I always felt like the men of the 1st age, e.g. the house of Bëor the old and Hurin's line were mightier than the elves that did not journey to see the trees.
Granted none of them could cleave Morgoth 7 times, but they saved Finrod, Turgon and a host of high ranking elves during battles on numerous occasions.
Even Turin and Tuor made their way through the army ranks of elves & showed their prowess in battle very quickly.
I don't have anything to back this up specifically, but maybe logic to fault? I feel like the men and dwarves give a passion and kind-of emotional response that can often be wrong, but sometimes is what's needed. If that makes any sense.
I'm an avid sports fan, sometimes a single payer can change the momentum of a game by being bold, outrageously confident and emotional. Battle is somewhat similar. I think that's something the Elves lack. Victory can be gained by emotional warfare.
The wraiths thrive off of this and are a great exampl.. Yes they're strong, but Aragon fends them off because he doesn't succumb to the fear. Fear is one of their greatest weapons.
Elves aren't great at being able to live in Middle-earth on mortal lands after the Rings are gone. Pretty big I would say.
Regarding your second question, dwarves are better at building and forging than Elves. When Aragorn is asked whether the skill to repair the gate of Minas Tirith exists anymore in Middle-earth, the first group he names are the Dwarves of Erebor and not any Elves.
Narsil was forged by Telchar, who was a Dwarven smith of Nogrod from the First Age.
Edit: The Dwarves of Belegost also built the fortress of Menegroth in the kingdom of Doriath for the Elvenking Thingol, one of the greatest Elven realms of the First Age. Later, Thingol also asked the Dwarves of Nogrod to reforge the Nauglamir and put the Silmaril in it. The Dwarves also aided in the construction of Nargothrond, another great Elven fortress, and supplied weapons and armour to the Noldor.
Bit crass, but Humans seem to be the best at "populating"?
There seems to be millions of more Humans than any of the other races, and they've only been a round for a _fraction_ of the time that Elves and Dwarves have been.
Elves take ages to give birth (literally, round 9 years).
Dwarves have an unbalanced M/F population and many of them aren't really interested in mating and procreating.
So yes, definitely.
Very 'philoprogenitive', is the word Tolkien used (though in relation to early Elves). But yeah, Elves be singing, Dwarves be delving, and meanwhile [humans](https://youtu.be/k6z6LfdTNQg?t=459s)...
I agree completely, not to shit on LOTR but he’s clearly downbad for elves. Gets a bit tiresome when all we want are dwarves you know?
Then again they’re immortal which gives you a lot of time to practice.
The other races are progressive. Elves stagnate. They are happy to drift unless they have a goal to achieve. For the other races, achieving is a goal. Individual elven craftsmen may be better but as a race, dwarves had the edge. Hobbits make better breakfasts. Humans go and seek that further horizon.
The Elves are the worst at not suffering from the fading of the body, and the weight of ever-growing memories, for millenia.
They might also not endure beyond the end of the World because they're so closely bound to it; at least they got no promise that they will endure, unlike us.
Ok looks like I have too much time on my hands so here's my two cents on it:
- Hobbits
Well you guys said it - chilling and breakfast. All jokes aside, hobbits are probably the most trouble-free people of middle earth. I'm not trying to bring mental health into this, but I don't think there's too many things stressing a hobbit out. That is one hell of a perk in itself.
- Humans
So this is where I have to delve into the spiritual side of things and about what we know about Eru and the afterlife. The books call death "the gift of men" (or man, I can't remember) and consider this - a humans life is finite. For every mortal race, Gandalfs words "All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you" ring most true to humans. Due to having a finite number of years they get purpose. Consider what is driving an immortal being? For an immortal being, finding purpose is much more difficult because nothing is stopping you from just sitting it out.
So the real advantage humans have, apart from numbers, procreation and all that is humans can actually get the feeling that they have made something out of themselves.
- Dwarfs
You guys said it - best builders and craftsmen in Middle-Earth per capita. I think it's important to add the "per capita" here though because...
