When marveling upon Middle Earth’s Dwarven fortresses,
Elven palaces and imposing cities of men, one can easily wonder how all these grand places and their
material cultures come into being. Tolkien was a philologist, not an economist, but when reading
between the pages of his works, a semblance of economic life is present in its various cultures.
Indeed, Tolkien devoted a considerable amount of thought to the withertos and whyfors of
everyday life in his world, a phenomenon just waiting to be explored. In this latest video
in our series on the economies and societies of middle earth, we will explore the lives of the
stout, bearded children of Durin who dwell under the mountains: the mighty Dwarves.
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It is common knowledge that the Dwarf is, by nature, an industrious creature. When the
vala Aulë created the Dwarves, Yavanna said of them: “They will love first the things made by
their own hands, as doth their father. They will delve in the earth, and the things that grow and
live upon the earth they will not heed. Many a tree shall feel the bite of their iron without
pity” . Indeed, when picturing the Dwarves of Middle Earth, mining is undoubtedly the
first thing that comes to mind. The Dwarves seem to practically only reside underground,
obsessed with digging up all the riches that the world can provide. Consequently,
they are also renowned for their craftsmanship, responsible for incredible feats of metalwork,
such as Mythril Ring mail. Moreover, some of the greatest cities of Middle-Earth, such as
Khazad-Dum, are the result of Dwarven masonry. All of this, however, begs a simple question. If
Durin’s folk spent almost all their time devoted to such work, how then did they feed themselves?
Dwarves, like the other races of Middle-Earth, require food to survive, and quite a lot of it
at that. Take for example the rotund Bombur, who could not have grown so enormous if his people
were bereft of vittles. Food reaches the stone tables of Dwarven feasting halls in various ways.
Foraging was one, evidenced by the value Mim the petty dwarf placed in a wild root known as
Earth-Bread: “They are of great worth,’ he said. ‘More than gold in the hungry winter,
for they may be hoarded like the nuts of a squirrel, and already we were building
our store from the first that are ripe” . We also know Dwarves practised agriculture, which
“in early times they practised when isolated and unable to buy grain etc. by barter.
They had invented a “plough” of some sort – which they dragged as well as steered themselves:
they were tough and strong – but they did not delight in such labour of necessity.” . Given this
evident reticence to till and grow, it comes as no surprise that some Dwarves disregarded foraging
and cultivation altogether in favour of their much preferred method of acquiring necessities:
trade. By the third age, Thorin Oakenshield emphasises this when speaking of his peoples’
relationship with the men of Dale: “They built the merry town of Dale there in those days. Kings used
to send for our smiths, and reward even the least skilful most richly. Fathers would beg us to take
their sons as apprentices, and pay us handsomely, especially in food-supplies, which we never
bothered to grow or find for ourselves. Altogether those were good days for us, and the poorest of us
had money to spend and to lend, and leisure to make beautiful things just for the fun of it,
not to speak of the most marvellous and magical toys, the like of which is not to be found in the
world now-a-days. So my grandfather's halls became full of armour and jewels and carvings and cups,
and the toy-market of Dale was the wonder of the North.” . Indeed, commerce seemed to be the main
method for Dwarves to feed themselves, and thus be able to devote the majority of their time to
their mining and craftsmanship. Let us use this as a segue to provide a more in-depth picture of how,
and with whom, Dwarven trade was conducted. During the first age, before the dawning of Men,
Elves were the primary trading partner of the Dwarves. “The Sindar (E. Sindar) not under the
rule of Thingol dwelt and practised not only cattle-rearing and sheep-farming,
but also grain-growing and other food crops; on which they prospered because both Doriath west
and the Dwarves east were ready to buy what they could” . Indeed, like the men of Dale later would,
the Elves traded their food, and in return received the skilled labour of Dwarven craftsmen,
which we see in the construction of Menegroth - the city built for the Elven king of the First Age
Thingol. “Therefore the Naugrim laboured long and gladly for Thingol, and devised for him mansions
after the fashion of their people, delved deep in the earth. Where the Esgalduin flowed down,
and parted Neldoreth from Region, there rose in the midst of the forest a rocky hill,
and the river ran at its feet. There they made the gates of the hall of Thingol, and they built
a bridge of stone over the river, by which alone the gates could be entered. Beyond the gates
wide passages ran down to high halls and chambers far below that were hewn in the living stone,
so many and so great that that dwelling was named Menegroth, the Thousand Caves” . Alongside
Menegroth, the Dwarves also helped build the Elven stronghold of Nargothrond,
a feat for which they were compensated handsomely. Being so heavily reliant on trade, it should be no
surprise that the Dwarves invested heavily in the infrastructure required for the efficient
transport of goods, of which included the construction of a grand road network.
“The Dwarf Road, Menn-i-Naugrim had been made with great labour by the Longbeard Dwarves of Moria
and their kin in the Iron Hills” . “The Dwarves trafficked into Beleriand, and they made a great
road that passed under the shoulders of Mount Dolmed and followed the course of the River Ascar,
crossing Gelion at Sarn Athrad, the Ford of Stones, where battle after befell. Ever cool was
the friendship between the Naugrim and the Eldar, though much profit they had one of the other” .
