûl as Baranzinbar, Zirakzigil, and Bundushathûr, respectively). The city, populated by the Longbeards or Durin's folk
Durin's folk
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Durin's folk, also known as the Longbeards, were the most important clan of Dwarves. Their name comes from that of their first king, Durin I "The Deathless". They were the eldest and greatest of the seven Dwarf-clans.They originally...
, grew and prospered continuously through Durin's life (which was so long that he was called Durin the Deathless, also a reference to the belief by his people that he would be reincarnated seven times). It was the only one of the Dwarf mansions to survive the First Age.
Far to the west of Khazad-dûm, the great dwarven cities of Belegost and Nogrod were founded in Ered Luin (The Blue Mountains) during the First Age, before the arrival of the Elves in Beleriand
Beleriand
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work The Silmarillion, which tells the story of the early ages of Middle-earth in a style similar to the epic hero tales of Nordic...
. The Dwarves of Belegost were the first to forge chain mail, and they also traded weaponry with the Sindar and carved the Thousand Caves of Menegroth for the Elf king Thingol
Thingol
Elu Thingol is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Silmarillion, The Lays of Beleriand and Children of Húrin as well as in numerous stories in the many volumes of The History of Middle-earth...
. In Nogrod, the smith Telchar forged Narsil
Narsil
Narsil is a fictional sword featured in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. It is introduced in The Lord of the Rings as having once belonged to King Elendil of the Dúnedain...
and Angrist, two of the most fateful weapons in the history of Arda, as well as the famed Dragon-helm of Dor-Lómin.
The dwarves of Beleriand fought against the forces of Melkor during the first age, and the dwarves of Belegost were the only people able to withstand dragon-fire in the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, when King Azaghâl, who died in the battle, stabbed Glaurung, the first dragon.
The dwarves of Nogrod fought against Melkor as well. However, they slew Thingol
Thingol
Elu Thingol is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Silmarillion, The Lays of Beleriand and Children of Húrin as well as in numerous stories in the many volumes of The History of Middle-earth...
out of greed and stole the Silmaril
Silmaril
The Silmarils are three brilliant jewels which contained the unmarred light of the Two Trees in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. The Silmarils were made out of the crystalline substance silima by Fëanor, a Noldorin Elf, in Valinor during the Years of the Trees...
they had been charged to set into the necklace called Nauglamír. A number of retaliatory actions ensued, and the Nogrod army was destroyed by a force of Laiquendi
Laiquendi
In the fictional works of J. R. R. Tolkien the Laiquendi are an ethnic group of Elves, so named because their attire was often green.-History and origin:...
and Ent
Ent
Ents are a race of beings in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world Middle-earth who closely resemble trees. They are similar to the talking trees in folklore around the world. Their name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for giant....
s. Both dwarf kingdoms would eventually be destroyed, along with nearly all of Beleriand, after the War of Wrath
War of Wrath
The War of Wrath, or the Great Battle, is a key plot development in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium, portraying the final war against Morgoth at the end of the First Age....
, with the dwarven refugees mainly resettling in Khazad-dûm.
Second Age
Refugees from Belegost and Nogrod added to the population of Khazad-dûm, and its wealth was also enriched with the discovery of mithrilMithril
Mithril is a fictional metal, originally used in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. It is described as silvery and stronger than steel but much lighter in weight. The malleability, lack of tarnishing and use of the metal in jewellery suggest some similarity to the non-fictional metal...
, a magical and extremely valuable metal found only in its mines. During this time the Dwarves continued to trade with neighbouring Men and the Elves of Eregion
Eregion
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Eregion or Hollin was a kingdom of the Noldorin Elves in Eriador during the Second Age, located near the West Gate of Moria under the shadow of the Hithaeglir . Its capital was Ost-in-Edhil...
. Seven of the Rings of Power
Rings of Power
The Rings of Power in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium are magical rings created by Sauron or by the Elves of Eregion under Sauron's tutelage...
forged by the Elven-Smiths were later given by Sauron, who had seized them, to the heads of the seven Dwarf clans (although the Longbeards maintained that Durin's Ring was given him by Celebrimbor
Celebrimbor
Celebrimbor is a fictional character In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. His name means "silver fist" or "Hand of silver" in Sindarin ....
