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In the fantasy of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting Middle-earth, the central continent of
Arda Arda or ARDA may refer to: Places *Arda (Maritsa), a river in Bulgaria and Greece * Arda (Italy), a river in Italy *Arda (Douro), a river in Portugal * Arda, Bulgaria, a village in southern Bulgaria * Arda, County Fermanagh, a townland in County ...
in an imagined mythological past. They are based on the dwarfs of Germanic myths who were small humanoids that lived in mountains, practising mining,
metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
, blacksmithing and jewellery. Tolkien described them as tough, warlike, and lovers of stone and craftsmanship. Dwarves appear in his books '' The Hobbit'' (1937), '' The Lord of the Rings'' (1954–55), and the posthumously published '' The Silmarillion'' (1977), ''
Unfinished Tales ''Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth'' 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. Many of the tales ...
'' (1980), and '' The History of Middle-earth'' series (1983–96), the last three edited by his son
Christopher Tolkien Christopher John Reuel Tolkien (21 November 1924 – 16 January 2020) was an English academic editor, becoming a French citizen in later life. The son of author and academic J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien edited much of his father' ...
.


Characteristics

The medievalist
Charles Moseley Charles A. "Chuck" Moseley is a Democratic member of the Indiana House of Representatives, representing the 10th District since 2009. References External linksIndiana State Legislature - Representative Chuck MoseleyOfficial government web ...
described the dwarves of Tolkien's legendarium as " Old Norse" in their names, their feuds, and their revenges. In the appendix on "Durin's Folk" in '' The Lord of the Rings'', Tolkien describes dwarves as: ''
The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia The ''J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment'', edited by Michael D. C. Drout, was published by Routledge in 2006. A team of 127 Tolkien scholars on 720 pages cover topics of Tolkien's fiction, his academic works, his ...
'' considers Tolkien's use of the adjective " thrawn", noting its similarity with ''Þráinn'', a noun meaning "obstinate person", and a name found in the Norse list of Dwarf-names, the ''Dvergatal'' in the ''Völuspá''. Tolkien took it for the name, Thráin, of two of Thorin Oakenshield's ancestors. It suggests this may have been a philological joke on Tolkien's part. Dwarves were long-lived, with a lifespan of some 250 years. They breed slowly, for no more than a third of them are female, and not all marry. Tolkien names only one female, Dís, Thorin's sister. They are still considered children in their 20s, as Thorin was at age 24; and as "striplings" in their 30s. Despite his young age, Dáin Ironfoot was 32 when he killed Azog, the orc chieftain of Moria. They had children starting in their 90s. The Dwarves are described as "the most redoubtable warriors of all the Speaking Peoples" – a warlike race who fought fiercely against their enemies, including other Dwarves. Highly skilled in the making of weapons and armour, their main weapon was the battle axe, but they also used bows,
sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
s,
shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...
s and mattocks, and wore armour.


Origins

The Dwarves are portrayed in '' The Silmarillion'' as an ancient people who awoke, like the Elves, at the start of the
First Age In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional univer ...
during the Years of the Trees, after the Elves but before the existence of the Sun and Moon. The Vala Aulë, impatient for the arising of the Children of Ilúvatar, created the seven Fathers of the Dwarves in secret, intending them to be his children to whom he could teach his crafts. He also taught them Khuzdul, a language he had devised for them. Ilúvatar, creator of
Arda Arda or ARDA may refer to: Places *Arda (Maritsa), a river in Bulgaria and Greece * Arda (Italy), a river in Italy *Arda (Douro), a river in Portugal * Arda, Bulgaria, a village in southern Bulgaria * Arda, County Fermanagh, a townland in County ...
, was aware of the Dwarves' creation and sanctified them. Aulë sealed the seven Fathers of the Dwarves in stone chambers in far-flung regions of Middle-earth to await their awakening. Each of the Seven Fathers founded one of the seven Dwarf clans. Durin I was the eldest, and the first of his kind to awake in Middle-earth. He awoke in
Mount Gundabad In the fantasy of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting Middle-earth, the central continent of Arda in an imagined mythological past. They are based on the dwarfs of Germanic myths who were small humanoids that lived in mountain ...
, in the northern Misty Mountains, and founded the clan of Longbeards (Durin's Folk); they founded the city of
Khazad-dûm In the fictional world of J. R. R. Tolkien, Moria, also named Khazad-dûm, is an ancient subterranean complex in Middle-earth, comprising a vast labyrinthine network of tunnels, chambers, mines and halls under the Misty Mountains, with doors on ...
below the Misty Mountains, and later realms in the Grey Mountains and Erebor (the Lonely Mountain). Two others were laid in sleep in the north of the '' Ered Luin'' or Blue Mountains, and they founded the lines of the Broadbeams and the Firebeards. The remaining four clans, the Ironfists, Stiffbeards, Blacklocks, and Stonefoots came from the East. After the end of the First Age, the Dwarves spoken of are almost exclusively of Durin's line. A further division, the even shorter Petty-dwarves, appear in ''The Silmarillion'', and the ''
Children of Hurin A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...
''. Mîm, the last known Petty-dwarf, has been said by Moseley to resemble the similarly named character Mime from the '' Nibelungenlied''.


