There are quite a few Dwarves mentioned in Tolkien’s works, however, the strongest and most renowned of these appear to be of the line of Durin, the greatest of the seven fathers of the Dwarves created by Aulë. When creating them, Aulë ‘wished therefore that they should be strong and unyielding.’ It later states:
‘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, fast in friendship and in enmity, and they suffer toil and hunger and hurt of the body more hardily than all other speaking peoples; and they live long, far beyond the span of Man, yet not forever.‘ (The Silmarillion, Of Aulë and Yavanna)
Dwarves are featured predominantly in The Hobbit during the quest of Erebor. They are also mentioned in The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings, but don’t play near as important a role. As a race, Dwarves have quite a few obvious characteristics. They are steadfast, proud, patriotic, at times arrogant and extremely skilled in craft.
The pride of the Dwarves is very prominent in Tolkien’s works. Many other characteristics displayed by Dwarves can be routed back to this one. They are patriotic, having a great pride in their people and their work. They are steadfast, true to the end, if a Dwarf has sworn an oath, he will keep it no matter the cost. Their arrogance comes from this patriotism. They think their race to be exceptional in their craft, to the point that their underlying belief is that no one can have things of well-made craft unless it was at some stage stolen from or bought from a Dwarf. Finally they are greatly skilled in craft and above all else love mining and creating things with their hands.
The steadfast characteristic of the Dwarves is probably one of their most noted. Once a Dwarf has given their word or decided on something, very little or nothing can persuade them from doing or thinking differently. This trait makes them in most cases true to their word until the end, especially in the case of the Dwarves of the line of Durin. Dwarves use oaths to help them strengthen their resolve, to draw from when they become reluctant in a task. For example, before setting out with the Fellowship, Gimli believes that they should say oaths to remain true to the quest, saying ‘Yet sworn word may strengthen quaking heart’, but he is dissuaded by Elrond, who replies ‘Or break it.’ However, the keeping of his word to people seems an important part of Gimli’s beliefs. He believes in being true to his friends, and this is shown by his willingness to follow Aragorn and run for miles through the plains of Rohan in pursuit of Merry and Pippin. By far his hardest challenge would be following Aragorn through the Paths of the Dead. He tells Aragorn before they set off:
‘I will go with you even on the Paths of the Dead, and to whatever end they may lead.’ (The Passing of the Grey Company).
However, to every rule there are exceptions. Though almost all Dwarves have this characteristic, The Silmarillion shows one Dwarf that didn’t: Mîm of the house of Bar-en-Danwedh. Túrin showed him pity in not slaying him, and Mîm showed him to his cave. There Túrin dwelt for many years with his company, but was later betrayed to the orcs by Mîm. Although Mîm failed to keep his word, it must be remembered that on their first meeting an arrow from Túrin’s company had slain his son. So Mîm’s betrayal could nearly be seen as his own way of patriotism to his people or the love of his house.
Patriotism seems to be a huge thing for the Dwarves. In The Hobbit we see the company of Dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield attemptinhg a mission to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the Dragon, where in the previous days had been a great civilisation of Dwarves. Thorin’s main motivation is the honour of his people to reclaim that which had been stolen from them. In particular, he remembers his grandfather and father’s losses, and the lives of his kindred that were taken at the coming of Smaug. For this reason he is willing to risk a mission that could cost him and his countrymen their lives. Along the way none of the Dwarves consider turning from the road, and they are also true to their friends, as Gimli is in The Lord of the Rings.
Another example of this is found in the Appendices of The Lord of the Rings, where we find a reference to Thror returning to Moria. However, he entered alone and was killed by the orcs, who then began ‘hacking up the body and flinging the pieces to the black crows.’ Following this great insult to one of their lords, Thrain, Thror’s son, led an army of Dwarves to take revenge on Azog (the orc who killed Thror). Many Dwarves died in this fight for vengeance, and both Thrain and Thorin were injured. Finally though, Nain called Azog from the Gate and Azog came forward. In the fight that followed Nain was slain, but as Azog was about the flee back through the gates, Dain (Nain’s son) slayed him. The Dwarves then all returned home (refusing to try and win back Moria), satisfied that they had achieved their quest to take vengeance for the dishonour done to their lord.
The Dwarves were originally created by Aulë, the Maia most renowned for his craft. He made them so as to have creatures to teach his skills to, and for this reason the Ddwarves are the greatest in craft. This skill of the Dwarves is rivalled only by some of the Noldor elves. The Dwarves take great pleasure in their craft, loving the works of their hands above all else. They labour long and hard to produce things, this can be seen in the great realms they carved into stone, the greatest being Kazad-dûm (Moria). The Hobbit gives an indication of just how much the craft of the Dwarves is dear to them:
‘Kings used to send for our smiths and reward even the least skilful most richly. Fathers would beg us to take their sons as apprentices, and pay us handsomely, especially in food supplies, which we never bothered to grow or find ourselves. Altogether those were good days for us, and the poorest of us had money to spend and to lend, and leisure to make beautiful things just for the fun of it, not to speak of the most marvellous and magical toys, the like of which is not to be found in the word nowadays. So my grandfather’s halls became full of armour and jewels and carvings and cups, and the toy market of Dale was the wonder of the North.’ (The Hobbit, An Unexpected Party)
The Dwarves’ pride in their ability with craft makes them somewhat arrogant at times as well. For example, in the Unfinished Tales, The Quest of Erebor, Thorin cannot comprehend how a Hobbit can come to wealth without being a thief. Gandalf says:
‘At that I fear I lost my temper and my caution. This Dwarvish conceit that no one can have or make anything “of value” save themselves, and that all fine things in other hands must have been got, if not stolen, from the Dwarves at some time, was more than I could stand at that moment.’ (Unfinished Tales, The Quest of Erebor)
The arrogance in the Dwarves also comes of their great patriotism and pride. Even Gimli is arrogant when entering Lothlórien he was asked to be blindfolded:
“‘The agreement was made without my consent.’ He said. ‘I will not walk blindfold, like a beggar or a prisoner. And I am no spy. My folk have never had dealings with any of the servants of the Enemy. Neither have we done harm to the Elves. I am no more likely to betray you than Legolas, or any other of my companions.’
‘I do not doubt you,’ said Haldir. ‘Yet this is our law…’
Gimli was obstinate. He planted his feet firmly apart, and laid his hand upon the haft of his axe. ‘I will go forward free, ‘ he said, ‘or I will go back and seek my on land, where I am known to be true of word, though I perish alone in the wilderness.’
‘You cannot go back,’ said Haldir sternly. ‘Now you have this far… You cannot cross the rivers again, and behind you there are now secret sentinels that you cannot pass. You would be slain before you saw them.’
Gimli drew his axe from his belt. Haldir and his companion bent their bows.” (The Fellowship of the Ring, Lothlórien)
From this section one can see that the pride and arrogance of the Dwarves is greater than their steadfast characteristic. Here, for the sake of a blindfold, Gimli was ready to leave the Fellowship or die at the hands of the elves. However, one can see that Gimli obviously thought that to defend his name and that of his folk was more important than to continue with the Fellowship.
As with most things, there is a positive and negative side to these traits. When a Dwarf makes an enemy, their pride, steadfast character and arrogance make it nearly impossible for anyone to change this. For this reason the feud between Elves and Dwarves in the First Age has reachings through to the Third Age. However, the Dwarves’ hatred for the enemy is unchanging because of these characteristics as well. The race of the Dwarves is, in fact, what Aulë made them to be: strong in friendship, enduring, gifted in craft and stone-hard. Great friends, but fierce enemies.
by Elvishmusician
Artwork by John Howe
