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Old 10-08-2007, 11:45 AM   #13
William Cloud Hicklin
Loremaster of Annúminas
 
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William Cloud Hicklin is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.William Cloud Hicklin is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.William Cloud Hicklin is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.
The Essay on Durin's Folk has two seemingly contradictory statements, but which I think are actually congruent: one that states that Dwarves aren't 'war-high' (ready for fighting or really hard work) until 30; another that indicates that their 'maturity' (meaning a period of no visible physical change or aging) lasts from ca. 40 to ca. 240. This is only an apparent disconnect- it just means that 30-40 is a period between between having adult size and actual maturity, analagous say to RW ages between 16 or 17 and 21.

Dain was indeed a 'stripling' at Nanduhirion- but had he been under 30 he wouldn't have been there at all!


FWIW, JRRT also tells us that Dwarves are effectively immune to disease (not really a surprise)- but that they can be prone to one serious health problem: corpulence. Some Dwarves from around age 200 or so become morbidly obese, so much so as to preclude physical activity (as with Bombur, who needed a crew of young Dwarves to propel him from couch to table).
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Last edited by William Cloud Hicklin; 10-08-2007 at 11:50 AM.
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