Author Archives: The Dwarrow Scholar

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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.

Durin’s Day 2026: Finding the Last Moon of Autumn (… again)

When is Durin’s Day in 2026? By combining Tolkien’s description with historical seasonal reckoning and modern crescent-visibility calculations, this article rebuilds the question from the ground up and arrives at a Dwarvish New Year of 13 October 2026. It also introduces the new interactive Dwarvish Calendar and tests the same reconstruction against Tolkien’s own 19 October date for the Quest of Erebor. Continue reading →

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The Fields Beneath The Mountain

Rethinking Dwarven Agriculture: A 2026 Revisit Many years ago, I asked a question Tolkien, quite understandably, never spent a great many pages answering: What did the Dwarves eat? Here we aren’t talking about the cakes the Dwarves scoffed when visiting … Continue reading →

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The Hidden Characteristics of Khuzdul

Tolkien gives us very little spoken Khuzdul, but Dwarvish speech in the Common Tongue may still preserve traces of its social habits. This article explores guarded speech, politeness, formal courtesy, mining and craft metaphors, language shift, and the ways Neo-Khuzdul develops these patterns further. Continue reading →

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Possible Sources and Influences in Tolkien’s Khuzdul: A Comparative Etymological Review

Introduction This review examines the known and reconstructed words of Khuzdul one by one, looking for possible sources of inspiration behind Tolkien’s Dwarvish vocabulary. Each entry considers the form and meaning of a Khuzdul word and compares it, where a … Continue reading →

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The Extraordinary Longevity of Khuzdul

Linguistic Conservatism, Mobility and Institutionalisation Introduction One of the most remarkable statements Tolkien made about Khuzdul is not that the language changed very little, but how little it changed despite the immense distances and periods involved. The history of the … Continue reading →

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Scholarium Is Here: A New Home for Learning Neo-Khuzdul

Today, I am delighted to announce that Scholarium has officially opened its doors. For many years, the Neo-Khuzdul courses have existed through a growing collection of written lessons, grammar documents, vocabulary lists, recordings, exercises and other study materials. These resources … Continue reading →

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How Geology Shaped the Great Dwarven Mansions

When we think of Dwarven architecture in Tolkien’s legendarium, we often imagine vast halls, endless pillars, and cities carved deep beneath the mountains. Yet one crucial factor is often overlooked: the stone itself. Not all mountains are alike. And for … Continue reading →

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On the Governance of the Dwarven Clans

A study of Dwarven political structures in Tolkien’s legendarium General Note: While this study refers to the Seven Clans as a whole, the available material is overwhelmingly drawn from the history of Durin’s Folk. The Longbeards are by far the … Continue reading →

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Slow to Be Born, On Dwarven Reproduction

A Reconsideration of Dwarven Gestation Length It has been a long while since I last posted on this blog, as I have mainly been writing through Tumblr in recent years, often in the form of replies to questions rather than … Continue reading →

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SSG, let’s talk Dwarves!

Last week I had the distinct pleasure to talk with Standing Stone Games’ Jerry Snook (LoTRO Community Manager) and Chris Pierson (LoTRO Lead World Builder) to muse about dwarves in LOTRO (being The Dwarrow Scholar… what else, right?). After last … Continue reading →

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