). The Dwarves of Moria at first fought in the War of Sauron and the Elves, but in the year 1697 of the Second Age, the doors of Khazad-dûm were shut and its inhabitants no longer ventured forth into the world. Thereafter it was known by the elven name of Moria, meaning "dark chasm".
Third Age
During the Third Age the Dwarves of Moria continued to prosper until the year 1980, when, in pursuing a vein of mithril, they broke open a chamber containing the last balrogBalrog
Balrogs are fictional demonic beings who appear in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Such creatures first appeared in print in his novel The Lord of the Rings, though they figured in earlier writings that posthumously appeared in The Silmarillion and other books.Balrogs are described as...
known in the histories of Middle-earth, called Durin's Bane. They battled against the demon for one year, and after the death of two kings, the Dwarves who had not been killed fled from the Misty Mountains. For almost two decades they had no kingdom, but in the year 1999, Thráin I founded a kingdom at the Lonely Mountain
Lonely Mountain
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, the Lonely Mountain is a mountain in the northeast of Rhovanion. It is also the source of the Celduin river.- Origins of the Kingdom Under the Mountain :...
. This kingdom prospered for a time, and the great jewel known as the Arkenstone was discovered.
In 2210 Thorin I founded a kingdom in the Grey Mountains to the north of Mirkwood
Mirkwood
Mirkwood is a name used for two distinct fictional forests in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. In the First Age, the highlands of Dorthonion north of Beleriand were known as Mirkwood after falling under Morgoth's control. During the Third Age, the large forest in Rhovanion, east of the Anduin in ...
. Both of these realms would eventually be consumed by dragons—the Grey Mountains in 2590 by a horde and The Lonely Mountain in 2770 by the dragon Smaug
Smaug
Smaug is a fictional character in the novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. He is a dragon, and the main antagonist within the story.-The Hobbit:...
. The refugees from the Grey Mountains who did not return to The Lonely Mountain colonized the Iron Hills
Iron Hills
The Iron Hills are a fictional range of mountains in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. They are remnants of the Iron Mountains of the First Age and are located east of the Lonely Mountain in the northeastern part of Rhovanion and the northwest of Rhûn. In the Third Age, they are home to a...
, one of the only Dwarf kingdoms never to be abandoned or taken. The main body of the Dwarves became a wandering people, and Thrór, who had been king of the Lonely Mountain when it was captured, was slain by Orcs in the year 2790 and his body mutilated. This led to the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, in which nearly all of the Orc hordes of the Misty Mountains were exterminated but half of the Dwarf host were killed, a blow that took the Dwarves several hundred years to recover from.
For a time an exile kingdom was founded in the northern Blue Mountains, but Thráin II
Thráin II
Thráin II is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He is first mentioned in The Hobbit, and more of his history is given in Unfinished Tales.A Dwarven king, Thráin is the son of Thrór and father of Thorin Oakenshield...
was driven to wandering the wilderness by his Ring, the last of the Dwarven Rings not yet taken by Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
or consumed by dragons. He was soon captured by Sauron, then reigning as the Necromancer in Dol Guldur
Dol Guldur
Dol Guldur was Sauron's stronghold in Mirkwood in the fictional world of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. It is first mentioned in The Hobbit. The hill itself, rocky and barren, was the highest point in the southwestern part of the forest. Before Sauron's occupation it was called Amon Lanc...
. Thráin was tortured, his Ring of Power taken, and finally died. In 2941 Thorin II Oakenshield, son of Thráin II and grandson of Thrór, recolonized the Lonely Mountain after Smaug the dragon was slain by Bard, the future King of Dale. After the ensuing Battle of the Five Armies, in which the Eagles, the Elves of Mirkwood, the Men of Dale, and the Dwarves of the Iron Hills (as well as Thorin's band) defeated an invading horde of Goblins and in which Thorin was killed, his cousin Dáin II Ironfoot
Dáin II Ironfoot
Dáin II Ironfoot was a Dwarf and king of Erebor in J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy legendarium concerning Middle-earth. His story is told primarily in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings, and he appears briefly in The Hobbit....
, already King of the Iron Hills, became King Under the Mountain, and the Lonely Mountain was not abandoned again.
