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.

Kili’s Runestone

SPOILER ALERT There has been some discussion of late related to Kili’s Runestone featured in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The Big question most have is (apart from why doesn’t WETA™ already have this in their shop?)… “what do … Continue reading

Posted in Language, Writings | Tagged , , , , , | 33 Comments

Delving the Dwarrowdelf

When the fellowship journeys through the long dark of Moria they at one point arrive at one of the Great Halls of Khazad-dûm.  This is where Gimli sings to the fellowship of Durin and the Dwarrowdelf (changed to Gandalf briefly … Continue reading

Posted in History, LoTRO, Maps | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Durin! And the winner is…

In a not so distant past I launched a contest to label a true Dwarven ale with the Deathless name of “Durin!”. I asked artists (and beer-lovers alike) to design a front and back label for this delicious ale, and … Continue reading

Posted in Food, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Queen Dís ? (Dwarven Customs of Succession)

Some time ago I asked everyone to send me any question you might have concerning the Dwarves. As a result I got a wonderful collection of questions, of which I have already attempted to answer some in previous blog posts. One … Continue reading

Posted in Characters | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Durin! Bottled

As I’ve received quite a few of emails asking for a sneak peek at our Dwarven Ale “Durin!“, I just couldn’t bring myself to disappoint you fine folks and had to drag myself to the brewery for another tasting.   … Continue reading

Posted in Food | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Durin! A call to Artists and Beer-Lovers alike.

Artists and lovers of Beer alike, time to pay attention! As some of you might know, I’m from Belgium, a country known for its plethora of gourmet delights, among so many… our beers. Ever since I started my blog “The … Continue reading

Posted in Food | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Is Durin’s Day upon us ?

This article is partly in response to a very well written article from Iduna related to the calculating Durin’s Day on the “Heirs of Durin site” (Thank you again for that Iduna), and in response to many similar questions about this … Continue reading

Posted in Calendar & Festivals | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

LoTRO: Harnkegger Games (2013 Edition)

EVENT on the LAURELIN SERVER ————————————-   Hail and well met! As the end of summer comes within reach, the Dwarves of Khuzd Belkul and Durin’s Folk and the good Hobbits of the Shire Angling Club will together host the … Continue reading

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RP-ing Dwarves in LoTRO

RP-ing in LoTRO When not working on Neo-Khuzdul translations, or reading Tolkien’s works for the gazillionth time, I often jump into Lord of the Rings Online where I Role-Play a dwarf (honestly, what else?) from the Grey Mountains. It’s something … Continue reading

Posted in LoTRO | 10 Comments

Counting Dwarves

Some weeks ago I asked everyone to throw some interesting Dwarven questions my way while my PC was in the shop… and to my absolute delight I received quite a few.  The following outstanding question came via email from Samir: … Continue reading

Posted in Life & Death | 4 Comments