Lord of the Rings: The Animated Musical | Appendix A, III Durin’s Folk

After weeks of anticipation, we finally arrive at everyone’s favorite section, “Appendix A, II Durin’s Folk”, where readers receive a taste of Dwarf history and culture. While many readers gravitate towards Elves or Hobbits when choosing their favorite fantasy Race of Middle-earth, I have always preferred the Dwarves. What was not to love about the murder munchkins, who were as prepared to make jewelry or go spelunking as hack up their enemies with an ax? More Dwarf stories are found in The Silmarillion, as alluded to in the opening paragraph of this section, but here the reader finds context for the events in The Hobbit along with stories from the Line of Durin, or Dwarves descended from the first Dwarf awakened, and accordingly considered the most politically powerful group.

Dwarves in European literature have not always taken on the sometimes delightful, sometimes tragic tone of Dwarves in Tolkien’s books. Historically, their stories have contained antisemitic undertones and even blatant antisemitism. Richard Wagner’s operatic Ring Cycle, which borrowed from Germanic and Scandinavian mythology, took Dwarf characters that predated the arrival of Jews and Muslims to northern Europe and turned them into negative stereotypes. During the Third Reich in Germany, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party built upon this prejudiced foundation, promoting the works of Wagner alongside a perverted version of the original myths.

Tolkien hated this rewriting of history and commented in a 1941 letter to his son, Michael, that Hitler was a “ruddy little ignoramus” under “demonic inspiration… [r]uining, perverting, misapplying… that noble northern spirit” (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, 55-56). The words are similar to Frodo’s description of Orcs: “The Shadow that bred them can only mock… it only ruined them and twisted them” (Return, 201).

Tongue-in-cheek commentary alluding to the antisemitism surrounding Dwarves appeared in Bilbo’s commentary during The Hobbit: “dwarves are not heroes, but calculating folk with a great idea of the value of money; some are tricky and treacherous and pretty bad lots; some are not, but are decent enough people like Thorin and Company, if you don’t expect too much” (Hobbit, 213). Besides ensuing chapters and an additional three books proving that many Dwarves were heroes, and much could be expected of them, Bilbo showed signs of the classic Tolkien device of “when you point a finger at others, three fingers point back at yourself”. Previously, Bilbo had described “putting on his business manner (usually reserved for people who tried to borrow money off him)” (Hobbit, 22), suggesting that he added to the family wealth as a money lender. In late Medieval Europe, moneylending was a job held almost exclusively by Jews, as the Catholic Church prohibited usury or the charging of interest. This description, among others that I will assess in future posts, indicated that the Baggins clan was Jewish-coded and likely the leaders of upper class Harfoot Hobbits whose ancestors had lived among the Dwarves if not had Dwarf ancestry.

Dwarf Motifs!

In Stith Thompson’s Motif-Index, the category of “Dwarf” (F451) was extensive. This section of Appendix A briefly touched on “Origin of Dwarfs” (F451.0.1) for the Longbeards, and a reminder that Middle-earth Dwarves had a mother and father just like Men, as seen in the motif “Dwarf women bear children” (F451.3.5.5); they did not “grow out of stone”, which they regarded as a “foolish opinion” held by Men (The Return of the King, 397). This section also described the “appearance of dwarf[s]” (F451.2). While not mentioning that the “body of dwarf[s]” (F451.2.1) were “small” (F451.2.1.1), possibly “with small body and large head” (F451.2.1.3) as described in previous sections, it did emphasize “the beards of dwarfs” (F451.2.3) on both dwarf-men and dwarf-women, especially “long-bearded dwarf[s]” (F451.2.3.1) descended from Durin.

