This has been a work in progress for some time now… in between other items whenever I had a moment to spare.
This might be a bit odd to look at, at first, but as is traditional among the Dwarves, the map is drawn with East at the top.
Meaning that the mountains, trees and rivers have been hand-drawn by myself, so apologies for that, as I’m anything but an artist.
Enjoy.
About The Dwarrow Scholar
My fascination with Tolkien began early, with a battered copy of The Hobbit given to me by my uncle. I read it obsessively, then reread it, and when I was old enough to own a Walkman, I even recorded my own cassette version so I could listen to it while cycling to school. Long before the internet made information easy to find, I spent countless hours in libraries, hunting down anything I could about Tolkien and, in particular, his Dwarves.
That early fascination never really went away. Over the years it developed into a sustained and structured engagement with Tolkien’s legendarium, especially the Dwarvish languages and cultures. Under the name The Dwarrow Scholar, I focus primarily on Neo-Khuzdul, Tolkien’s notes on Dwarves, and the careful expansion and teaching of those ideas in a way that respects both the source material and linguistic plausibility.
Through www.dwarrowscholar.com
, I publish articles, reference material, and language resources, and I also give structured lessons in Neo-Khuzdul to students. What began as fandom gradually grew into long-term research, teaching, and writing.
When I am not working on Neo-Khuzdul or answering questions from fellow Tolkien enthusiasts, I enjoy time with my wife and son, revisiting well-worn Tolkien paperbacks, learning languages, watching a good film, or unwinding with games like The Lord of the Rings Online and other Dwarf-adjacent distractions.
The Dwarrow Scholar 
I think the map is pretty darn good for someone who claims to not be an artist. And why do dwarves have East at the top of maps, by the way? I know next to nothing about dwarves.
LikeLike
The first two versions Tolkien made of Thror’s map had North at the top of the map. Only when the map was redrawn as a landscaped endleaf did it acquire the “east at the top” arrangement.
Tolkien later noted that this layout was the traditional way Dwarven maps were drawn – it in fact was the typical manner of medieval topographical maps (Jerusalem being made more prominent in this manner).
The choice Tolkien made to copy this format would indicate the importance of the East for the dwarves, as the place of their first awakening.
I do not believe it has anything to do with the Sun though. The moon is far more important for dwarves than the sun. Main reason though is that in Arda, the Sun first arose in the West:
~ The Silmarillion, “Of the Sun and Moon and the Hiding of Valinor”
quote: At the first rising of the Sun the Younger Children of Ilúvatar awoke in the land of Hildórien in the eastward regions of Middle-earth; but the first Sun arose in the West, and the opening eyes of Men were turned towards it, and their feet as they wandered over the Earth for the most part strayed that way.
LikeLike
Tolkien based the Dwarves heavily on the Hebrews. Their language is “Semitic”, and much of their culture is also very “Hebrew”. In Hebrew maps, East was to the top. I think this is why Tolkien oriented their maps that way.
LikeLike
Tolkien indeed based his Dwarves chiefly on the Jews, both in customs as in language. However, some of the earliest Judaic maps were meant to illustrate the Holy Scriptures and reflected ancient traditions of mapping such as that of Ptolemy; where North was on top of the map. This is why many cultures including the Romans and even the Hebrews chiefly adopted the same tradition of mapping, placing North at the top of the map. In the West it wasn’t until medieval times, at the time of the crusades, that Jerusalem was given a more prominent place on the map, placing East at the top. Hence my reasoning here, that I believe Tolkien wished to indicate the East as a place of importance for the Dwarves. – Which he writes as being the home of their eldest halls.
LikeLike
It makes sense.. where the Sun comes out in the mornings… I’ve seen pre-columbian petroglyphs where maps are oriented like that 😉
LikeLike
Thanks for explaining. Had no clue there was that much thought behind it. After learning this I had to check my Thorin map to see if it had East at the top as well and I was surprised to see that it does! Can’t believe I never even noticed that before. Now I have a bit of lore to go along with the map. Thanks. 😀
LikeLike
Given the similarity to medieval mapping, perhaps world maps would have been centred on Gundabad? admittedly its relatively northerly position makes it kinda poor as a centre-point, but thematically it could make a lot of sense.
LikeLike
That indeed would be a possibility, and I would agree completely with that, especially for world maps. As Gundabad has such a profound importance for all seven clans. I have started on a similar map in the past, with Gundabad centered, however I never found the time to finish it. Your post makes me want to pick that up again. 🙂
LikeLike