When J. R. R. Tolkien penned The Hobbit, he made Thorin’s company of Dwarves his major supporting cast. Of course, Bilbo was the main character, but the Dwarves provided the context and means for the titular Hobbit’s adventure. Even so, when Tolkien expanded his bedtime story and wrote The Lord of the Rings, Dwarves took more of a back seat. Gimli had his place in the Fellowship, and John Rhys-Davies’ portrayal made the character a fan favorite. However, the affairs of Men and Elves featured much more prominently.
Taking nothing away from Aragorn, Legolas or anyone else, it’s worth giving the Dwarves a little more attention. They lived most of their lives underground, so it makes sense that they might be forgotten. But Dwarves had just as much history as any other race on Middle-earth. So, here are some interesting facts about Gimli and the Dwarves, focusing on their strange anatomy.
Aulë Made Them Stubborn and Stern to Resist Evil
Elves were the Firstborn Children of Ilúvatar, and the race of Men was second. Dwarves, however, were late adoptees. Unwilling to wait for Elves or Men to awake in Middle-earth, the Valar Aulë tried to create life on his own. After some reprimanding, Eru assisted Aulë, letting his creations live and giving them life.
Aulë created the Dwarves with special care. He knew that Morgoth was already corrupting Middle-earth, so -- as the great craftsman that he was -- Aulë designed the Dwarves to be a stubborn and hearty folk. As such, few Dwarves ever joined Morgoth or Sauron. In fact, Aulë’s designs were the reason that Sauron’s rings didn’t corrupt the seven Dwarf-lords to the Wraith-world. Of course, their stubbornness often kept them away from other people, but you can’t win every battle.
Dwarves Could Resist Heat And Dragon-Fire
Aulë’s designs didn’t just make Dwarves stubborn from a mental standpoint. They were also physically tough. They could resist heat or cold, make light of difficult burdens and run great distances. Naturally, those traits served them well in battle, making them a formidable, warlike race. In fact, in The Peoples of Middle-earth, Christopher Tolkien described the Dwarves as “the most redoubtable warriors of all the Speaking Peoples.” Dwarves fought in many wars against many enemies, even dragons. In the First Age, the Dwarves of Belegost were the only people who could withstand Glaurung’s dragon-fire during the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. So, while it might have seemed foolhardy to challenge Smaug in The Hobbit, their resistance to heat allowed them to defeat many dragons over the ages.
Beards! Beards! And More Beards!
Other than being shorter than most of the other beings in Middle-earth, Dwarves’ most identifiable physical feature was the uncanny ability to grow remarkable facial hair. They were proud of their beards and would even swear or exclaim by them. The thing is, it wasn’t just the menfolk that had beards. In The War of the Jewels, Tolkien said that Dwarves “have beards from the beginning of their lives male and female alike.” So, everyone had beards, men, women and children. As an interesting side note, Dwarves were also blessed with the hair on top of their heads because Dwarves never went bald, even in old age.
No, Dwarves Didn’t Spring Out Of Holes In The Ground
In The Two Towers, Gimli and Éowyn had a conversation about Dwarf women. Gimli told her about his bearded wife and how most people confused Dwarven women for Dwarven men. That, combined with the relative scarcity of Dwarven women (only a third of all Dwarves), led to the widespread belief that there were no Dwarven women at all. Then, Gimli cracked himself up when he talked about how many people thought that Dwarf children simply sprung out of the ground. So, it seems as if Dwarves have babies in quite the traditional way.
Dwarves Only Buried Their Dead In Stone
Dwarves spent most of their time underground, mining and working at their crafts. As such, they had a particular respect for rocks and stones. Over time, that developed into the custom of only burying their dead in slabs of stone. The exact reason for the custom was unknown, but it may have something to do with how the Seven Dwarf Fathers awoke under a mountain. Either way, an example appeared in The Fellowship of the Ring, when the Fellowship found Balin’s tomb in the Chamber of Mazarbul. When wartime made that custom impossible, the Dwarves would opt to burn their dead, rather than only burying them in the dirt.