Dwarf (Middle-earth)

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"Khazad" redirects here. See KHAZAD for the block cipher named after Khazad-dûm.

Dwarves at the Council of Elrond in Peter Jackson's .

In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Dwarves are beings of short stature who all possess beards, and are often friendly with Hobbits although long suspicious of Elves. They are typically smiths and stoneworkers by profession, unrivalled in some of their arts, even by the Elves. The Dwarves called themselves the Khazad, the name Aulë gave them; the corresponding definition in Sindarin is Hadhodrim, and in Quenya Casari. Casari was the common word for Dwarves among the Ñoldor, but the Sindar usually called them the Naugrim or Nogothrim, the Stunted People.

Contents

1 Overview
2 Nature of the Dwarves
3 Kinds of Dwarves
4 Location
5 Decline
6 Trivia
7 See also
8 References

Overview

Unlike Elves and Men, the Dwarves are not counted among the Children of Ilúvatar. They were created by Aulë the Smith. They were kept asleep until after the Awakening of the Elves. Aulë created the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, from whom all other Dwarves are descended. Aulë's work was doomed, though, because he did not have the power to grant independent life to his creations, that is, free will - that power belonged to Ilúvatar alone. Aulë later repented and confessed to Ilúvatar. When the Dwarves were completed, though, the voice of Ilúvatar spoke to Aulë and agreed to grant them true life, and include them in His plan for Arda. Ilúvatar granted the Dwarves life, and therefore they are known as the Adopted Children of Ilúvatar.

They mined and worked precious metals and stones throughout the mountains of Middle-earth. They were great miners and craftsmen, derived from their maker Aulë. Gandalf described gold and jewels as the dwarves' toys and iron as their servant. In ancient times, they were said to have preferred working with copper and iron, though in later days they wrought gold and silver, and the mithril they found in the mines of Khazad-dûm.

Gimli with the dwarves' weapon of choice - the axe, as portrayed in Peter Jackson's

The Dwarven language was created by Aulë, and was known as Khuzdul. It was a strange language to Elves and Men, and few non-Dwarves learned it, due to the fact that the dwarves guarded it jealously. However, one Dwarven phrase is well known: the ancient battle cry, going back to at least the First Age: "Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!", which means "Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!" Dwarves were famous for using axes. However, as seen in The Hobbit, they were not above using swords, shields and bows.

Seldom were females seen among them. When they were seen, they were often mistaken for male Dwarves, because they too had beards.

Nature of the Dwarves

Aulë made the Dwarves at a time when the World outside Aman still lay under the dominion of Melkor, and so he made them sturdy and hardy to survive the dangers and hardships of that time. In nature, the typical Dwarf is stubborn and secretive. Though they make loyal and good friends, they are also a proud and stern race. They do not suffer grievance or insult, and their enmity is long-lasting. They are said, though, to be quick to learn new skills.

In many ways, they were in between the Elves and Men. They were not immortal, but lived to two hundred and fifty years or more. They were less corruptible than Men, but committed their share of rash and greedy acts. (Among these was the slaying of Elu Thingol because of the dispute over the Nauglamír. There were also claims that they slew Fram for refusing to return dwarven treasures recaptured from the hoard of Scatha.)

Kinds of Dwarves

The Dwarf-lords portrayed in Peter Jackson's . See common misconception below.

Most Dwarves mentioned in Tolkien's works are of Durin's folk, the clan founded by Durin I of Khazad-dûm, called the Longbeards. (A notable exception are the inhabitants of the dwarf-cities of Nogrod and Belegost in the Blue Mountains, spoken of in The Silmarillion). The seven different groups of Dwarf-folk originated in the locations where the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves first awoke before the First Age. There were three pairs of Fathers that awoke together, and their Folk would build their halls near each other, though Durin himself had awoken alone. (In his letters, Tolkien adds that all the Fathers except for Durin also had wives who awoke with them). Therefore the halls of the Longbeards at Khazad-dûm were not located near the halls of another Dwarf-kingdom. The seven clans of the Dwarves were:

Longbeards. Durin's Folk. Durin originally awoke at Gundabad and wandered alone, but eventually founded a colony at Khazad-dûm.
Firebeards. Originally from Nogrod. Paired with the;
Broadbeams. Originally from Belegost.
Ironfists. Originated somewhere far in the East. Paired with the
Stiffbeards.
Blacklocks. Originated somewhere far in the East. Paired with the
Stonefoots.

