I’ve recently become obsessed with “Song of Durin” by Clamavi De Profundis. It’s a piece that uses the words from Tokien’s poem of the same name. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Gimli sings the Song of Durin in response to Samwise’s disparaging comments about Moria. I’ll provide the poem at the end of this post, so you can see how wonderful it is and why it’s so fun to be set to stirring music.
Since I’ve had “Durin’s Song” on repeat, I’ve been thinking a lot about dwarves, and how Tolkien’s interpretation has dominated fantasy ever since. I’ve covered the history of the concept of the dwarves in my blog post, “On Dwarves”. When one looks at the history of the concept of dwarves, it becomes apparently clear that the modern idea of dwarves owes much more to Tolkien than the Germanic mythology where their origins lie. I’ve known how important Tolkien was to the development of the “modern dwarf”, but have never given that idea the appropriate consideration. Tolkien, like myself, is generally so occupied with elves that it’s easy to get distracted.
When listening to “Durin’s Song”, it struck me how much effort Tolkien dedicated to the development of dwarves. They were not side characters that he created as a foil for the elves, they were a fantasy race for which he cared deeply. The dwarves don’t get their own epic, like the elves do in The Silmarillion, so it’s easy to imagine they were neglected. However, dwarves are arguably the most important characters in The Hobbit and also play a large part in The Lord of the Rings. Even in The Silmarillion, dwarves are given pivotal roles in the tales of the First and Second Ages. Tolkien made the dwarves a proud and noble race, with wise kings, rich lore, and valiant heroes. Had Tolkien lived longer (and been better organized), I like to think he would have written a dwarven epic. I suppose The Hobbit could fill the role of a dwarf-centered story, but its tone is not as grand as the elves get in The Silmarillion or that men get in The Lord of the Rings.
While it is true to say that fantasy authors have mimicked Tolkien’s conception of fantastic races, it is unfortunate that they have seldom been able to capture the glorious tone of Tolkien’s lore. Too many authors reduce the races to caricatures; all dwarves are alcoholic and greedy while all elves are haughty and aloof. Tolkien wrote his races with common flaws, but they were not the focus of his work. Instead, he emphasized the noble potential of those peoples. I’ve appreciated Tolkien’s take on elves and men before, but have myself made a caricature of Tolkien’s dwarves. Now that I’m giving the matter more thought and realizing just how complex and fascinating dwarves can be, I’m feeling inspired to further explore dwarves in my own writing. If I write anything special, I’ll be sure to let you know.
"The world was young, the mountains green,
No stain yet on the Moon was seen,
No words were laid on stream or stone
When Durin woke and walked alone.
He named the nameless hills and dells;
He drank from yet untasted wells;
He stooped and looked in Mirrormere,
And saw a crown of stars appear,
As gems upon a silver thread,
Above the shadows of his head.
The world was fair, the mountains tall,
In Elder Days before the fall
Of mighty kings in Nargothrond
And Gondolin, who now beyond
The Western Seas have passed away:
The world was fair in Durin's Day.
A king he was on carven throne
In many-pillared halls of stone
With golden roof and silver floor,
And runes of power upon the door.
The light of sun and star and moon
In shining lamps of crystal hewn
Undimmed by cloud or shade of night
There shone for ever fair and bright.
There hammer on the anvil smote,
There chisel clove, and graver wrote;
There forged was blade, and bound was hilt;
The delver mined, the mason built.
There beryl, pearl, and opal pale,
And metal wrought like fishes' mail,
Buckler and corslet, axe and sword,
And shining spears were laid in hoard.
Unwearied then were Durin's folk;
Beneath the mountains music woke:
The harpers harped, the minstrels sang,
And at the gates the trumpets rang.
The world is grey, the mountains old,
The forge's fire is ashen-cold;
No harp is wrung, no hammer falls:
The darkness dwells in Durin's halls;
The shadow lies upon his tomb
In Moria, in Khazad-dûm.
But still the sunken stars appear
In dark and windless Mirrormere;
There lies his crown in water deep,
Till Durin wakes again from sleep.”
- The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Sensiahd word of the day is “wret”, meaning “to work”. Example sentence: Taldyn wret tae eth sleibon. Dwarves work in the mountain.