“Dress of dwarf[s]” (F451.2.7) first appeared in The Hobbit, as Bilbo meticulously tracked the color of each hat and cloak set worn by his thirteen guests during the unexpected party, matching the motif “dwarfs wear peculiar caps” (F451.2.7.6). Additionally, dwarf-women “are in voice and appearance, and in garb… so like to the dwarf-men… other peoples cannot tell them apart” (Return, 397). As for occupation, “dwarfs [worked] as smiths” (F451.3.4.2) whether they were forging axes or designing jewelry. Their love of precious metals and gems, along with their willingness to share these with friends, align with the motifs “dwarfs’ gold” (F451.5.1.4), “money or treasure given by dwarfs” (F451.5.1.4); “other gifts from dwarfs” (F451.5.1.6), and “dwarfs dig for treasure” (F451.6.9).

The section touched briefly on the “government among dwarfs” (F451.4.5), specifically that “dwarfs [were] ruled by a king” (F451.4.5.1), and they appeared to keep a council of close relatives, as Thorin II traveled with cousins and nephews. Outside of collaborations between clans of Dwarves, the section highlighted allegiances between “Dwarfs and human beings” (F451.5), meaning Men in Middle-earth, as I considered all the Races to be human or in the genus homo. A similar motif was “Dwarfs associate with mortals” (F451.5.8), also intended to mean Men, as mortals on Middle-earth include Dwarves, Men, and Hobbits. Finally, Dwarves were noted as “helpful” (F451.5.1), with Gimli and his friends repairing the gates of Minas Tirith.

The final set of motifs show the human characteristics of Dwarves, something kept out of many folk legends about the Race. “Dwarfs die” (F451.3.5.1) frequently in battles and through genocides. “Dwarfs are strong” (F451.3.8) and could battle enemies much greater in size. “Dwarfs are intelligent” (F451.3.12) and “sensible” (F451.3.12.2) when creating their crafts. “Dwarfs weep” (F451.6.7) and “become angry” (F451.6.8) when faced with the ongoing trauma of their Race being repeatedly targeted by aggressors while being blamed for their victimhood.

Seven Fathers, But No Seven Mothers?

Durin I was the oldest of the Seven Fathers, fitting the motif “Seven as magic number”, and his descendants were called the Longbeards. The text did not clarify whether there were Seven Mothers, too, or if some fathers were dwarf-women. If the former was the case, their absence aligned with Dwarf custom to rarely include dwarf-women in their written records, as they made up “no more than a third of the whole population” (Return, 397) and may have been hidden as a protective measure. Only Dís daughter of Thráin, younger sister of Thorin II Oakenshield, was mentioned in their literature.

The protection of women, especially those of marriageable age, was crucial to European Jews from the Medieval period through the mid-20th century. Police forces from the dominant Christian population would interrupt weddings, as shown in the musical Fiddler on the Roof, and sometimes killed brides. Tim Burton’s stop animation movie Corpse Bride was inspired by a 17^th century Jewish folktale, “The Finger”, where the corpse of a murdered young woman tricks a foolish young man into getting engaged to her until a rabbi intervenes. While the symbolism was not as overt in Tolkien’s work, the brief mention of the deaths of dwarf-women and their children, presumably burned alive by Smaug while inside Erebor (Hobbit, 24), had the same tone as these other tales.

One can also argue that some fathers were dwarf-women, as Khuzdul was based on Semitic languages like Hebrew and Arabic, where the plural for parents also means fathers: avot in Hebrew and aba'un in Arabic. Later in this post, I will speak more about Tolkien’s implied literal interpretation of gendered language.

Mines, Mountains, Mirrors, and Motifs

Many more motifs cover mines, mountains, and mirrors, all major aspects of Dwarf culture. Their creation story fit “Mankind emerges from mountain” (A1234.2), or in this case, Dwarf-kind. During his “Song of Khazad-dûm”, Gimli spoke of an end times belief that the world would be grey and deadly “Til Durin wakes again from sleep” (Fellowship, 356), aligning with the motifs “Cultural hero asleep in mountain” (A571), “King asleep in mountain” (D1960.2), and “Dwarf serves king sleeping in mountain” (F451.5.1.8). The digging of the Mines of Moria or Khazad-dûm to extract mithril was the “discovery of rich mine” (N596); unfortunately, this either woke up the Balrog, or if Sauron had already woke it up, accidently released it from its prison (Return, 388). Earlier in the quest, while traveling through a snowstorm, Gimli showed concern at angering Redhorn, also called Caradhras in Sindarin and Barazinbar in Khuzdul, as he believed it was a “living mountain” (F755). This may be true, although it may reference the motif “Dwarfs are superstitious” (F451.3.15).