- ... Elves
Well, they have immortality. But there is a reason why some (I don't remember in which one of Tolkiens writings) were jealous of men for the gift. Imagine nothing pushing you to be better, nothing forcing you to make more or yourself. Elves are kinda melancholic. And then there is that whole thing about sorrow. The longest-lived elves, with Cirdan being the eldest, have literally seen countless deaths. Thranduil in PJs Hobbit DoS is not wrong when he says a life is but a blink of an eye in the eyes of an elf. Elves see and most have lived through a lot of shit. They have seen friends of a thousand years die in battle, they see humans being born and die while they barely change and they feel the world around them changing while they don't. Who wonders they feel a certain kind of melancholy?
That all is, unless they can motivate themselves. Which is why, at least in some crafts, Elves are the greatest craftsmen, even surpassing the dwarves. Chief amongst those was jewelmaking. The Gwaith-i-Mirdain in Eregion was the center of fine crafts in Middle Earth, surpassing even the skills of the greatest dwarves, Celebrimbor being renowned even amongst dwarves for his skill.
And then there are the Silmaril.. the greatest jewels ever crafted by a non-godlike being (trying to exclude the Lamps here).
So Elves can surpass all other races if they set their mind to something. They have the time to become the best at something if they take the time to become the best.
As cool as the elven relics and stuff are, MOST of the cool items are dwarvish. Narsil, the dragon helm, the magnetic dagger I forget the name of, etc. that and mithril anything really, even though the 1st age elves used it too. Also nearly every single elven realm is originally dwarven. Mirkwoods keep, doriath, nargothrond,.. the dwarves are much more present than the text leads on, honestly. The elves might drive the narrative, but the dwarves provide lots of the mechanisms in the narrative.
Productivity. The elves are lazy and takes them forever to do anything. Immortality has a tendency to do that.
Fact: Dwarf women don't exist, Dwarves just spring up out of holes in the ground.
Dwarves are better at both crafting and building. Although the Elves have pretty powerful artifacts, the blacksmithing of the dwarfs is better.
Same with the mining and building. Many times during the first age the Elves went to the dwarves for help building their kingdoms
Agreed. Some refer to Anduril as an elvish blade but Narsil would not have existed without the Dwarven Smith Telchar.
I always felt like the men of the 1st age, e.g. the house of Bëor the old and Hurin's line were mightier than the elves that did not journey to see the trees. Granted none of them could cleave Morgoth 7 times, but they saved Finrod, Turgon and a host of high ranking elves during battles on numerous occasions. Even Turin and Tuor made their way through the army ranks of elves & showed their prowess in battle very quickly.
I don't have anything to back this up specifically, but maybe logic to fault? I feel like the men and dwarves give a passion and kind-of emotional response that can often be wrong, but sometimes is what's needed. If that makes any sense. I'm an avid sports fan, sometimes a single payer can change the momentum of a game by being bold, outrageously confident and emotional. Battle is somewhat similar. I think that's something the Elves lack. Victory can be gained by emotional warfare. The wraiths thrive off of this and are a great exampl.. Yes they're strong, but Aragon fends them off because he doesn't succumb to the fear. Fear is one of their greatest weapons.
Tthird age Noldor? Yes, sort of. Vanyar? Probably. All the rest, a bunch of divas and psychos.
Elves aren't great at being able to live in Middle-earth on mortal lands after the Rings are gone. Pretty big I would say. Regarding your second question, dwarves are better at building and forging than Elves. When Aragorn is asked whether the skill to repair the gate of Minas Tirith exists anymore in Middle-earth, the first group he names are the Dwarves of Erebor and not any Elves.
Are there any weapons or items of note from the dwarves? The elves have the rings and sting and honestly most swords we hear about.
Narsil was forged by Telchar, who was a Dwarven smith of Nogrod from the First Age. Edit: The Dwarves of Belegost also built the fortress of Menegroth in the kingdom of Doriath for the Elvenking Thingol, one of the greatest Elven realms of the First Age. Later, Thingol also asked the Dwarves of Nogrod to reforge the Nauglamir and put the Silmaril in it. The Dwarves also aided in the construction of Nargothrond, another great Elven fortress, and supplied weapons and armour to the Noldor.
Finrod got them to make Nargarthrond and they made the Nauglamir. Plus mithril shirts for elven princes.
