Happy New Year… on October 15th!?!

Posted on October 13, 2012 by The Dwarrow Scholar

If you think October 15th is all about the launch of Riders of Rohan… think again… as it is also the Dwarven New Year or “Durin’s Day” !

The first day of the Dwarven year is calculated according to the last new moon of autumn.  This places Durin’s Day, anytime between about Oct. 7 and Nov. 6, on the last day before the astronomical new moon, as the moon sets just before the sun.  This year Durin’s Day falls on Monday October 15th.

You have to hand it to Turbine, what timing !

Though, not every single Dwarven new year is a “Durin’s Day”, as Thorin mentioned:

“We still call it Durin’s Day when the last moon of Autumn and the sun are in the sky together.”

Only a Dwarven New Year where this occurs would technically be called a “Durin’s Day”.

So, is this one a Durin’s Day ?

Well, we can usually see the Moon during the day if it is close in direction to the Sun. But on days with excessive glare or cloudiness, the Moon may not be visible, especially just before and after a new Moon.

So, we can see the Moon during the daytime when the Sun and Moon are relatively close in direction, but not too close either! (When they are aligned too closely, we can not see the Moon because the Sun is directly behind it and can not light up the side of the Moon facing us.)

Meaning that we’ll have to look to the skies on October 15th… while on our journeys in Middle Earth and see if we can spot the moon while the sun is out.

Will it be (just) another Dwarven New Year on the 15th… or a “Durin’s Day” ?

Durin’s Day – Sun and Moon

If you see the moon and sun in the sky at the same time (in real life or Middle Earth for that matter), make sure to make a picture/screenshot of it and feel free to leave a post!

To celebrate the dwarven new year, the Durin’s Folk band, “The Rolling Kegs” will be giving a new years eve concert at the kinhall ((Laurelin – Thorin’s Hall Homesteads – Ulfhirth, 2 Highspires Street)) on sunday 14th of October, right after the kinmeeting (usual 3PM).  Though the kinmeeting itself is for kinmembers only, all friends and allied people are welcomed at the new years eve concert.

Hope all can make it brothers and sisters, see you there!

And don’t forget to look at the skies on the 15th!

Posted in Calendar & Festivals | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Khuzdul Common Sayings

Posted on October 8, 2012 by The Dwarrow Scholar

One of the outstanding items I had on my todo list was to complete the list of common sayings…

anything from “How are you”, “Thank you”… to even wise dwarven saying such as “Rejoice not when an elf falls – but don’t rush to pick him up either.”

Enjoy!

HERE

Posted in Language | 2 Comments

Of the Seven Clans of Dwarves

Posted on September 30, 2012 by The Dwarrow Scholar

Some use the term “clan” for many things… in dwarven terms it means their lineage… nothing more. Which means that it can only be used to refer to the 7 clans (Longbeards, Firebeards, Broadbeams, Ironfists, Stiffbeards, Stonfoots and Blacklocks).

Many have asked what we know about all of these, as most of the material we have relates to the Longbeards only.

Well, I’ve tried to compile all I could find of several sources and put that into a little document. I tells about general appearance, weapons, beards, weight, height, etc… . Hope it proves usefull for many RP-ers.

*1 Note that all dwarves, regardless of their clan become grey and/or white when reaching old age.
*2 Those Longbeards of Durin’s Line lived longer than other dwarves of their clan / Those of the line of the other fathers also were long-lived, though not as long as Durin
*3 All dwarves are Short, Stocky Strong with exceptionally strong limbs and sport beards (even the females).
*4 Quite a high number of the Broadbeams die before their natural age expectancy due to corpulence.
*5 When reaching old age the color of the eyes of dwarves often goes dim.
*6 Some Longbeards have been known to be as tall as 5′ 4″.
*7 Some shades of Black have a Blue tint to them, and some shades of Blond are referred to as Yellow. 

 

 

 

BUILD*3

Longbeards: Slightly taller than other clans. It is said that they grew higher slightly and every couple of generations, to support their longer beards.

Broadbeams: The Broadbeams, as their name implies in general are especially heavy. They are more stocky even then most dwarves from other clans.*4

Ironfists: Stronger in build then most other clans.

