Precisely, Kalimac. The Dwarven culture strikes me as being the one in Middle-earth that is closest to the ideals of knighthood in Medieval times. Gimli is very susceptible to beauty, whether it be Galadriel or the Glittering Caves, and he expresses his deep admiration very poetically.
And yes, mortal elf, it is love - there are many kinds of love, and people of earlier times did not hesitate to call their feelings 'love', whether they had to do with a romantic or sexual relationship or not. We discussed this on the
Hope-lessly in Love thread; so many people seem uncomfortable with calling Éowyn's feelings 'love' and called it a 'crush' - which I think is depreciating the depth of her emotions. Gimli's emotions were certainly deep and earthier (appropriately for a Dwarf!) than a purely 'putting her on a pedestal and worshiping her' admiration.
This is what he says to Legolas when they leave Lothlórien and Legolas tries to comfort him by saying that he will have unfading memories to treasure in his heart:
Quote:
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True words doubtless; yet all such comfort is cold. Memory is not what the heart desires. That is only a mirror.
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If someone said that of me, I would certainly consider it love! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]