Where did the Dwarves live?

[Falex1100]

Now, in the hobbit, theere was the war at the end (forgotten its name) but the dwarves where there, now in the lord of the rings the dwarves done nothng, and it didnt say whre dwaves lived, do they live in the mountians or somwhere to the north near the lonley mountian, sowhy didnt the dwarves help rohan and gondor and where do they live is my question

[Nóm]

If you have the book you can read appendix B, to find out some stuff about The people up north, Like the Mirkwood Elves, and The Dwarves, and Dale...TThere's only one page or so about it in the appendix though. But it tells that the Dwarves, Woodelves, and the people of Dale were fighting against Sauron's armies up there.

[Gamil Zirak]

They live in the same place they lived in the Hobbit. The portion of middle earth that we know about from LoTR is small compared to the actual realm of Middle Earth. Sauron had many forces in the East and North. The dwarves helped stop the armies from the North. In fact, Dain died in that battle. By the way, the battle at the end of the Hobbit is known as the Battle of Five Armies.

[Nenya Evenstar]

If you want some names of some places where the dwarves lived, here are a few:

Iron Hills
Blue Mountains
Mines of Moria (before they awoke evil in the depths)
The Lonely Mountain

Yeah, Sauron had armies all over ME during the War of the Ring.

[Arthur_Vandelay]

Now, in the hobbit, theere was the war at the end (forgotten its name) but the dwarves where there, now in the lord of the rings the dwarves done nothng, and it didnt say whre dwaves lived, do they live in the mountians or somwhere to the north near the lonley mountian, sowhy didnt the dwarves help rohan and gondor and where do they live is my question

Thorin and co. themselves had been living in the Blue Mountains. I believe Gimli was there, too, but was considered too young to join the quest.

My question: at the time of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, and later the events recounted in the Hobbit, where did the non-Longbeard dwarves (i.e. the dwarves of other Houses) dwell?

[Corvis]

Now, in the hobbit, theere was the war at the end (forgotten its name) but the dwarves where there, now in the lord of the rings the dwarves done nothng, and it didnt say whre dwaves lived, do they live in the mountians or somwhere to the north near the lonley mountian, sowhy didnt the dwarves help rohan and gondor and where do they live is my question

I recall reading that Thorin calls for help from the dwarves so I'm guessing the dwarves in teh battle of five armies come from Thorin's home land. Also I think that why dwarves never helped men in LOTR is because (I remember reading) that in the FOTR you learn that Sauron tries to take the seven rings form the dwarf lords in some mountain range so I think that most of the dwarves were stuck in their mountain halls because of orcs, goblins, or some slave of Sauron standing guard outside.

[Cúthalion]

I recall reading that Thorin calls for help from the dwarves so I'm guessing the dwarves in teh battle of five armies come from Thorin's home land. Not from his homeland... but his people(Durin's race) nonetheless. Thorin was considered the King of Durin's People, though at the time they were scattered throughout Middle-earth. The Dwarves that helped Thorin came from the Iron Hills and were led by his kinsman Dáin.

Also I think that why dwarves never helped men in LOTR is because (I remember reading) that in the FOTR you learn that Sauron tries to take the seven rings form the dwarf lords in some mountain range so I think that most of the dwarves were stuck in their mountain halls because of orcs, goblins, or some slave of Sauron standing guard outside. Mmmm... no. In fact the Dwarves did help the Men during the War of the Ring. At the same time Minas Tirith was under siege, a large army of Easterlings were threatening northeast Middle-earth... they were beaten off by the combined efforts of King Brand of Dale and King Dáin of Erebor. Dwarves did not come to the aid of Gondor and Rohan for the simple fact that there were no major Dwarven sttlements in that area... the major Dwarven population centers were all in the far north of Middle-earth at that time: Ered Luin, Ered Mithrim, Erebor and the Iron Hills.

where did the non-Longbeard dwarves (i.e. the dwarves of other Houses) dwell? Not much is known of the other six races... some lived certainly to the east of the lands known during the War of the Ring. Others lived in Ered Luin... and I would suppose that there were certain levels of mixing between the races. For example, Thorin's Company was not made solely up of Longbeards(Durin's race). Bifur, Bofur and Bombur were of another race.

[Aglarband]

If you remember in LOTR, Gimli asks Legolas why Galadriel had not asked for their kin to come as she did for Aragorn (remember the Dunedain who were left out of ROTK move?) And Legolas replied they would not come, because war marched on their own lands. So the elves of Mirkwood were busy with Dol Guldur, and the Dwarves had problems with the easterlings.

[Inderjit S]

My question: at the time of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, and later the events recounted in the Hobbit, where did the non-Longbeard dwarves (i.e. the dwarves of other Houses) dwell?