Many peoples of Middle-earth lived underground, perhaps a reference to ancient human ancestors in the real-world being “cave people”. Hobbits have their holes or smials, Mirkwood Elves live in a subterranean palace, and Dwarves dig mines in the mountains. For the “home of dwarfs” (F451.4), they “live[d] under the ground” (F451.4.1) “in caves” (F451.4.1.1) or in a “hollow mountain” (F759.2), specifically a “house inside mountain” (F771.3.5.1) such as an “underground castle” (F451.4.1.2) like Erebor. As for geographic region, “Dwarves live in hills and mountains” (F451.4.1.11) and were “seen on a mountain” (F451.4.2.6), including the Misty Mountains, the Iron Hills, and the Lonely Mountain. A “description of dwarf home” (F451.4.3) appeared in The Hobbit with Bilbo exploring the remains of Erebor during its occupation by Smaug, and The Fellowship of the Ring with the Nine Walkers travelling through an abandoned Khazad-dûm. For the latter city, the “dwarf cave closed by iron doors” (F451.4.3.1).

The Hobbit and Fellowship explored the relationship between Dwarves and their “Magic mountain” (D923) as their “mountains or rocks open[ed] and close[ed]” (D1552). A “door open[ed] in mountain” (D1552.0.1) in both cases. The door to Lonely Mountain only opened on Durin’s Day as the sun and moon came into the sky together, and Thorin II used a “magic key [to] open treasure mountain” (D1552.12). The door to Khazad-dûm opened through the password mellon, meaning “friend” in Sindarin.

The “dwarfs emigrate” (F451.9) between hills, mountains, and caves not by choice but by necessity. “Why Dwarfs emigrate” (F451.9.1) was explained at multiple points throughout the section. “Dwarfs emigrate when their king dies” (F451.9.1.15), including the murder of Thrór, grandfather of Thorin II, by Azog the king of Orcs, which was first mentioned back in The Hobbit during “Chapter I: An Unexpected Party”. At other times, the “home of dwarfs [wa]s endangered or destroyed” (F451.4.4), including the Orcs and balrog overrunning Khazad-dûm and Smaug capturing Erebor. “The destination of emigrating dwarfs” (F451.9.2) was always another mountainous area, as “dwarfs [fled] to caves for protection” (F451.6.14).

Finally, “Magic mirror” (D1153) or reflective objects that obscure the truth from the viewer, were a reoccurring theme in Middle-earth. The magic mirror of the Dwarves was the natural pool Kheled-zâram, also called Mirrormere. The water showed only the reflection of the constellation “Crown of Durin”, last mentioned during “(iv) Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion” as being called “Stars of the Wain” by Bilbo (Hobbit, 191), “the Sickle” by Frodo and the Elves (Fellowship, 198), and equivalent to the Big Dipper in the real-world.

A Flavor of Reincarnation

On Arda, reincarnation was not unique to Dwarves. Elves reincarnated as themselves in a body identical to what they had before they died. Dwarves reincarnated as baby Dwarves that made everyone say, “He’s back!” These naming practices aligned with the motifs “names for dwarfs” (F451.8) and “common names for dwarfs” (F451.8.1). The most frequently reincarnated Dwarf appeared to be Durin the Deathless: “five times an heir was born in his House so like to his Forefather that he received the name of Durin… held by the Dwarves to be the Deathless that returned” (Return, 388) The Dwarves seemed to believe that seven Durins would rule as king before the Race of Dwarves would fade. By this logic of renaming a baby Dwarf after an ancestor he resembled with the assumption that he was a reincarnation, Gimli’s father Glóin and uncle Óin may also have been reincarnations from the Line of Durin, as these names had belonged to kings. There seemed to be only one Gimli.