Blacklocks: Average Dwarven build

Stiffbeards: Shorter than most clans

Firebeards: Average Dwarven build, yet capable of tremendous display of power.

Stonefoot: Their feet are quite large and heavy compared to other dwarven clans.

 

Details / Usual Character

Longbeards: Known for their many halls through-out Middle Earth. Great merchants and craftsmen.

Broadbeams: Greatest armoursmiths of all dwarves. Unlike most dwarves eat 3 full meals a day and are known to drink large amounts of ale while eating.

Ironfists: Extremely war-like and xenophobic Tribe. Rarely trusting others, even those of their own clan at times.

Blacklocks: Extremely Loyal. Great artists, and renowned jewel makers.

Stiffbeards: Peaceful and clever merchants. Often found hunting in the frozen north and fishing on ice.

Firebeards: Fearless to the point of foolishness.  Supreme Smiths, renowned weaponsmiths.

Stonefoot: The most reclusive and silent of all dwarven clans. The location of their halls is a secret for many other clans even.

 

Average Weight (Male-Female lbs)

Longbeards: 170-140

Broadbeams: 195-165

Ironfists: 165-135

Blacklocks: 160-130

Stiffbeards: 145-125

Firebeards: 160-130

Stonefoot: 160-135

 

Complexion

Longbeards: Fair

Broadbeams: Fair

Ironfists: Fair

Blacklocks: Olive

Stiffbeards: Pale

Firebeards: Fair

Stonefoot: Fair

 

Hair Color

Longbeards: Black*, Brown, Red and Various shades of Blond*7

Broadbeams: Black, Brown and Dark Blond

Ironfists: Black, Brown and Dark Blond. Unlike most Dwarves often go prematurely grey before they reach old age

Blacklocks: Black

Stiffbeards: Different shades of Blond.

Firebeards: Different shades of Red, from Bright Red to light (almost Blond) Red

Stonefoot: Grey – Stonefoots are usually born with grey hairs, which go white as snow at old age (like old age of most dwarves)

 

Weapons & Armor

Longbeards: Usually Mattocks and Axes or swords.

Broadbeams: Usually Double-Handed Axes.

Ironfists: Mattocks and any kind of Axe. Usually in heavy double armor and heavy helms.

Blacklocks: Heavy armor is often decorated with gems.

Stiffbeards: Mattocks and Clubs mainly.

Firebeards: Unusual for Dwarfs they sometimes fight with short Stabbing-Swords. Firebeards are known for their mask shaped helmets

Stonefoot: Mainly mattocks. Have been known to use war-hammers.

 

Beard, clothing and decoration

Longbeards: Beards are usually never trimmed and grow faster than those of other clans, hence “Longbeards”. Tucking of the beard in ones belt is common. Colorful hats are popular.

Broadbeams: Beards are either trimmed fairly short, yet kept broad or they are woven into intricate patterns forming “belts” of beard.

Ironfists: Very sober clothing. Prefer helms to hats, very armor oriented clothing

Blacklocks: Blacklocks often use a mixture of coal and black-mud to color their beards a deep black when it naturally turns grey. Often braided into one long and thick rope-like beard, which they decorate with many gems. They also carry heavy amounts of jewelry and often decorate their clothing with gems.

Stiffbeards: The Stiffbeards are known for their strange way of wearing their Beards as long and pointed thorn-like knots. They often use to the winds and snow of the North-East (where they live) to freeze their beards.

Firebeards: Beards are often trimmed, sometimes braded. It is usual for Firebeards to trim their beards so the beards is divided in 2 or 3 “forks”.

Stonefoot: They usually wear heavy iron boots to make their feet look even bigger and heavier.