Dwarves did not figure prominently in the major battles of the War of the Ring
War of the Ring
In the fictional high fantasy-world of J. R. R. Tolkien, the War of the Ring was fought between Sauron and the free peoples of Middle-earth for control of the One Ring and dominion over the continent. The War of the Ring took place at the end of the Third Age. Together with the Quest of Mount Doom,...
although the Lonely Mountain was besieged for a time and Dáin killed in the Battle of Dale
Battle of Dale
The Battle of Dale is a fictional battle in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings during the War of the Ring. An earlier battle in the same location which re-established the Dwarven kingdom was called the Battle of Five Armies....
. One dwarf, however—Gimli
Gimli (Middle-earth)
Gimli is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. A Dwarf warrior, he is the son of Glóin ....
—joined the Fellowship of the Ring and was a companion of the Ringbearer for a great part of his journey, and also fought at the Battle of Hornburg, the Battle of the Pelennor Fields
Battle of the Pelennor Fields
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy fiction, the Battle of Pelennor Fields is the battle for the city of Minas Tirith between the forces of Gondor and its allies, and the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron...
, and the Battle of the Morannon
Battle of the Morannon
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Battle of the Morannon or Battle of the Black Gate is a fictional event that took place at the end of the War of the Ring...
.
Fourth Age
At the start of the Fourth AgeFourth Age
In the fictional world of middle earth "'the fourth age'" and the ages that preceded it, are time periods from J. R. R. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth, described in his fantasy writings...
, Gimli led a group of colonists from the Lonely Mountain to the Glittering Caves, beneath Hornburg in Rohan
Rohan
Rohan is a realm in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy era of Middle-earth. It is a grassland which lies north of its ally Gondor and north-west of Mordor, the realm of Sauron, their enemy . It is inhabited by the Rohirrim, a people of herdsmen and farmers who are well-known for their horses and cavalry....
, where he established another Dwarf kingdom and ruled there for more than a century. After the death of Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
in the year 120 of the Fourth Age, he sailed to the Undying Lands with Legolas
Legolas
Legolas is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. He is an Elf of the Woodland Realm and one of nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring.- Literature :...
.
It is said that the Dwarf population began to dwindle because most male Dwarves did not desire wives, or could not find one that they desired. It does not help that Dwarf women are less than a third of the population. Yet much is still left a mystery in Dwarven history; the Dwarves' true fate is left unknown.
Adaptations
Iron Crown Enterprises
Iron Crown Enterprises was a publisher of role playing, board, miniature battle, and collectible card games.ICE was incorporated in 1980 shortly after the principal founders graduated from the University of Virginia...
' Middle-earth Role Playing
Middle-earth Role Playing
Middle-earth Role Playing is a 1984 role-playing game based on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien under license from Tolkien Enterprises. Iron Crown Enterprises published the game until they lost the license on 22 Sep 1999.-Setting:The setting for MERP is an expanded version of J. R. R...
(1986) Dwarven player-characters receive statistical bonuses to Strength and Constitution, and subtractions from Presence, Agility and Intelligence. Seven "Dwarven Kindreds", named after each of the founding fathers: Durin, Bávor, Dwálin, Thrár, Druin, Thelór and Bárin are given in The Lords of Middle Earth—Volume III (1989).
In Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
's live action
Live action
In filmmaking, video production, and other media, the term live action refers to cinematography, videography not produced using animation...
adaptation of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
, Gimli's character is occasionally used as comic relief and several of his appearances are intended to emphasize the difference between the Dwarves and Elves.
Other dwarves appear in passing in two scenes of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie: the "prologue" introduces the seven dwarf-lords that received the Rings of Power, and four more are present at the Council of Elrond (in contrast to the book, where only Gimli and his father Glóin are described). Peter Jackson's Dwarves are depicted as wearing scale armour.
In Decipher Inc.'s The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game (2001), based on the Jackson films, Dwarven player-characters get bonuses to Vitality and Strength attributes and must be given craft skills. In the Dwarves of Middle-earth (2003) supplement, the seven Dwarf Lords and their houses are named as Durin, Sindri, Linnar, Var, Uri, Thulin and Vigdis.
In the real-time strategy game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, abbreviated BFMEII, is a real-time strategy video game developed and published by Electronic Arts. It is based on the fantasy novels The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien and its live-action film trilogy adaptation...
, and its expansion, both based on the Jackson films, Dwarves use throwing axes, war hammers, and circular and Roman-esque shields.
External links
- A essay on Khuzdûl at Ardalambion