However, an error appeared to have been made at least once. The name Thorin appears three times: to King Thorin I, Thorin II Oakenshield the companion of Bilbo, and Thorin III Stonehelm son of Dáin. Since the lives of Thorin II and Thorin III overlapped, one of them was not a reincarnation. With the prophecy of a king returning to rule under the mountain, Thorin’s father Thráin may have been eager for his son to fulfill this position and incorrectly named him in good faith, or he may have hoped to gain support from other Dwarves to take back the mountain. Not enough evidence was given in the text to support either theory, or even to support that all Dwarves with a reused name were reincarnations.

The motif of “Reincarnation” has its own section (E600) in the Motif Index. This flavor of reincarnation is defined as “Reincarnation in another human form” (E605), or more specifically in this case, a Dwarf form. Dwarves also experience “Repeated reincarnation” (E670) and the super specific motif “Dwarf as reincarnation” (F451.1.5). In real-world mythology, this was also applied to Men who became a Dwarf in their next life, although this was not possible in Middle-earth.

Intertextual References

Several events found in this section referred back to other parts of the text. Dwarves were not affected by the “Seven [Rings] for the Dwarf-lords”, a line appearing in the epitaph of each part, except these Rings might “inflame their hearts with greed of gold and precious things…” (Return, 394) The One Ring might have affected Gimli in this way; he was distracted at the thought of “fingering gold” (Fellowship, 429) while Legolas daydreamed about running through the woods, and Boromir succumbed to mental collapse in the boat next to them, leading to the breaking of the Fellowship.

When Thráin father of Thorin II and owner of the last of the seven Dwarf rings disappeared, “[o]nly long after was it learned that Thráin had been… brought to the pits of Dol Guldur… the Ring taken from him…” (Return, 395). This information was revealed to Thorin and his companions in The Hobbit while at Bag-End, as Gandalf “found [Thráin] a prisoner in the dungeons of the Necromancer”(Hobbit, 26). Additionally, “the wandering Folk of Durin… in their songs… spoke ever of the Lonely Mountain far away”. (Return, 395). A few verses of these songs appeared in The Hobbit, with ten verses of “Far over the misty mountains cold” in “Chapter I: An Unexpected Party” (Hobbit, 14-15) and six verses of “The wind was on the withered heath” in “Chapter VII: Queer Lodgings” (Hobbit, 126-127).

Finally, the appendix references Tolkien’s concept of “Northern courage”, the idea that early northwestern Europeans valued the ability to press on without hope, not so different than the “keep calm and carry on” of World War II. When describing Thorin’s courage, the text reads “a great anger without hope burned him as he smote the red iron on the anvil” (Return, 395) The passage included a pun, comparing the burning anger of Thorin to his red hot iron. This also clarified his aggressive attitude throughout The Hobbit; the reader could empathize with Thorin being angry after losing his home and most of his family, yet he directed his anger in an unhealthy way on his younger cousins and friends.

The Ides of March in Middle-earth

Gandalf and Thorin had a “chance-meeting” in Bree as Gandalf was going to the Shire, where he had not been for twenty years. This meeting took place on March 15, 2941 Third Age, known in the real-world as the Ides of March. The concept of ides came from Imperial Rome and marked the middle of the month; for a month with thirty-one days like March, the ides fell on the fifteenth day. Ides entered English from Old French around the early 14^th century and became known as a day of doom, perhaps because debts and rents were paid on that day. In modern culture, people best remember March 15, 44 BC, the day Julius Caesar was assassinated, and the event was featured in William Shakespeare’s highly fictionalized play on Caesar’s life and legacy. More events on the Ides of March will appear in a future post on Appendix B.

