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Dwarves

Other Names: Naugrim, Gonhirrim, Children of Aulë

Race/Species: Dwarf

Type/Kind: N/A

Parents: Aulë

Siblings: n/a

Spouse: n/a

Children: n/a

Description:
Naugrim - the Stunted People (S)
Gonhirrim - Masters of Stone (S)

Earlier forms of the Elvish name for the dwarves included Nauglir (Q), Nauglar, or Nauglath.

"It is told that in their beginning the Dwarves were made by Aulë in the darkness of Middle-earth; for so greatly did Aulë desire the coming of the Children, to have learners to whom he could teach his lore and his crafts, that he was unwilling to await the fulfilment of the designs of Ilúvatar."

"Since they were to come in the days of the power of Melkor, Aulë made the Dwarves strong to endure. Therefore they are stone-hard, stubborn, fast in friendship and in enmity, and they suffer toil and hunger and hurt of body more hardily than all other speaking peoples; and they live long, far beyond the span of Men, yet not forever."

The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion , 2 - Of Aulë and Yavanna

"Durin is the name that the Dwarves used for the eldest of the Seven Fathers of their race, and the ancestor of all the kings of the Longbeards."

LotR, RotK, Appendix A, Durin's Folk

"They are a tough, thrawn race for the most part, secretive, laborious, retentive of the memory of injuries (and of benefits), lovers of stone, of gems, of things that take shape under the hands of the craftsmen rather than things that live by their own life. But are not evil by nature, and few ever served the Enemy of free will, whatever the tales of Men alleged. For Men of old lusted after their wealth and the work of their hands, and there has been enmity between the races."

"Yet in secret...they used their own strange tongue, changed little by the years; for it had become a tongue of lore rather than cradle-speech, and they tended it and guarded it as a treasure of the past. Few of other races have succeeded in learning it."

"Their own secret and 'inner' names, their true names, the Dwarves have never revealed to any one of alien race. Not even on their tombs do they inscribe them."

LotR, RotK, Appendix F

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 were long. Indeed this strangeness they have that no Man nor Elf has ever seen a beardless Dwarf - unless he were shaven in mockery, and would then be more like to die of shame than of many other hurts that to us would seem more deadly. For the Naugrim have beards from the beginning of their lives, male and female alike; nor indeed can their womenkind be discerned by those of other race, be it in feature or in gait or in voice, nor in any wise save this: that they go not to war, and seldom save at direst need issue from their deep bowers and halls. It is said, also, that their womenkind are few, and that save their kings and chieftains few Dwarves ever wed; wherefore their race multiplied slowly, and now is dwindling.

The War of the Jewels, HoME Vol 11, Part 2, Ch 13, Concerning the Dwarves

It was said by Gimli that there are few dwarf-women, probably no more than a third of the whole people. They seldom walk abroad except at great need, They are in voice and appearance, and in garb if they must go on a journey, so like to the dwarf-men that the eyes and ears of other peoples cannot tell them apart. This has given rise to the foolish opinion among Men that there are no dwarf-women, and that the Dwarves 'grow out of stone'.

It is because of the fewness of women among them that the kind of the Dwarves increases slowly, and is in peril when they have no secure dwellings. For Dwarves take only one wife or husband each in their lives, and are jealous, as in all matters of their rights. The number of dwarf-men that marry is actually less than one-third. For not all the women take husbands: some desire none; some desire one that they cannot get, and so will have no other. As for the men, very many also do not desire marriage, being engrossed in their crafts.

The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: Durin's Folk

Skills

Glóin [father of Gimli] [spoke] of the works of his people ... in Dale and under the [Lonely] Mountain. ... "In metalwork we cannot rival our fathers, many of whose secrets are lost. We make good armour and keen swords, but we cannot again make mail or blade to match those that were made before the dragon came."

"Only in mining and building have we surpassed the old days. You should see the waterways of Dale, Frodo, and the fountains, and the pools! You should see the stone-paved roads of many colours! And the halls and cavernous streets under the earth with arches carved like trees; and the terraces and towers upon the Mountain's sides!"

The Fellowship of the Ring, LoTR Book 2, Ch 1, Many Meetings

Contributors:
Ying, 01.16.03
Skills: Elena Tiriel 16Jan04
added quotes: ET 18Dec04

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