 

Average Height (Male – Female “)

Longbeards:  5’1” (6*) – 4’7”

Broadbeams: 4’8” – 4’4”

Ironfists: 5’0” -4’6”

Blacklocks: 4’9” – 4’5”

Stiffbeards: 4’5”-4’1”

Firebeards: 4’9”-4’5”

Stonefoot: 4’9”-4’5”

 

Average Lifespan (Male / Female)

Longbeards:  230-270 / 240-280

Broadbeams: 210-250 / 215-255

Ironfists: 200-240 / 205-245

Blacklocks: 220-260 / 225-265

Stiffbeards: 225-265 / 230-270

Firebeards: 220-260 / 225-265

Stonefoot: 215-255 / 220-260

 

Eye Color

Longbeards: All shades of Brown, Green and Dark Blue

Broadbeams: All shades of Brown, Green and Dark Blue

Ironfists: All shades of Brown, Green and Dark Blue

Blacklocks: Dark Brown

Stiffbeards: Mainly Blue

Firebeards: Usually Pale Brown with light reddish tint

Stonefoot: All shade of Brown, Green and Dark Blue

 
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 15 Comments

Of Dwarves and Hobbits

Posted on September 11, 2012 by The Dwarrow Scholar

LOTRO –  KINSHIP OF DURIN’S FOLK –  EVENT  ((All welcomed))

Hail and well met!

The Dwarves of Durin’s Folk ((on Laurelin)) invite you all to an adventure through the Shire.

All are welcomed as we will explore the history of dwarves and their relationship with hobbits in the 4 Farthings. From dwarven trade routes, to the founding of Needlehole, to the fell winter and even Bilbo’s adventure… all will be explored as we journey together through the hills of the Shire. During our journey 5 mini-games are played, themed to the topic of each stop… mini-games in which the winner will receive a grand present. Our journey of learning, exploring and games ends at Bag-End.

The Mini-Games and prizes are a surprise, but promise to be very nice… so you’ll have to come to know

See you all there!

EVENT DETAILS
Event Organizer: Kandral
SERVER: Laurelin
KINSHIP: Durin’s Folk
EVENT NAME: Of Dwarves and Hobbits
EVENT DATE: Friday September 14th
EVENT LOCATION START: Needlehole Marketplace, The Shire
TIME OF EVENT: 3PM ST

Posted in Durin's Folk Kinship, Events | Leave a comment

How “Dwarvish” is Salo’s Dwarvish ?

Posted on August 6, 2012 by The Dwarrow Scholar

I’ve often been asked how is it possible to create a language out of so little material ? Referring to the neo-khuzdul lessons provided on this site.

And yes, the question is indeed valid… how do we know what Tolkien had in mind for Khuzdul ? And let’s be honest, we don’t know all and we will never know all. Though we do know the basics of the language and it’s form, which is key to expand it in a manner which perhaps comes close to Tolkien’s original vision.

Though for me, because we know little compared to other languages Tolkien had devised, that doesn’t mean we abandon the idea of expanding the language.

Firstly, because Khuzdul, is such an linguistic oddity in Middle-Earth, for me at least it is impossible to ignore.  And it seems, for various reasons I imagine, that many others have had that same thought and have tried to expand on the Khuzdul in one way or another.

Turbine has made an attempt in LotRO, which -though often brakes some of the basic rules of Semitic-languages (which Khuzdul has been constructed as) – it has done a pretty ok job at it.   Like others it has some Hebrew, Arabic and even Akkadian (an extinct language of the same language family) weaved in to it.  Others, like myself, have also delved deeper into Adûnaic, which should contain quite a bit of words derived from Khuzdul.

The main source for Khuzdul fanatics and those that wish to “reconstruct” the language has been linguist David Salo (apart from Tolkien himself off course). For those of you that might have never heard of the man, he is an American linguist who has done tremendous work on the languages for the LotR movies, expanding the Elvish languages (particularly Sindarin).   He was also the man that made a new form of Khuzdul (or neo-khuzdul).  Firstly, it must be said, without David Salo I would never have been able to reconstruct the language to this extent.  And let’s not forget that up until recently there were (and are still some unfortunately) a dozen different versions of neo-khuzdul out there, devised by enthusiasts… now with Salo’s expansion of the language a more uniform – and more correct – language is gradually being accepted.

As mentioned the thought to reconstructing a language such as this should always be

“Never break any of the rules devised by the author”.  Which I have never seen Salo do as I believe he has always remained true to the writings of Tolkien.

That is, until I recently was browsing the featured website of Merin Essi ar Quenteli – another grand example in my view of how Middle-Earth Network connects folks with an interest in fantasy, in a way none have done before.

I must say though, that I have had little interest in learning any Sindarin, for the simple reason that most dwarves did not speak it, nor is Khuzdul related to it in any way.  –  Mahal (Aulë) devised the language and tought the dwarves before they were laid to sleep, so before elves existed… meaning it has nothing do with any elvish whatsoever.