Gender & Sexuality of Dwarves

I never thought I would write that heading, but here we are. Towards the end of the section were matter-of-fact explanations on what modern readers would describe as the gender and sexuality of Dwarves. All Dwarves regardless of their biological sex presented as dwarf-men, and “many also [did] not desire marriage, being engrossed in their crafts” (Return, 397). I tend to side with the Dwarves on the latter sentiment. The favorite crafts of Dwarves even appear throughout the text, with Thorin II appearing to prefer interior decorating (Hobbit, 243), Ori showing talent at handwriting or calligraphy (Fellowship, 361), while Gimli preferred to make jewelry. None of these Dwarves had a wife, with a bonus footnote confirming this for Thorin (Return, 393) beside the family tree. Tolkien may have regarded this lifestyle as celibacy, similar to the choice of Catholic monks and nuns in the real-world, while the modern LGBTQA+ community might consider Dwarves to be asexual/aromantic.

This decision was possibly an exploration on how gendered language might be interpreted literally. Semitic languages like Hebrew and Arabic, an inspiration for Khuzdul, use male third person plural nouns and pronouns when referring to a co-ed group. Speakers use female third person plural nouns and pronouns only when referring to a fully female group. The male-dominated gendered language group sharply contrasts with Finnish, an inspiration for Sindarin, which has a neutral third person pronoun, hän. Finns are proud of this feature in their language, believing that the gender-neutral terminology allows people to be treated more equally. Interpreted literally in Elf culture, this made all Elves androgynous or nonbinary, even though they, like Dwarves, appeared to have two biological sexes.

The demographics by sex in Dwarf society were a puzzle. In absence of abortion and infanticide, a human population would not naturally be one-third female and two-thirds male due to the sex-determination system of XY chromosomes found in all mammals. While chromosomal variations exist outside the XX and XY binary, this could not account for such a discrepancy. The only clue I could discern in the text was that dwarf-women “seldom walk[ed] abroad except in great need” (Return, 397), while dwarf-men traveled to different mountains through Bree-land and the Shire. The Dwarves might have defined Dwarf-men and Dwarf-women by gender rather than sex with the marker for gender determined by proclivity for travel. Dwarfs assigned female at birth (AFAB) who enjoyed travelling might have identified as Dwarf-men for convenience, as outsiders could not tell the difference, and both Men and Hobbits canonically had a gender bias towards males despite their admiration for matriarchal Elf culture.

While this interpretation might at first glance conflict with the ideals of a Catholic author publishing a fantasy book in the 1950s, this custom of women from eastern mountain communities choosing to live as men in a male-dominated culture had ancient roots in the real-world. In the Balkans, once part of the Ottoman Empire, women of marrying age could choose to become burrneshat or “sworn virgins”, receiving all the privileges of living as a man — including higher paying jobs, permission to wear men’s clothing, property ownership, and smoking — as long as they vowed to never marry. The similarities between the real-world and fantasy cultures was striking, and I would not be surprised if Tolkien had heard of the practice.

Dwarf Age Math

Aligning with the motif “great age of dwarfs” (F451.3.11), a family tree created in-universe by Gimli for his friend King Elessar, known elsewhere as Aragorn, showed the long lifespans associated with Dwarves. Thirty-one names appeared in Gimli’s family tree. Except for Durin the Deathless and Durin VII & Last, all were given a birth year. With the exception of Dís and Thorin III Stonehelm, the rest — twenty-seven Dwarf-men — received a death year, or “last seen” in the case of Gimli. A typographic dagger (†) indicated violent death and appeared beside the death dates of fifteen Dwarves. Until the War of the Ring had fully ended, Gimli must have expected to die violently. Below is a chart I created to show the age of death for Dwarves who appeared to have a full lifespan and die of natural causes.

Name	Thráin I	Thorin I	Glóin	Óin	Nain II	Borin	Grór	Farin	Gróin	Dwalin	Glóin
Birth	1934	2035	2136	2238	2338	2450	2563	2560	2671	2772	2783
Death	2190	2289	2385	2488	2585	2711	2805	2803	2923	3112	3036
Age	256	254	249	250	247	261	242	243	252	340	253

Dwalin’s age at death was 340, an outlier; this could be due to a transcription error, or he could be among the few Dwarves who reached full lifespan. Meanwhile, the second Glóin’s life was likely shortened by the spider bite and near drowning during the quest of Erebor. Without Dwalin’s age included in the calculation, Dwarf life expectancy is about 251 years. With Dwalin, Dwarf life expectancy is about 259 years. If 255 Dwarf years equaled 65 Middle Man years and Dwarves aged at a consistent rate, then Dwarves age at about a quarter the rate of Middle Men.

