105
votes
Why couldn't the dwarves beat/kill the Balrog?
There was nothing particular about the elves that made them capable of taking on balrogs, except that the elves, as the Firstborn children of Illúvatar, were probably the most powerful of all the ...
- 98.6k
70
votes
Do dwarf women have beards?
Quenta Silmarillion revisions (?1950–May 1951)
In c.1951, Tolkien wrote a revision to a chapter of The Silmarillion then titled "Of the Naugrim and the Edain", in which he explicitly stated ...
- 95.2k
52
votes
Where do the Dwarves put all the stone from the Mines of Moria?
You're forgetting things like the "endless stair"; the dwarves didn't just mine down in Moria, they built hugely in the mountains surrounding those mines as well. The lake of the lurker at the western ...
- 6,536
46
votes
Accepted
Where do the Dwarves put all the stone from the Mines of Moria?
Moria is old.
According to The Silmarillion, it was founded by Durin I sometime after the elves awoke, during the Years of the Trees. This was a time before there was recorded time, before there was ...
- 5,717
39
votes
Accepted
Did Gimli marry and have children?
Gimli did not get married, nor did he have any children. We get a potted history of the remainder of his life in Appendix III of Return of the King ('Durin's Folk'), along with a family tree which, as ...
- 702k
32
votes
Accepted
Aren't dwarves supposed to be short?
Why would Eitri be so unusually tall in the film, given that he's a dwarf
Plainly it is a joke that the "dwarf" is enormously tall.
Also part of the joke is that the actor playing the "giant dwarf" ...
- 824
31
votes
Accepted
Do the dwarves grow weary of Middle-earth
I think there's evidence on this. From the Appendices:
We have heard tell that Legolas took Gimli Glóin's son with him because of their great friendship, greater than any that has been between Elf ...
- 42k
26
votes
What is the first fantasy work to feature both dwarves and dwarfs?
The Discworld series of novels by Terry Pratchett.
They have Dwarves, which are a separate species to humans.
They also have a recurring character Nobby Nobbs, a human of well below average height. He ...
- 17.2k
24
votes
Accepted
What was the final fate of Khazad-dûm (after Durin the 7th)?
Durin the Last first emerges in the second surviving draft of the dwarf section of Appendix A, which originally ended with this line about Moria, right after talking about Dain and Erebor.
And the ...
- 95.2k
23
votes
Accepted
Can dwarves forge magical weapons as well as Elves can?
Dwarves have forged weapons of the same renown
I'm sure Tolkien would have probably rejected such a classification system, but if you consider the weapons named in your question to be "magical&...
- 95.2k
22
votes
Does Mary Stone have a beard?
She has a beard
No way in heck was I going to admit that my prospective date had
canceled the exact second he found out that the profile pictures
hadn’t been some strange practical joke. It’s the ...
- 702k
18
votes
Accepted
What's the physical difference between Hobbits and Dwarves?
Dwarves and Hobbits have very different origins are two different species
Dwarves are creations of Aule, the craftsman.
in their beginning the Dwarves were made by Aulë in the darkness of Middle-...
- 77.5k
18
votes
Why couldn't the dwarves beat/kill the Balrog?
The short and simple answer is that Noldor in the First Age who had returned to Middle-Earth from Valinor and fought the Long War against Morgoth and his armies were bigger badasses than simple ...
- 2,125
17
votes
Accepted
Who were the seven dwarves Sauron gave the Rings of Power to?
Who the other 6 were exactly is unknown.
As you said, one of the rings was given to Durin III, known as the "Ring of Thror", and was passed down the line of Durin for thousands of years ...
- 77.5k
14
votes
What's the physical difference between Hobbits and Dwarves?
There is already an excellent answer to this question by Edlothiad (I don't think I have ever managed to answer a Tolkien question before him). As the question lists language as one of the things that ...
- 21.2k
14
votes
Why couldn't the dwarves beat/kill the Balrog?
A balrog is essentially a minor deity, and effectively immortal.
Only the great magics of the first and second age could destroy one, hence neither of the mortal races would stand a chance against one....
- 4,399
14
votes
Accepted
Are the Dwarfs meant to represent Jews in The Last Battle?
That does not seem to be the case. The Dwarfs seem generically to represent those who had, beguiled by the world, fallen into disbelief and villainy, but who still had a chance to redeem themselves ...
- 98.6k
13
votes
Why did Sauron want the Seven Rings back after his return?
Because Sauron is stronger with them. Tolkien stated explicitly in one of his letters (number 131; see e.g. the accepted answer to "What are the powers shown by the Rings of Power?") that all of the ...
- 231
13
votes
Do the dwarves grow weary of Middle-earth
The Dwarves are decaying because they reproduce slowly.
While Mark Olson does an excellent job at proving the Dwarves aren't "fading" he doesn't quite look at the text that inspired the ...
- 77.5k
13
votes
Accepted
Is the facial hair of Tolkien's dwarves unshaveable?
Per The History of Middle Earth Vol. 11
The Naugrim were ever, as they still remain, short and squat in
stature; they were deep-breasted, strong in the arm, and stout in the
leg, and their beards ...
- 702k
11
votes
Where do the Dwarves put all the stone from the Mines of Moria?
Geologist here. Answers by Matt Thrower and Ash are to the point: The material mined out of Moria had to go somewhere, and if the dwarves disposed of it in the usual way, there would be extensive ...
- 18.2k
10
votes
Accepted
How did dwarves living underground handle trash and sewage?
This answer will mostly be opinion based, but I'll use some canonical sources to try and support my arguments and answers.
Waste
Firstly, I highly doubt Dwarves produced waste other than food waste ...
- 77.5k
9
votes
Accepted
Is there more information about dwarves wearing masks in battle?
There is no further information about the Naugrim wearing masks
There are no other mentions of the Naugrim wearing masks into battle, or at any time. An earlier draft of that same text had "wear ...
- 11k
9
votes
Aren't dwarves supposed to be short?
Dwarves/dark elves are not short in Norse mythology, They were made out to be short/stout by the dramatisations of the old legends, by acting troupes, theatre companies, etc. all across Europe during ...
8
votes
Do the dwarves grow weary of Middle-earth
No, I don't believe there is any support in cannon for the idea that Dwarves grow weary of Middle-earth in the way that Elves do. If that is what WOPR meant in the answer that you linked to, I think ...
- 21.2k
7
votes
What does Gimli's axe look like?
I don't believe Tolkien ever clearly said if Gimli's axe was single-edged or double-edged. I found two quotes in addition to those provided in the earlier answers that may suggest Tolkien had a single-...
- 21.2k
7
votes
Why were the doors of Moria made so easy to open?
I know this question is old, and the other answers are great, but I think they are all missing an important point. I think the answer is simpler than most people realize. The earlier quotes by ...
- 2,333
7
votes
Accepted
Do dwarves always stop fighting when their leader is killed?
No
I could find no other instance of dwarves leaving a battle after their leader was killed. The closest I can get is at the Battle of Sarn Athrad, where Beren slew the Lord of Nogrod, but it is very ...
- 11k
7
votes
Animated movie with dwarves who don't have hearts
Could this be Quest for a Heart?
It's got dwarves (actually short trolls), an elf and plenty of questing. And hearts.
When the most mischievous resident of Rolli Village befriends a beautiful elf ...
- 702k
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