So, browsing the site of Dreamingfifi (which is awesome by the way) and going through some of the Sindarin lessons there, something struck me…. the Neo-khuzdul of David Salo contains many words which are surprisingly similar to Sindarin… too similar in my view even.    In a way, it isn’t all that surprising since Salo literally wrote the book on neo-Sindarin, so it is bound to happen that some influencing would occur.  The problem with this off course is that our “”Never break any of the rules devised by the author” goes out the window, as Tolkien stated the language was not related to elvish at all and changed extremely little over time.

I think I’ll be brushing up on my Sindarin in the near future and keeping a close eye on the neo-khuzdul revealed for The Hobbit, fingers crossed it will be Khuzdul with no Sindarin flavor to it 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Language | 12 Comments

Bring out the Dwarf in you!…. “Deep Ale Fest” – Durin’s Folk (Laurelin)

Posted on July 4, 2012 by The Dwarrow Scholar

KINSHIP OF DURIN’S FOLK EVENT

Hail and well met!

The Dwarves of  Durin’s Folk  ((on Laurelin)) have scheduled “Deep Ale Fest” (also known as “Ghuregbuzramerag”” or “Harnkegger Games”) to take place on July 14th (sat.) and July 15th (sun.) in time for Summer Fun 2012.

This two day dwarven holiday reflects the love of hard work the Longbeards have, followed by equally hard play.  Known for its various gaming contests, general merriment and consumption of large amount of ale and food.  This year, by order of Lord Duinn of the kinship of Durin’s Folk the fest and games are opened to all , including men,hobbits… and yes, even elves.  😉

On overview of the scheduled activities

Day 1: At the Thorin’s Ale Hall (Festival Arena)

* Opening of the Fest by Lord Duinn of Durin’s Folk – start at 2PM ST July 14th
The opening included plenty of ales, food and music for all.  And allows those that wish to enter the games to sign up with the officials by 2:45PM at the latest.

* A horse race at 3PM ST – in good dwarrow tradition, having a horse race after having had plenty of Ales. The Harnkegger race is a small but exciting race and uses the area of Thorin’s Halls
Start at: Entrance of the Festival Arena – Down the steps to Frerin’s Court (must go round the central statue) – back up the steps to the Festival Arena, first one to make it up the stairs wins. The Kinship of Durin’s Folk will grant the winner 2 gold pieces + 1 Perlino Steed code given by Turbine. Runner-up gets 1 gold piece.  (Note: only 62% speed steeds allowed AND no speed buffs of any kind are allowed during the race – stewards will be monitoring the race).

* A music contest (right after the race) – returning to Thorin’s Ale Halls (Festival Arena) for the final part of Day 1 – which is a music contest.
Each contender present is allowed to play 1 song.  A jury of Durin’s Folk kinship (that doesn’t enter in  the competition will give points to each artist – announced at the end of the contest) The artist with the most points at the end wins.  Again Durin’s Folk kinship would grant the winner 2 gold pieces + a 500 TP code given by Turbine.. Runner-up gets 1 gold piece.

Wrapping up day 1 with plenty of ales, tales, riddles and music at the Festival Arena.

Day 2:

At Gondamon central courtyard.

Day 2 of the celebrations marks the grand tournament.

The Events on this day start at 2:30 PM on July 15th – allowing 30 minutes for sign-ups, these events are:
* The Dwarrow Sprint – as we dwarves are natural sprinters, something of an obliged event this one – a good sprint around Gondamon ((from Central courtyard West, around the path of Gondamon and back to the Central courtyard)), winner receives  2 gold pieces + a 500 TP code given by Turbine.., runner up 1 gold.

When finished this is directly followed by:
* Sparring Match Tournament – at Gondamon central courtyard – divided in categories (according to character level), depending on amount of contestants as well. Winner of each category gets 1 gold from the Kinship of Durin’s Folk.  Judges will award a code for 500 TP given by Turbine to the winner (picked from the winner of each category) they believe has shown the strongest performance.

Last event of the Tournament –
* Swimming Race – taking place in the river Lune – Start South of Kheledul – End at the Duillond bridge.
winner receives 2 gold pieces + a 500 TP code given by Turbine.., runner up 1 gold.