Artefacts


Mining, masonry, and metalwork

As creations of Aulë, they were attracted to the substances of Arda. They mined and worked precious metals throughout the mountains of Middle-earth. They were unrivalled in smithing, crafting, metalworking, and masonry, even among the Elves. The Dwarf-smith Telchar was the greatest in renown. They built immense halls under mountains where they built their cities. They built many famed halls including the
Menegroth 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-e ...
,
Khazad-dûm In the fictional world of J. R. R. Tolkien, Moria, also named Khazad-dûm, is an ancient subterranean complex in Middle-earth, comprising a vast labyrinthine network of tunnels, chambers, mines and halls under the Misty Mountains, with doors on ...
, and Erebor. Among the many treasures they forged were the named weapons Narsil, the sword of Elendil, the Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin and the necklace Nauglamír, the most prized treasure in
Nargothrond 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- ...
and the most famed Dwarven work of the Elder Days. In ''The Hobbit'', Thorin gives Bilbo a
Mithril Mithril is a fictional metal found in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. It appears in many derivative fantasy works by later authors. It is described as resembling silver, but being stronger and lighter than steel. Tolkien first wrote o ...
coat of linked rings of mail.


Language and names

From their creation, the Dwarves spoke Khuzdul, one of Tolkien's invented languages, in the fiction made for them by Aulë, rather than being descended from Elvish, as most of the languages of Men were. They wrote it using
Cirth The Cirth (, meaning "runes"; sg. certh ) is a semi‑artificial script, based on real‑life runic alphabets, one of Tolkien's scripts, several scripts invented by J. R. R. Tolkien for the constructed languages he devised and used in his wor ...
rune Runes are the letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, a ...
s, also invented by Tolkien. The Dwarves kept their language secret and did not normally teach it to others, so they learned both
Quenya Quenya ()Tolkien wrote in his "Outline of Phonology" (in ''Parma Eldalamberon'' 19, p. 74) dedicated to the phonology of Quenya: is "a sound as in English ''new''". In Quenya is a combination of consonants, ibidem., p. 81. is a constructed la ...
and
Sindarin Sindarin is one of the fictional languages devised by J. R. R. Tolkien for use in his fantasy stories set in Arda, primarily in Middle-earth. Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the Elves. The word is a Quenya word. Called in Eng ...
in order to communicate with the Elves, most notably the
Noldor In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor (also spelled Ñoldor, meaning ''those with knowledge'' in his constructed language Quenya) were a kindred of Elf (Middle-earth), Elves who migrated west to the blessed realm of Valinor from the conti ...
and
Sindar In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Elves or Quendi are a sundered (divided) people. They awoke at Cuiviénen on the continent of Middle-earth, where they were divided into three tribes: Minyar (the Firsts), Tatyar (the Seconds) and Nelyar ( ...
. By the Third Age, however, the Dwarves were estranged from the Elves and no longer routinely learned their language. Instead, they both used the Westron or Common Speech, which was a Mannish tongue. In the Grey-elvish or
Sindarin Sindarin is one of the fictional languages devised by J. R. R. Tolkien for use in his fantasy stories set in Arda, primarily in Middle-earth. Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the Elves. The word is a Quenya word. Called in Eng ...
the Dwarves were called ''Naugrim'' ("Stunted People"), ''Gonnhirrim'' ("Stone-lords"), and ''Dornhoth'' ("Thrawn Folk"), and ''Hadhodrim''. In
Quenya Quenya ()Tolkien wrote in his "Outline of Phonology" (in ''Parma Eldalamberon'' 19, p. 74) dedicated to the phonology of Quenya: is "a sound as in English ''new''". In Quenya is a combination of consonants, ibidem., p. 81. is a constructed la ...
they were the ''Casári''. The Dwarves called themselves ''Khazâd'' in their own language, Khuzdul. In reality, Tolkien took the names of 12 of the 13 dwarves – excluding Balin – that he used in ''The Hobbit'' (and the wizard Gandalf's name) from the Old Norse ''Völuspá''. When he came to ''The Lord of the Rings'', where he had a proper language for the Dwarves, he was obliged to pretend, in the essay ''Of Dwarves and Men'', that the Old Norse names were translations from Khuzdul, just as the English spoken by the Dwarves to Men and Hobbits was a translation from Westron.


