Dwarf (Middle-earth)
"Khazad" redirects here. See KHAZAD for the block cipher named after Khazad-dûm.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
Noldor, but the
Sindar usually called them the
Naugrim or
Nogothrim, the Stunted People.
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.
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 because 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. The Dwarves of the Iron Hills, in addition to axes, carried shields slung on their backs and short swords, used as secondary weapons.
Seldom were females seen among them. When they were seen, they were often mistaken for male Dwarves, because
they too had beards.
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 hatred 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.) Also,
Thorin Oakenshied and the Dwarves of the Iron Hills were willing to go to war with the Elves of Mirkwood and the Men of Esgaroth over the treasure of Erebor, refusing to share any of it.
Variation
Most Dwarves mentioned in Tolkien's works are of
Durin's folk, the clan founded by
Durin I of
Khazad-dûm, called the Longbeards. (An exception is 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 to the North of the
Orocarni Mountain Range. Paired with the;# Stiffbeards. # Blacklocks. Originated to the South of the
Orocarni Mountain Range. 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.
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 MithrinMale dwarves were overprotective of their women who they sheltered from other races.Few female dwarves 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 because 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.
*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).]*
List of Middle-earth Dwarves*
Dwarf*
War of the Dwarves and Orcs*
Petty-dwarf*
Aulë