The construction of the Menn-i-Naugrim spanned across the first and second age,
but the eventual end result was a massive road network upon which trade could be
conducted at an unprecedented scale. At the height of their relationship,
a great number of Dwarves were hired to work in the Elven smithies. This would have required
much economic activity from both parties: “They traveled the ancient road to Doriath;
for their skill in the working of metal and stone was very great, and there was much need of their
craft in the halls of Menegroth. But they came now no longer in small parties as aforetime, but in
great companies well armed for their protection in the perilous lands between Aros and Gelion;
and they dwelt in Menegroth at such times in chambers and smithies set apart for them” .
Through trade, Dwarves and Elves created many great halls, including one of the most
beautiful creations in all of Arda: that of the Nauglamír imbued with a Silmaril.
This, however, would ultimately result in the enduring blood feud between Dwarves and Elves.
Yet, as Durin’s folk turned their back to the Elves, their relationship with new partners,
namely the race of men, began to grow. When the dwarves first came into contact with Men
they established the same symbiotic trade-based relationship they once had with the Elves.
By this point in time the Elves were not as forgoing with trade, and the bearded-folk needed
new partners to support their cave-dwelling lifestyle . To that end, the Dwarves traded
their knowledge, labour and crafts with men who provided them with much needed food in return.
“Men held them in awe and were eager to learn from them; and the Longbeards were very willing to use
Men for their own purposes. Thus there grew up in those regions the economy, later characteristic
of the dealings of Dwarves and Men (including Hobbits): Men became the chief providers of food,
as herdsmen, shepherds, and land-tillers, which the Dwarves exchanged for work as builders,
roadmakers, miners, and the makers of things of craft, from useful tools to weapons and arms and
many other things of great cost and skill. To the great profit of the Dwarves. Not only to be
reckoned in hours of labour, though in early times the Dwarves must have obtained goods that were the
product of greater and longer toil than the things or services that they gave in exchange - before
Men became wiser and developed skills of their own.” . This prosperous commercial relationship
between Dwarves and men allowed Durin’s folk to continue to devote themselves to their jewellers,
smithies and stonemasons, but soon, it would blossom into something much
more. It is here we will explore the place of diplomacy and alliance in the Dwarven world.
Before long, what began as a utilitarian partnership for the sake of acquiring provisions
became an alliance of necessity for defence against the dark forces of Morgoth all about Arda.
“No Dwarf would ever mount a horse willingly, nor did any ever harbour animals, not even dogs.
But Men were glad of the alliance, for they were more vulnerable to the attacks of the Orks:
they dwelt largely in scattered homesteads and villages, and if they drew together into small
townships they were poorly defended, at best by dikes and wooden fences. Also they were lightly
armed, chiefly with bows, for they had little metal and the few smiths among them had no
great skill. These things the Dwarves amended in return for one great service that Men could offer.
They were tamers of beasts and had learned the mastery of horses,
and many were skilled and fearless riders. These would often ride far afield as scouts and keep
watch on movements of their enemies; and if the Orks dared to assemble in the open for some
great raid, they would gather a great force of horsed archers to surround them and destroy them.
In these ways the Alliance of Dwarves and Men in the North came early in the Second Age to command
great strength, swift in attack and valiant and well-protected in defence, and there grew up in
that region between Dwarves and Men respect and esteem, and sometimes warm friendship” .
It seems that, in repelling the Orks, the Dwarves provided weaponry, and Men, the means to use it.
This symbiotic relationship between Dwarves and Men would continue be tested throughout the ages.
During the 3rd age when Smaug descended upon the Lonely Mountain, both the Men of Dale and Dwarves
of Erebor were caught off guard. Their warriors were both called to arms, but were destroyed
by the great Dragon . Both groups shouldered the loss together and would soon do so again,
for when Sauron's armies besieged Minas Tirith, he also sent armies to threaten the borders of King
Brand of Dale. Sauron's forces crossed the River of Carnen King, driving King Brand back to Dale
where, with the help of the Dwarves of Erebor, he made a stand and fought the Easterling army:
“There was a great battle at the Mountain's feet. It lasted three days, but in the end
both King Brand and King Dáin Ironfoot were slain, and the Easterlings had the victory.
But they could not take the Gate. and many, both Dwarves and Men, took refuge in Erebor, and there
withstood a siege. When news came of the great victories in the South, then Sauron's northern
army was filled with dismay; and the besieged came forth and routed them, and the remnant
fled into the East and troubled Dale no more. Then Bard II, Brand's son, became King in Dale,
and Thorin III Stonehelm, Dáin's son, became King under the Mountain.” . Indeed, the shared history
of the Dwarves of Erebor and men of Dale is a good example of how often both peoples fought and
died alongside another, a relationship that was originally kindled by the transactions of goods.
Dwarves and Men, and to a lesser extent Elves,
all benefited from an interdependent trade network based on specialised labour.
The Dwarves had their mining and craftsmanship, the Men their agricultural cultivation,
and the Elves, a mixture of all. Through trade, the three races began a relationship
that would eventually allow them to cleanse the marring of Arda by the dark lord Melkor.
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