For Men of old lusted after their wealth and the work of their hands, and there has been enmity between the races. But they are not evil by nature, and few ever served the Enemy of free will, whatever the tales of Men alleged. In the appendix on 'Durin's Folk' in The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien describes dwarves as:Ī 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. The medievalist Charles Moseley described the dwarves of Tolkien's legendarium as ' Old Norse' in their names, their feuds, and their revenges. Here the god Thor talks to the dwarf Alviss to prevent him from marrying his daughter Þrúðr at dawn Alviss turns to stone. The origins of Tolkien's Dwarves can be traced to Norse mythology Tolkien also mentioned a connection with Jewish history and language.ĭwarves appear in his books The Hobbit (1937), The Lord of the Rings (1954–55), and the posthumously published The Silmarillion (1977), Unfinished Tales (1980), and The History of Middle-earth series (1983–96), the last three edited by his son Christopher Tolkien.Ĭharacteristics Tolkien found dwarves in Norse mythology. Tolkien described them as tough, warlike, and lovers of stone and craftsmanship. They are based on the dwarfs of Germanic myths who were small humanoids that lived in mountains, practising mining, metallurgy, blacksmithing and jewellery.

Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting Middle-earth, the central continent of Arda in an imagined mythological past.

Lotro compendium of middle earth iv