Branch thread: Tolkien's military technology

[Groin Redbeard]

Originally Posted by Tuor in Gondolin

Ah, like that sneak Legolas shooting down a
noble flying nazgul?

Or those nasty elves laughing and shooting at the noble Naugrim after their conquest of Menegroth.


One reason for there being no advancement in Middle-earth was because its people were not brought up in society of evolving weapons. The elves were taught by Aule to create weapons. There would be no reason for elves, men, and dwarves, to seek to craft anything better, on account of weapons built by the Valar is the best there is. Instead of trying to figure out how to go from the Bronze Age to the era of Iron, each race just needed to figure out how to maintain a certain level of quality. Elves relied upon the skills that they learned in Valinor; the Dwarves had Iron and Mithril, which they could craft beautifully; Men had their courage and skill.

Originally Posted by Hookbill

The Dwarves have an interesting slant on this. They use metals such a Mithril (when they can get it) to make chain-mail that is strong enough to stop a spear thrust. Could it be that they saw this as progress enough? For warfare, anyway. I suspect their main developments came in the finding and mining of ores.

Exactly, you hit the nail on the head, Hookbill. Dwarves could also make many impressive things out of lesser ore. For instance, we have the fire resistant masks that the dwarves wore into battle, and the Iron boots worn by the dwarves of the Iron Hills; ergo, the name Dain II Ironfoot.

Although the dwarves could build great weapons and armor, their true hobby was mining and building gigantic cities out of stone. Belegost, Nogrod, Nargothrond, and Khazad-dum were their great cities. Even the elves envied their skill; resulting in the cities of Menegroth and Nargothrond. The dwarves most remarkable achievements were not their weapons, or toys—gold, silver, gems etc.—it was the dwellings that they lived in.

Originally Posted by Hookbill

I know mithril was not so readily available; but there is the hint throughout the books that Dwarvish armour is somehow superior to the stuff men made. Even more so when it comes to the elves.

It was available in abundance back in the heydays of the dwarves, in Khazad-dum. We definitely know that dwarves were superior to elves in crafting anything, save only the Silmarils. The example of Thingol and the Naugrim (a rather unfair name for so mighty a people, don’t you think?) proves that.