(Note: for the above 3 events buffs – such as speed buffs – ARE allowed)

The day and festivities would be wrapped off at Thorin’s Ale Hall again by more Ales and Food,  It would also mark the crowning of the Champion of the Harnkegger Games.  This is the contestant that stood out from all of the games, by winning most events.  This winner receives the grand prize of: 2 gold coins given by Durin’s Folk + 1 Perlino Steed code AND a 500 TP points given by Turbine. In case several players have won the same amount of games the Lord of Durin’s Folk will elect one he believes has stood out most.

If anyone would have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.

See you at the games friends!

May Mahal keep your Axe sharp and your Beard long and thick !

Posted in Durin's Folk Kinship, Events | 4 Comments

More (Neo-)Khuzdul Documents and Tools for dwarven RP-ers and Khuzdul fanatics.

Posted on June 29, 2012 by The Dwarrow Scholar

Hail friends!

So, I’m continuing to create PDF’s and small spreadsheets from the Khuzdul tools I made for the lessons.

For those of you that were wondering where I got much of the information related to neo-khuzdul, many of the below documents contain source references.

Now, one thing that I noticed when reading about khuzdul is that much of what is written to date is written in a language that requires a degree in linguistics…. with the below documents I tried to avoid that as much as I could and make this accessible to all.
I hope these will help any lotro dwarf RP-er with an interest in the language.

KHUZDUL VERBS (Schematic)

KHUZDUL VERBS (Rules)

KHUZDUL TENSES (Explained with examples)

KHUZDUL SCALED FORMS (Schematic of Comperatives, Superlatives and Sublatives)

KHUZDUL SCALED FORMS (Rules of Comperatives, Superlatives and Sublatives)

KHUZDUL COMPERATIVE FORMS (Rules on Comperatives)

KHUZDUL PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES

KHUZDUL PHONETICS

KHUZDUL PERSONAL FORMS (Explained with examples)

KHUZDUL NEUTRAL FORMS (Rules on how to create plurals from root)

KHUZDUL NEUTRAL FORMS  (Schematic on how to create plurals from root)

KHUZDUL NUMBERS (Numbers and form explained)

KHUZDUL ALPHABET (Angerthas Moria & Angerthas Erebor)

KHUZDAZ CALENDAR  (overview 2011-2015)

KHUZDAZ CALENDAR (detailed for 2011-2012)

DWARVEN NUMBERS CONVERTER  (spreadsheet tool to convert numbers)
NOTE: Cirth Font (by Dan Smith) required!

DWARVEN MEASUREMENT UNIT CONVERTER (spreadsheet tool to convert modern-day measurements into dwarven measurements).

Enjoy!

 

And off course, a big thank you for anyone that provided source material for these.

Posted in Language | 49 Comments

Neo-Khuzdul Dictionaries for Lotro Dwarves

Posted on June 27, 2012 by The Dwarrow Scholar

“Forgive me mymiddleearth.com, for it has been over a month since my last post”, I whispered through the lattice.  😉

Though on the bright side I’ve been using the past month or so for quite some items you’ll be finding on the blog in the very near future.

One of those items is related to our neo-khuzdul lessons.

As most no longer have access to the khuzdul tools (due to linking problems), or find the tools to heavy for their PCs, I’ve made 2 PDF dictionaries for all Lotro dwarves to download and use.

Some points to take into account concerning these:
* This is a Beta version – meaning that some items might not be included as yet.
* As the other lessons, the content is based on a) Tolkien’s writings  b) David Salo’s writings  c) Khuzdul Vocabulary used in Lotro d) Adunâic  e) Modern day semitic languages such as Hebrew and Arabic.
* These documents do not contain information related to conjugation, tenses, systems or word order.

KHUZDUL-ENGLISH

ENGLISH – KHUZDUL

Search Tip:  As these are in PDF, the easiest way to search is simpy to use CRTL-F and type what you need.

Other documents, previously embedded in “the Khuzdul Tools (part of the Neo-Khuzdul lessons)” will also be available via pdf soon.