Calendar

Tolkien's only mention of the Dwarves' calendar is in '' The Hobbit'', regarding the "dwarves' New Year" or '' Durin's Day'', which occurs on the day of the last new moon of autumn. Astronomer
Bradley E. Schaefer Bradley Elliott Schaefer is a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Louisiana State University. He received his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1983. Early life In addition to his academic pursuits, Schaefer is rememb ...
has analysed the astronomical determinants of Durin's Day. He concluded that – as with many real-world lunar calendars – the date of Durin's Day is observational, dependent on the first visible crescent moon.


Concept and creation


Norse myth

In '' The Book of Lost Tales'', 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 of Germanic folklore (such as those of the Brothers Grimm), from whom his Dwarves take their characteristic affinity with mining, metalworking, and crafting.


Jewish history

In ''The Hobbit'', Dwarves are portrayed as occasionally comedic and bumbling, but largely as honourable, serious-minded, and proud. Tolkien was influenced by his own selective reading of medieval texts regarding Jewish people and their history. The dwarves' characteristics of being dispossessed of their homeland in Erebor, and living among other groups but retaining their own culture, are derived from the medieval image of Jews, while, according to the Tolkien scholar
John D. Rateliff John D. Rateliff is an author of roleplaying games and an independent scholar. He specializes in the study of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, particularly his Middle-earth fantasy writings. Early life and education John D. Rateliff was raised in Ma ...
, 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.'' Poetic Edda'', translated by
Henry Adams Bellows Henry Bellows may refer to: *Henry Adams Bellows (justice) (1803–1873), American lawyer, politician, and Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court *Henry Adams Bellows (businessman) (1885–1939), American executive and translator *Henry W ...
.
The Dwarf calendar invented for ''The Hobbit'' reflects the Jewish calendar's
Rosh Hashanah Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , " ...
in beginning in late autumn. In ''The Lord of the Rings'', Tolkien continued the themes of ''The Hobbit''. When giving Dwarves their own language, Khuzdul, Tolkien decided to create an analogue of a Semitic language influenced by Hebrew phonology. Like medieval Jewish groups, the Dwarves used their own language only among 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. Tolkien also invented the
Cirth The Cirth (, meaning "runes"; sg. certh ) is a semi‑artificial script, based on real‑life runic alphabets, one of Tolkien's scripts, several scripts invented by J. R. R. Tolkien for the constructed languages he devised and used in his wor ...
runes, in the fiction said to have been invented by Elves and later adopted by the Dwarves. Tolkien further underlined the
diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...
of the Dwarves with the lost stronghold of the Mines of Moria. Tolkien 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..." In the last interview before his death, Tolkien said "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." This raises the question, examined by Rebecca Brackmann in '' Mythlore'', of whether there was an element of antisemitism, however deeply buried, in Tolkien's account of the Dwarves, inherited from English attitudes of his time. Brackman notes that Tolkien himself attempted to work through the issue in his Middle-earth writings.


Spelling

The original editor of ''The Hobbit'' "corrected" Tolkien's plural "dwarves" to "dwarfs", as did the editor of the
Puffin Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...
paperback edition. According to Tolkien, the "real 'historical' plural" of "dwarf" is "dwarrows" or "dwerrows". He described the word "dwarves" as "a piece of private bad grammar". In Appendix F of ''The Lord of the Rings'', Tolkien explained that if people still spoke of "dwarves" regularly, English might have retained a special plural for the word "dwarf", as with the irregular plural of "goose", "geese". Despite his fondness for it, the form "dwarrow" only appears in his writing as "Dwarrowdelf" ("Dwarf-digging"), a name for Moria. He used "Dwarves", instead, corresponding to his "Elves" as a plural for "Elf". Tolkien used "dwarvish" and "dwarf(-)" (e.g. " Dwarf-lords", "Old Dwarf Road") as adjectives for the people he created.