However, Dwarves may not have aged at a consistent rate, which was true for other Races in Arda. While Hobbits appeared to age at a consistent two-thirds rate of Middle Men, since they came of age at thirty-three instead of twenty or twenty-one and died around age 100 instead of 65, the Númenóreans aged at the same speed as Middle Men until about the age of twenty, when they began aging between a third speed, as was the case for Faramir, and a quarter speed, as was the case for Aragorn, barring interaction with a palantír, which caused poor Denethor II to age in appearance as a Middle Man.

A description of Dáin II Ironfoot during the Battle of Nanduhirion in T.A. 2799 referred to him as a “stripling” (Return, 392). This late 14^th century term referred to a youth or adolescent, especially one coming of age. Assuming that Dwarves consider coming of age to be the equivalent of twelve or thirteen years old, the time when Jewish children celebrate a bat mitzvah or bar mitzvah, Dáin II would have been at least 48 years old. However, he was only 32 years old during the battle, a minor even in Hobbit years, and ineligible to run for president in American Man years. Dwarves might have aged at half speed for their first thirty or so years and then settle into an aging rate of about a fifth speed compared to Middle Men, making Dáin the equivalent of 15 years old during the battle. Since Gimli turned 140 during the Quest, he was the equivalent to about 38 Middle Man years. This does seem like the age where a single guy might go on adventures with his careless younger friends but complain about discomforts that might not have bothered him a few years earlier.

Finally, a footnote described the origins of all the Dwarves in The Hobbit; most of the Dwarves were close cousins of Thorin, while Ori, Nori, and Dori were distant cousins from the House of Durin, and Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur were from Moria, but not of the House of Durin. They must have been considered of a lower rank, perhaps working as servants, which would explain the constant bullying of Bombur seemingly for his weight.

Tolkien Ambiguity to the End

The many readers who are Legolas fans, and the fewer of us who are Gimli fans, enjoy the final paragraphs of this section, as it completes their story arc in a satisfying way despite its ambiguity. Gimli became “Lord of the Glittering Caves” and led his people on civic engineering projects in Gondor and Rohan, such as making new mithril and steel gates for Minas Tirith. Legolas brought Greenwood Elves to Ithilien. When Aragorn died, as explained in “The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen”, “Legolas followed at last the desire of his heart and sailed over Sea” (Return, 399). This followed the theme in the text of separation from a loved one, especially when crossing the Sea, as Elrond was first separated from his wife Celebrían and then separated from his children to join her, Galadriel left Celeborn behind, Frodo gave all he had to Sam before departing, and the reader would assume Legolas finally travelled without Gimli.

Ever one to write a twist, Tolkien presented an unsolvable puzzle beginning with the line, “Here follows one of the last notes in the Red Book.” This line implied that Tolkien “translated” verbatim a story he found at the very end of the version of the book given to Pippin’s great-grandchildren. “Legolas took Gimli Glóin’s son with him because of their great friendship… then it is strange indeed: that a Dwarf should be willing to leave Middle-earth for any love… Gimli went also out of desire to see again the beauty of Galadriel” (Return, 399).

The story fit the motif “Dwarfs in love with other supernatural beings” (F451.10.4), in this case a pair of Elves. Others who went without permission to Aman endured horrific consequences, as learned previously throughout the text: the Númenóreans broke the Ban, and their continent was flooded. Elrond’s parents crossed on a boat and became a cursed bird and a star. Apparently, nothing bad happened to Gimli and Legolas, possibly because Galadriel “obtained this grace” (Return, 399).