Posted in Language | 131 Comments

Gimli, Lord of the Glittering Caves

Posted on May 8, 2012 by The Dwarrow Scholar

Gimli, most of us know and love him from the movies, as played by John Rhys-Davies. Unfortunately Gimli’s character in the LoTR movies was used almost entirely as raw comic relief, which in my mind was logical perhaps, but a shame none the less as Gimli is such a deep character… worth exploring as more then just a quirky little dwarf.

If you know anything at all about Gimli, you probably know that he is the son of Glóin. Gloín (one of the main characters from The Hobbit) being of the noble line of Durin’s Folk. He really enjoyes proclaiming all he can about his lineage whenever he can, though most don’t realise the importance of it. Gimli’s father was one of the original companions of Bilbo throughout the The Hobbit. He accompanied the Hobbit in his greatest adventures and became a dear friend to the Bilbo.

Gimli isn’t just a dwarf that walks along with Men, Hobbits and an Elf against the forces of evil, for each member has a unique story and so does Gimli. Gimli is a remote descendant of Durin, who is like the Abraham and Adam roled into one for the dwarves. Through his father’s side, he is the third cousin once removed of Dáin II Ironfoot, king of Durin’s Folk, and the first cousin once removed of Balin, also one of Bilbo’s former companions, and later Lord of Moria. Although his mother’s side is not known, he was born and raised in the Blue Mountains west of Eriador. His family moved to Erebor (the Lonely Mountain) in 2941 when the Dwarves reclaimed that land as their own.

Some time in TA 3017, a messenger alerted Glóin and his son about Bilbo and the purpose of the Ring he found years earlier. They set off to Rivendell to consult Elrond on the matter. The Council of Elrond was attended by both Dwarves on the 25th of October, 3018, as it was decided that the Ring must be taken to Mount Doom and destroyed once and for all.

Gimli was chosen as the Dwarven representative to accompany the Fellowship on their journey, and his true adventures began. At first, the traditional animosity between Elves and Dwarves reared its ugly head as Gimli and Legolas often bickered. In most adaptations, this animosity isn’t explored, yet there is actually good reason for these two in particular to be at odds with each other.

At one time, Legolas’ father Thranduil had imprisoned Gimli’s father Glóin, along with the other Dwarven companions in The Hobbit. Thranduil’s greed angered the Dwarves as he demanded a share of the treasure of Erebor. War was averted as an onslaught of goblins invaded the Mirkwood Elves, but the unresolved hostility remained. Later in the Fellowship’s story, Gimli and Legolas actually became quite good friends as Gimli’s view of Elves changed drastically. This was mainly as a result of his meeting with Lady Galadriel, but his respect also grew for Legolas as the two proved their worth (often quite competitively) in the front lines of battle.

Galadriel gave Gimli three strands of her hair at his request, which he proclaimed to treasure more than any gold or magical items. This earned him the nickname “Lockbearer” by Galadriel.

After the Great War, Gimli led a clan of Durin’s folk south to Aglarond, to establish the Glittering Caves, where he would rule for over 100 years until the age of 260. Upon his well-earned retirement in the year of F.A 120, he travelled with Legolas to the Undying Lands where he was honored as the first Dwarf to ever set foot there.

Gimli’s character is one of power and pride, yet also compassion. We have a lot to learn from that Dwarf, and this couldn’t be more evident than in one of his most famous quotes, “Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.” The fact that he overcame his prejudices and befriended an Elf proves his strong moral character.

 

– adapted article from “Lotro Lore”

Posted in Characters | 3 Comments

Crispy Fried Batwing Anyone ?

Posted on May 5, 2012 by The Dwarrow Scholar

One question often asked when talking about dwarves is… “what did they eat under their mountain?”

Well we know dwarves – especially in times of great riches – traded large quantities of food with men.  To quote Thorin Oakenshield: “we never bothered to grow or find food ourselves” (-p28 – The Hobbit).  To sustain a large population of dwarves however ocasional trade of food from the surface wouldn’t have been enough to prevent mass starvation underground.   Which brings us to the question, what is there too eat in dark places of the world ?

