It is Germanic for what the Greeks called the οικουμένη ( oikoumenē) or "the abiding place of men", the physical world as opposed to the unseen worlds ( The Letters of J. Rather, it comes from Middle English middel-erde, itself a folk-etymology for the Old English word middangeard ( geard not meaning 'Earth', but rather 'enclosure' or 'place', thus 'yard', with the Old Norse word miðgarðr being a cognate). One dragon, in particular, named Smaug the Golden, hears of the prosperous kingdom and decides to pay it a visit.The term "Middle-earth" was not invented by J.R.R. Unfortunately, this isn't far enough to keep away their new nemeses. Eventually, conflict erupts with these fiery new neighbors, and most of the surviving dwarves are forced to relocate all over again, this time joining their kin in the thriving young kingdom under the Lonely Mountain.
While the Khazad-dûm refugees begin to rebuild their strength for a few centuries, this relocation to the north puts them in close proximity to an area populated by dragons.
Many of the scattered dwarves also head north and settle in the Grey Mountains. Some of them find their way to the Lonely Mountain in Erebor, where they officially establish a new "Kingdom under the Mountain." The demon kills their king, and the Longbeards flee their ancient home, scattering across the map in the process. Then, in the year 1980 of the Third Age, the dwarves of Khazad-dûm unearth a Balrog - and yes, it's the same one that faces down Gandalf over a thousand years later. However, they also infamously kill an elven king when he refuses to pay them, starting a bitter feud that sparks several retaliatory conflicts and feeds into a dwarvish reputation that they don't always fight on the side of "the good guys." Eventually, the entire region is sunk under the sea at the end of the age, and the surviving dwarves head east to join their relatives in the Misty Mountains. They also help the elves carve out vast underground palaces, create gems and weapons for them, and even aid them in battle. This pair of cities plays an important part in the First Age of Middle-earth history, as the inhabitants befriend the elven exiles who return to Middle-earth at the beginning of the age and join them in their fight with Sauron's original master, Morgoth. However, the last pair of dwarven fathers appear in the Blue Mountains to the west of Khazad-dûm, and they found the famous cities of Belegost and Nogrod. Each of the Seven Fathers is then put to sleep, and they're spread across Middle-earth, where they remain in silent slumber until the elves finally awake, and the action starts to heat up.įour of the other dwarven fathers wake up far to the east, and they aren't talked about much. However, Ilúvatar opts to spare his repentant servant's handiwork, giving the dwarves independent wills and adopting them into his "family" of children.
Seeing that he has merely created puppets, Aulë repents and offers to destroy his empty creations. He shapes the first batch of his very own kiddos, known as the "Seven Fathers of the Dwarves," deep under a mountain in Middle-earth.Įventually, Ilúvatar, who knows all, calls Aulë out on his impatience and reveals to him that while he may be a master craftsman, he lacks the power to give each dwarf their own will. Impatiently waiting for Ilúvatar's children to arrive, the angelic smith decides that he'll secretly (and disobediently) make his own children instead. Known to his dwarven sub-creations as Mahal, Aulë fashions the dwarves in the very early days of Middle-earth's existence. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit stories. So, without further ado, here's the backstory of the dwarves from J.R.R. From there, we'll dive into some of the things that make their culture stand out like a sore thumb against the ostentatious men, froufrou elves, and beardless hobbits that surround them on all sides. We'll start with a quick stroll through this hardy people's one-of-a-kind history.
With so much dwarvish lore out there, we thought we'd take a deep dive into the dwarves of Middle-earth in order to see what makes them so special. How much gold? Suffice it to say that a few of these guys would make Buffet, Bezos, and even Scrooge McDuck look like paupers. Tolkien's dwarves have a rich backstory filled with underground mansions, sharp axes, epic wars, double-crossing behavior, powerful rings. But there's more to these abbreviated warriors than braided beards and an admittedly hefty dose of humor. From following a bumbling baker's dozen as they trip their way through The Hobbit to watching Gloín's son defeat an elvish prince of Mirkwood in an honest game of "who can slaughter the most bad guys," dwarves have left their mark all over Middle-earth history.