Besides its significance within the fictional story, this ending might represent a spiritual belief held or debated by Tolkien. As mentioned in the opening of this essay, Dwarves were coded as Semitic, especially Jewish; in contrast, Elves were coded as Catholic, with their patron Valar Elbereth or Varda resembling a Medieval portrayal of the Virgin Mary, who was as prone to righteous violence as maternal serenity. The separated land of Aman paralleled Purgatory, a spiritual waiting room where all were cleansed of sins before proceeding to Heaven, while Catholics could perform good deeds in life to take time off the cleansing period.

Purgatory resembles the older belief of Gehenna from Judaism, a “Supernal Washing Machine” cleansing all souls regardless of belief. The word “supernal” is synonymous with “heavenly” and to some extent “spiritual”. The word appears to be commonly used by Hasidic Jews speaking American English, as “heavenly” may be viewed as a Christian word. Interestingly, Thorin II mentioned going to “the halls of waiting to sit beside my fathers, until the world is renewed” (Hobbit, 290) upon his death, which reflected both residing in Catholic Purgatory until Armageddon and the Nordic and Germanic paganism tradition that warriors go to the hall of Valhalla, presided over by the gods, until Ragnarök or the final battle leading to the fall of the gods.

In any case, Tolkien may have been suggesting that anyone could have an afterlife of reflective waiting regardless of racial origin or even religious affiliation, but he equally could have been writing an almost satisfying ending to the story arc of two popular characters without a deeper meaning. The section, and all of Appendix A, ended with the sentence “More cannot be said of this matter”, showing Tolkien’s ambiguity all the way through. While the reader might find strong textual and historical support for many diverse and conflicting interpretations, not enough information was provided for a decisive conclusion.

Speaking of Conclusions…

With plenty of information on Dwarf culture and history, along with many motifs, several stories and facts from this section will find a new home within the hypothetical animated musical presented as flashbacks or conversations with documentary-inspired visuals. A brief mention of dwarven reincarnation would occur in new dialogue given by Frodo during “A Long-Expected Party” (Fellowship, 28) to quickly establish his interest in other cultures.

A flashback containing the “chance-meeting” between Gandalf and Thorin in Bree at the Prancing Pony, which triggered the events in The Hobbit, would be slotted after a “Welcome to Bree” song once Frodo sat by himself in a dark corner (Fellowship, 176). The next Dwarf-related segment discussing Dwarf sexuality, gender presentation, and rate of aging might fit into a sequence I am currently calling “An Extended Stay at Rivendell”, which would occur during “Book II, Chapter 3: The Ring Goes South” (Fellowship, 311). I would want this section to include songs and documentary segments comparing the Races of Middle-earth and emphasizing the length of time that the Nine Walkers lingered in Rivendell after the Council, delaying their departure by three months.

The section describing Smaug’s arrival in Erebor, the death of Thrór, the Battle of Nanduhirion, the disappearance of Thráin, and the Dwarves temporarily moving to Ered Luin would be inserted in brief after Frodo decided the Fellowship should go into Moria, and Wargs attacked them enroute (Fellowship, 337). Gimli was so eager to see Moria that he forgot his cousin Daín’s story that Durin’s Bane, the balrog who killed Durin VI and his son Náin, was still there. Upon reaching Lothlórien and being intercepted by the elven guard Haldir and his brothers, the Fellowship spends the night in a pair of flets or treehouses (Fellowship, 386). An inserted conversation between Legolas and Gimli could lead to a brief documentary-style segment comparing the religions, burial practices, and afterlives of Elves and Dwarves.

Another important story was the demise of Dáin II and King Brand of Dale, great-grandson of Bard who shot Smaug. Together they blocked the path of Sauron and died, leading the eastern-most Free People to save the rest of Middle-earth. Gandalf broke the news to Frodo and Gimli while they were living at Minas Tirith, saying to them, “When you think of the great Battle of the Pelannor, do not forget the battles in Dale… what might have been… savage swords in Eriador, night in Rivendell… no Queen in Gondor” (Return, 397). This section would be placed between “Book VI, Chapter V: The Steward and the King” and “Book VI, Chapter VI: Many Partings”. Finally, the conclusion to Gimli and Legolas’s story will be included in the musical, but I want this appearance to be a surprise. More cannot be said of the matter.

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