Not much is known, however I doubt many mixed with the Longbeards as they mainly lived in the East (the Dwarves of the other Western Houses, Nogrod and Belegost had merged with the Longbeards) and some may have been evil, as Tolkien hints about, and as Androg also claims after Turin and co. meet Mim. (That in the East, Men had been afflicted by Dwarves, some also fought for Sauron during the Last Alliance.) They also seem to want to have nothing to do with Durin's house after the War of Dwarves and Orks.

In the Dwarvish traditions of the Third Age the names of the places where each of the Seven Ancestors had 'awakened' were remembered; but only two of them were known to Elves and Men of the West: the most westerly, the awakening place of the ancestors of the Firebeards and the Broadbeams; and that of the ancestor of the Longbeards,(24) the eldest in making and awakening. The first had been in the north of the Ered Lindon, the great eastern wall of Beleriand, of which the Blue Mountains of the Second and later ages were the remnant; the second had been Mount Gundabad (in origin a Khuzdul name), which was therefore revered by the Dwarves, and its occupation in the Third Age by the Orks of Sauron was one of the chief reasons for their
great hatred of the Orks.(25) The other two places were eastward, at distances as great or greater than that between the Blue Mountains and Gundabad: the arising of the Ironfists and Stiffbeards, and that of the Blacklocks and Stonefoots. Though these four points were far sundered the Dwarves of different kindreds were in communication, and in the early ages often held assemblies of delegates at Mount Gundabad. In times of great need even the most distant would send help to any of their people; as was the case in the great War against the Orks (Third Age 2793 to 2799). Though they were loth to migrate and make
permanent dwellings or 'mansions' far from their original homes, except under great pressure from enemies or after some catastrophe such as the ruin of Beleriand, they were great and hardy travellers and skilled road-makers; also, all the kindreds shared a common language.(26)

or they had met some far to the East who were of evil mind. This was a later pencilled note. On the previous page of the type-
script my father wrote at the same time, without indication of ts reference to the text but perhaps arising from the mention (p. 301) of the awakening of the eastern kindreds of the Dwarves: 'Alas, it seems probable that (as Men did later) the Dwarves of the far eastern mansions (and some of the nearer ones?) came under the Shadow of Morgoth and turned to evil.

I also wonder about the Dwarves who are travelling through the Shire in the early chapters of LoTR. They were "strange Dwarfs of far countries" (no the plural) who were seeking refuge in the West-surely the Longbeards of Erebor and the Iron Hills wouldn't be "strange Dwarfs" to Frodo? Perhaps these Dwarves were members of some Eastern tribes?

[Nifrodel]

As Michael Martinez write and I agree with his supposition:
The first "missing" range would be the Misty Mountains, located eastward of the Ered Luin and probably extending north from the sea of Helcar. The second "missing" range (unnamed) could be about midway between the Misty Mountains and the Orocarni, the Mountains of the East. These mountains need not be as extensive as the Misty Mountains, which Melkor supposedly raised to bar Orome's path as he hunted the Dark Lord's evil creatures in Middle-earth.

Alternatively, the Ironfists and Stiffbeards may simply have been placed in the far northern mountains, and somehow preserved through the War of the Powers which resulted in the destruction of Melkor's fortress of Utumno. Wherever they awoke, if the Dwarves at first sought for each other, the tradition that they held conclaves at Gundabad begins to make better sense. Durin woke alone and he wandered through the Misty Mountains for a long time, apparently for years. He must eventually have wandered back into the north and there, perhaps, found his people.

Gundabad may therefore be the oldest Dwarf city in Middle-earth, and as the Dwarven populations grew they eventually returned to their homelands to build new cities. Durin would have stayed in the central lands where he awoke, but in time he led some Dwarves south to found the city of Khazad-dum.


Two interesting articles about the Dwarves are here:
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/tolkien/28918
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/tolkien/29244


Although I disagree with some Michael Martinez's deductions, I think these articles are worth reading.


I also wonder about the Dwarves who are travelling through the Shire in the early chapters of LoTR. They were "strange Dwarfs of far countries" (no the plural) who were seeking refuge in the West-surely the Longbeards of Erebor and the Iron Hills wouldn't be "strange Dwarfs" to Frodo? Perhaps these Dwarves were members of some Eastern tribes?


Could be - but at the one hand we know nothing about Third Age possible Dwarves existing in the East. We can only quess. Where they can live? The East was dominion of Men. Misty Moutains are possible but there dwell also plenty of Orcks. At the other hand we have some mentions about Azanulbizar Battle, which seven races of Dwarves joined. So, we can believe they still lived (in dimnished population after war) somewhere in the Third Age.

[Inderjit S]

The Dwarves who helped the Longbeards during the War of Orks and Dwarves were of different houses or tribes-some of which came from the East-"In times of great need even the most distant would send help to any of their people; as was the case in the great War against the Orks (Third Age 2793 to 2799)"-I guess they went on until sometime in the Fourth Age.