# LOTR dwarf question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 20, 2002, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094 "2002-12-20T20:06:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/1 "2002-12-20T20:06:31Z")
So what are the dwarves up to while the big battle over Middle Earth is going on? Gimli is part of the Fellowship, but for the life of me, I can’t remember any mention in the books about what the rest of the dwarves are up to. Do they ever help fight Sauron? Are they just hiding out in the mines? Intrigued dwarf fans want to know. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/2 "2002-12-20T20:08:34Z")
They’re all drunk. You know dwarves! ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/3 "2002-12-20T20:10:31Z")
They’re over in Bree helping Men fight Sauron’s northern minions. Check out the Appendixes, it covers it. And at the same time, the elves in Lothlorien and Rivendell are beating up on other groups of baddies. ---
**Author:** ![Chava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Chava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chava)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/4 "2002-12-20T20:12:50Z")
Not in Bree. In Laketown and around the Lonely Mountain. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/5 "2002-12-20T20:32:27Z")
Yup. Didn’t mean Bree at all. Was confusing that with the king’s name. Whathisface. ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/6 "2002-12-20T20:32:46Z")
Thanks, **Munch**! I will confess to not reading the entire Appendices… ---
**Author:** ![CaptEgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@CaptEgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptEgo)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/7 "2002-12-20T20:38:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Munch \* > \*\*Yup. Didn’t mean Bree at all. Was confusing that with the king’s name. Whathisface. \*\* Brand…son of Bard… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/8 "2002-12-20T20:56:25Z")
Bard, Bree. Bree, Bard. Blah, blah, blah… 🙂 Thanks, Capt! ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/9 "2002-12-20T21:16:22Z")
That reminds me of another dwarf question I have, too trivial to begin another thread. Where are all the dwarf women? Or do dwarves multiply by cellular division? ---
**Author:** ![Fingolfin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eada6e/32.png) [@Fingolfin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fingolfin)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/10 "2002-12-20T21:19:04Z")
Gimli wasn’t the only Dwarf fighting during the War of the Ring, that’s for sure. **The Battle of Dale** A battle that took place during the War of the Ring, in Dale and Erebor. Brand of Dale and Dáin Ironfoot were both lost in the battle, and their respective forces besieged in the Lonely Mountain. The sons of these two lords, Bard II and Thorin III, were eventually able to break the siege and defeat the forces of Sauron. _Notes: 1 The actual Battle of Dale started on 17 March, and ended with the victory of the Easterling invaders, leaving Brand and Dáin dead, and their heirs besieged within Erebor. The siege lasted for seven days, until news of the Downfall of Barad-dûr reached the besiegers and sapped their morale; the Tale of Years tells us that Bard II and Thorin III drove them away on 27 March._ ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/11 "2002-12-20T22:01:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pugluvr \* > \*\*That reminds me of another dwarf question I have, too trivial to begin another thread. > > Where are all the dwarf women? Or do dwarves multiply by cellular division? \*\* Gimli actually addresses this in the movie – he notes that there are Dwarven women; however, they are often mistaken for men, which leads to the impression that there are no women. I believe it was Aragorn who noted, “Must be the beards.” ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/12 "2002-12-20T23:03:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skammer \* > \*\*Gimli actually addresses this in the movie – he notes that there are Dwarven women; however, they are often mistaken for men, which leads to the impression that there are no women. > > I believe it was Aragorn who noted, “Must be the beards.” \*\* Is that from the Two Towers or the extended edition of Fellowship? It was always one of my favorite things about Discworld, I’d though Pratchett had come up with it. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/13 "2002-12-20T23:05:04Z")
\<\< Gimli actually addresses this in the movie – he notes that there are Dwarven women; however, they are often mistaken for men, which leads to the impression that there are no women. I believe it was Aragorn who noted, “Must be the beards.” \>\> I think this is from Terry Pratchett, however, not from Tolkien. ---
**Author:** ![robertliguori](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@robertliguori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robertliguori)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/14 "2002-12-20T23:15:56Z")
I’d second this statement for the orcs. Where are the orcish women? Do they plant their young like potatoes? ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/15 "2002-12-20T23:17:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by C K Dexter Haven \* > \*\*I think this is from Terry Pratchett, however, not from Tolkien. \*\* _Au contraire!_ The thing about bearded Dwarf women is genuine Tolkien, though it’s a bit obscure: it comes from Appendix A of LotR. > [@](#): > > 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.’ He doesn’t explicitly _say_ they have beards, but it’s pretty strongly implied. 😉 (Some of the above was incorporated into Gimli’s dialogue in TTT, btw.) ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/16 "2002-12-20T23:20:26Z")
Thanks, Katisha, I didn’t remember it from Tolkien. It’s so Pratchett-esque. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/17 "2002-12-20T23:20:43Z")
Yes, when I said ‘in the movie’ I was referring to some brief dialogue in _The Two Towers_. I hope that’s not too much of a spoiler for those who haven’t seen the movie yet. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/18 "2002-12-20T23:23:18Z")
Well, in the MOVIE version apparently you can grow orcs/uruks in slime pits. But I believe there is a quote somewhere from the Silmarillion that Orcs reproduce “After the fashion of the children of Illuvatar.” Since the children of Illuvatar are Elves and Men, that means that baby Orcs are produced the same way baby humans are. I also believe that the Appendix states that Dwarf women are rare, and most Dwarf men never marry. They are also said to resemble the men. Whether this includes beards or not isn’t clear. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2002, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/19 "2002-12-21T00:30:29Z")
Only a third of dwarves are women? There are some guy dwarves out there who aren’t getting any booty. ---
**Author:** ![raisinbread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8491ac/32.png) [@raisinbread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raisinbread)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2002, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094/20 "2002-12-21T00:54:08Z")
Sir in the post above my own you are very narrow minded since I’m certain most dwarves have a good right hand, don’t care about the undercarraige and stick things where they smell or the dwarven women engage in polygamy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-dwarf-question/144094.md?page=2)