Adaptations


Films

In Rankin-Bass' 1977 animated film adaptation of ''The Hobbit'', Thorin was voiced by Hans Conreid, with
Don Messick Donald Earle Messick (September 7, 1926 – October 24, 1997) was an American voice actor. He was best known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons. His best-remembered vocal creations include Scooby-Doo, Bamm-Bamm Rubble and Hoppy in ...
voicing Balin, John Stephenson voicing Dori,
Jack DeLeon Jack DeLeon (December 19, 1924 – October 16, 2006) was an American actor. He was best known for portraying Marty Morrison from 1975 to 1982 on the television detective sitcom ''Barney Miller'', in a total of eight episodes. His character was p ...
voicing
Dwalin This article describes all named characters appearing in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 book ''The Hobbit''. Creatures as collectives are not included. Characters are categorized by race. Spelling and point of view are given as from ''The Hobbit''. Ho ...
,
Fíli This article describes all named characters appearing in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 book ''The Hobbit''. Creatures as collectives are not included. Characters are categorized by race. Spelling and point of view are given as from ''The Hobbit''. Ho ...
, Kíli, Óin,
Glóin This article describes all named characters appearing in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 book ''The Hobbit''. Creatures as collectives are not included. Characters are categorized by race. Spelling and point of view are given as from ''The Hobbit''. Ho ...
,
Ori Ori or ORI may refer to: People * Ori (Hebrew), a Hebrew given name, and a list of Israeli people with the name * Ori Kowarsky (born 1970), Canadian filmmaker and lawyer * Ōri Umesaka (1900–1965), Japanese photographer * Amos Ori (born 1956), ...
, Nori,
Bifur This article describes all named characters appearing in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 book ''The Hobbit''. Creatures as collectives are not included. Characters are categorized by race. Spelling and point of view are given as from ''The Hobbit''. Ho ...
, and Bofur, and Paul Frees voicing Bombur. In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated film ''The Lord of the Rings'', the part of the Dwarf Gimli was voiced by David Buck. In
Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...
's live action adaptation of ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Gimli's character is from time to time used as comic relief, whether with jokes about his height or his rivalry with Legolas. Gimli is played by John Rhys-Davies, who portrayed the character as having a Scottish accent. In Jackson's three-film adaptation of ''The Hobbit'', Thorin is portrayed by Richard Armitage, with Ken Stott as Balin, Graham McTavish as Dwalin, Aidan Turner as Kíli,
Dean O'Gorman Dean Lance O'Gorman (born 1 December 1976) is a New Zealand actor, artist, and photographer. He played the dwarf Fíli in the ''Hobbit'' trilogy and the Norse God Bragi/Anders Johnson in the fantasy series ''The Almighty Johnsons''. He also po ...
as Fíli,
Mark Hadlow Mark Selwyn Hadlow (born 1957) is an Australian-New Zealand actor and comedian. Hadlow is perhaps best known internationally for playing the roles of Harry in ''King Kong'' and Dori, a Dwarf, in ''The Hobbit'' series. Early life Hadlow was bo ...
as Dori, Jed Brophy as Nori, Adam Brown as Ori,
John Callen John Callen (born 4 November 1946) is an English-born New Zealand actor and director. He portrayed Óin, brother of Glóin in the 2012-2014 ''The Hobbit'' film trilogy. Career He has performed in movies, including '' The Rainbow Warrior'' (a ...
as Óin,
Peter Hambleton Peter Hambleton (born 1960) is a New Zealand stage, film and television actor, and stage director. Hambleton graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in 1982 with a Diploma in Acting. In 2002 Hambleton was a New Zealand Shakespeare ...
as Glóin, William Kircher as Bifur, James Nesbitt as Bofur, and Stephen Hunter as Bombur. Jackson's films introduce a story arc not found in the original novel, in which Kili and the Elf Tauriel (a character also invented for the films) fall in love.


Role-playing games

In Iron Crown Enterprises' ''
Middle-earth Role Playing ''Middle-earth Role Playing'' (MERP) is a 1984 role-playing game based on J. R. R. Tolkien ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit'' under license from Tolkien Enterprises. Iron Crown Enterprises (I.C.E.) published the game until they lost the ...
'' (1986), Dwarf 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
Decipher Inc. Decipher, Inc. is an American gaming company based in Norfolk, Virginia, US. They began with three puzzles called "Decipher" then moved on to party games and '' Pente'' sets, but since 1994 produced collectible card and role-playing games. Their ...
's '' The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game'' (2001), based on the Jackson films, Dwarf player-characters get bonuses to Vitality and Strength attributes and must be given craft skills. In the real-time strategy game '' The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II'', and its
expansion Expansion may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine * ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004 * ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970 * ''Expansio ...
, both based on the Jackson films, Dwarves are heavily influenced by classical military practice, and use throwing axes, war hammers, spears, and circular or Roman-style shields. One dwarf unit is the "Phalanx", similar to its Greek counterpart.


References


Primary

::''This list identifies each item's location in Tolkien's writings.''


Secondary


Sources

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dwarf (Middle-earth) *