Hmmm, I'm not getting Eastern Europeans from the Dalesmen at all. Other than Bard's dark coloring, what would your assertions be based on? (Not trying to be flippant, just asking for more details.)
I can see more of a Scandinavian influence myself, but perhaps that's because some of Bilbo's dwarves have names similar to those found in Scandinavian sagas: Dvalin/Dwalin, and Thorin for example. The name Bard may be derived from a Teutonic word for 'axe' *or* from the Celtic title for singers, and one source for the name Brand suggests it is from an Old Norse word meaning 'spike'.
Girion, however, has me completely stumped [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]
Sadly, when I tried to get onto Parma Endorion to back my assertions, the site was off-line. [img]smilies/frown.gif[/img]
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