Firstly we need to get a bit of an idea of how many dwarves we are feeding.  At the end of the Third age dwarven numbers were on the decline, but judging by the dwarven armies, the fact that 1/3 is female and dwarves aren’t exactly rabbits when it comes to reproducing, numbers couldn’t have been much higher then 15.000 at any given time.
Let’s take the Lonely Mountain in 2760 of the Third Age, some ten years before Smaug attacked… The Halls of the Lonely Mountain would have been bursting with dwarven life, likely up to 8.000 dwarves around this time.   So this amount of dwarves isn’t fed by the occasional food trade with the men, nor by the stray bat… it would take a food industry to keep them alive and thriving.

If we consider healthy dwarven males and women would eat about 1100 grams a day,  And we take into account a population of 8.000, we need just over 3 million kilo’s (6,6 million Lbs) of food per year.  If dwarves would rely on trade to feed their own then they would need about 13.000 wagons (230kg a piece) fully loaded with food each year, or about 35 a day.  So, I believe it is safe to say there is no way Dale and the surrounding region could have sustained the dwarves of the Lonely Mountain.

This creates a major challenge you might think… where do the dwarves find over 3 million kilo’s of food under a mountain ?
Is it even possible ?

Yes, it is… let me tell you how.

First thing you need to know is that bats are the corner stone of the dwarven food-pyramid.  Bats are not just hunted on by chance, in order to sustain a dwarven population of several thousands, dwarven cities would have had several dozens of bat farms.  Bats aren’t just usefull for their meat, in fact they would have been mainly used for their sh… uhm.. their droppings (guano).  Yes you read it correctly, their droppings… which would have provided nutrition for a whole foodchain.  The guano is food to countless creatures, including flies, beetles, bugs, millipedes, springtails, cockroaches, worms, mites and moths. These animals are in turn fed upon by the cave crickets, centipedes, scorpions, whip scorpions and spiders. And these provide food for small mammals (rats, cavemice), cavecrabs, frogs, toads, salamanders, snakes and turtles.  The dwarves would have farmed many of these animals, sometimes growing them by the millions or billions, either as a direct food source or as food for the dozens of fish, frog and turtle farms found under the dwarven mountains.    Bats even provide milk, indeed… bat milk… not going into the details on how they were milked, but trust me, it is possible.

Now in most temperate caves – climates found in most of dwarven caves of Middle Earth – dwarves run into the problem that it is too cold to support the amount of fauna needed to support their population.  In order to sustain large amounts of life in caves, the micro climate inside the mountain needs to be warmer, verging on tropical.  This allows the bats to breed faster, providing more droppings, which in turn allows the insect population to boom – ensuring a steady food supply for the fish and bat farms under the mountain.

Even in the colder subarctic climates of the Grey Mountains dwarves managed to create different inner climates in their Halls that allowed to sustain the food sources of their population.  This is done mainly through creating lava chambers deep in the heart of the mountain and creating steam channels that lead to the various halls in the mountain.     Their adapted mountain microclimate would have also provided for quite a few natural salt caves, which isn’t only handy for seasoning or keeping food.  In case you believe living underground would be tremendously unhealthy… in our modern times people pay hundreds of dollars to spend a few hours in fake salt caves.

Also, their mirror systems allowed them to channel natural sunlight from openings in the mountain sides to every corner of the underground mountain, even allowing them to grow some vegetables (potatoes and carrots), northern grains and berries deep inside the mountain.

With all of the above in mind, the Lonely Mountain dwarves in our example would have been eating the following over the course of a year (some examples of dishes added there too – by the way these dishes actually exist – so for the squeemish… you’ve been warned)

* 1.190.000 kilo’s of batmeat (crispy fried batwings, batsoup)
* 1.120.000 kilo’s of fish and crab (boiled cavecrabs, cavefish cassarole)
* 146.000 liters of fishoil
* 890.000 kilo’s of bugs (crickets on a stick, cheesy beetle dip, millipede-paté)
* 657.000 kilo’s of snakemeat (snake hotpot)
* 340.000 kilo’s of spiders (fried spiders)
* 124.000 kilo’s of turtlemeat (turtle stew)
* 216.000 liters of batmilk – you would need to milk about 5800 bats for that each day – but still possible though
* 450.000 kilo’s of vegatables (rootpuree, cavepotato soup)
* 235.000 kilo’s of scorpionmeat (scorpion kebab)
* 389.000 loaves of bread

as you can see, no shortage of food in the mountain  😉

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