It is a common misconception that the Fathers of the Dwarves received the Seven Rings. However, the Rings of Power were forged in the Second Age, long after the Fathers must have died.

There was also an eighth group of Dwarves that was not a separate member from these seven kindreds, but composed of exiles from each: the Petty-dwarves, who were hunted like animals almost to the point of extinction by the Elves in the First Age.

Location

The Dwarves lived and mined in several locations throughout Middle-earth at various times, including:

Moria or Khazad-dûm in the Misty Mountains
Erebor, the Lonely Mountain
The Iron Hills
The Ered Luin or Blue Mountains, where the cities Nogrod and Belegost existed in the First Age
The Ered Mithrin

Decline

Dwarf-men were overprotective of their women who they sheltered from other races. Few dwarf-women were seen by other races, hence the myth of Men which lead to the belief that Dwarves grow out of stone (supported by the fact that both male and female Dwarves looked similar to other races). In addition, no more than one third of the dwarven population was female, and few men took wives as they were too busy in the mines.

As a result, they dwindled after the Fourth Age like the Elves and Hobbits, until Men were the only of the great races left to rule Middle-earth.

Trivia

In the earliest versions of Tolkien's Middle-earth mythology (see: The History of Middle-earth) the Dwarves were evil beings created by Melkor.
The enduring popularity of Tolkien's books, especially The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, has led to the popular use of the term dwarves to describe this race in fantasy literature. Before Tolkien, the term dwarfs (with a different spelling) was used, as seen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In fact, the latter spelling was so common that the original editor of The Lord of the Rings "corrected" Tolkien's dwarves to dwarfs (The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, 138).According to Tolkien, the "real 'historical'" plural of dwarf is dwarrows or dwerrows. He once referred to dwarves as "a piece of private bad grammar" (Letters, 17), but in Appendix F to The Lord of the Rings he explains that if we still spoke of dwarves regularly, English might have retained a special plural for the word dwarf as with man. The form dwarrow only appears in the word Dwarrowdelf, a name for Moria. Tolkien used Dwarves, instead, which corresponds with Elf and Elves, making its meaning more apparent. The use of a different term also serves to set Tolkien's Dwarves apart from the similarly-named creatures in mythology and fairy-tales.
Tolkien's Dwarves are loosely based upon those of Norse myths. Also, for The Hobbit almost all the names of the dwarves of Middle-earth are taken from the Icelandic saga of Völuspá."9. Then sought the gods their assembly-seats, / The holy ones, and council held, / To find who should raise the race of dwarfs / Out of Brimir's blood and the legs of Blain. / 10. There was Motsognir the mightiest made / Of all the dwarfs, and Durin next; / Many a likeness of men they made, / The dwarfs in the earth, as Durin said. / Nyi and Nithi, Northri and Suthri, / Austri and Vestri, Althjof, Dvalin, / Nar and Nain, Niping, Dain, / Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Nori, / An and Onar, Ai, Mjothvitnir, / 12. Vigg and Gandalf, Vindalf, Thrain, / Thekk and Thorin, Thror, Vit and Lit, / Nyr and Nyrath, / Regin and Rathvith — now have I told the list aright. / 13. Fili, Kili, Fundin, Nali, / Heptifili, Hannar, Sviur, / Frar, Hornbori, Fræg and Loni, / Aurvang, Jari, Eikinskjaldi. / 14. The race of the dwarfs in Dvalin's throng / Down to Lofar the list must I tell; / The rocks they left, and through the wet lands / They sought a home in the fields of sand. / 15. There were Draupnir and Dolgthrasir, / Hor, Haugspori, Hlevang, Gloin, / Dori, Ori, Duf, Andvari, /Skirfir, Virfir, Skafith, Ai. / 16. Alf and Yngvi, Eikinskjaldi; / Fjalar and Frosti, Fith and Ginnar; / So for all time shall the tale be known, / The list of all the forbears of Lofar. (Sturluson, Snorri. "Catalogue of Dwarfs", Völuspá, Prose Edda. ISBN 0460876163).

References

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