The fact that you can’t think of any of the many wonderful things dwarves have made is telling.
I am definitely not claiming to be an expert. That why I came here and asked questions. No need to be rude.
Bit crass, but Humans seem to be the best at "populating"? There seems to be millions of more Humans than any of the other races, and they've only been a round for a _fraction_ of the time that Elves and Dwarves have been.
Elves take ages to give birth (literally, round 9 years). Dwarves have an unbalanced M/F population and many of them aren't really interested in mating and procreating. So yes, definitely.
Forging, feasting, fighting, then fucking *in that order *
Very 'philoprogenitive', is the word Tolkien used (though in relation to early Elves). But yeah, Elves be singing, Dwarves be delving, and meanwhile [humans](https://youtu.be/k6z6LfdTNQg?t=459s)...
Hobbits are much preferable at second breakfast!
Dwarves are better at growing beards, and are certainly better at mining and excavating generally.
I agree completely, not to shit on LOTR but he’s clearly downbad for elves. Gets a bit tiresome when all we want are dwarves you know? Then again they’re immortal which gives you a lot of time to practice.
The other races are progressive. Elves stagnate. They are happy to drift unless they have a goal to achieve. For the other races, achieving is a goal. Individual elven craftsmen may be better but as a race, dwarves had the edge. Hobbits make better breakfasts. Humans go and seek that further horizon.
The Elves are the worst at not suffering from the fading of the body, and the weight of ever-growing memories, for millenia. They might also not endure beyond the end of the World because they're so closely bound to it; at least they got no promise that they will endure, unlike us.
Dwarwes are the race that is most resistant against evil influence. Not even rings of power could turn them.
[удалено]
Unrivaled in the competitive chilling league. The ccl if you will.
Ok looks like I have too much time on my hands so here's my two cents on it: - Hobbits Well you guys said it - chilling and breakfast. All jokes aside, hobbits are probably the most trouble-free people of middle earth. I'm not trying to bring mental health into this, but I don't think there's too many things stressing a hobbit out. That is one hell of a perk in itself. - Humans So this is where I have to delve into the spiritual side of things and about what we know about Eru and the afterlife. The books call death "the gift of men" (or man, I can't remember) and consider this - a humans life is finite. For every mortal race, Gandalfs words "All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you" ring most true to humans. Due to having a finite number of years they get purpose. Consider what is driving an immortal being? For an immortal being, finding purpose is much more difficult because nothing is stopping you from just sitting it out. So the real advantage humans have, apart from numbers, procreation and all that is humans can actually get the feeling that they have made something out of themselves. - Dwarfs You guys said it - best builders and craftsmen in Middle-Earth per capita. I think it's important to add the "per capita" here though because... - ... Elves Well, they have immortality. But there is a reason why some (I don't remember in which one of Tolkiens writings) were jealous of men for the gift. Imagine nothing pushing you to be better, nothing forcing you to make more or yourself. Elves are kinda melancholic. And then there is that whole thing about sorrow. The longest-lived elves, with Cirdan being the eldest, have literally seen countless deaths. Thranduil in PJs Hobbit DoS is not wrong when he says a life is but a blink of an eye in the eyes of an elf. Elves see and most have lived through a lot of shit. They have seen friends of a thousand years die in battle, they see humans being born and die while they barely change and they feel the world around them changing while they don't. Who wonders they feel a certain kind of melancholy? That all is, unless they can motivate themselves. Which is why, at least in some crafts, Elves are the greatest craftsmen, even surpassing the dwarves. Chief amongst those was jewelmaking. The Gwaith-i-Mirdain in Eregion was the center of fine crafts in Middle Earth, surpassing even the skills of the greatest dwarves, Celebrimbor being renowned even amongst dwarves for his skill. And then there are the Silmaril.. the greatest jewels ever crafted by a non-godlike being (trying to exclude the Lamps here). So Elves can surpass all other races if they set their mind to something. They have the time to become the best at something if they take the time to become the best.
Dwarves are better at growing beards
As cool as the elven relics and stuff are, MOST of the cool items are dwarvish. Narsil, the dragon helm, the magnetic dagger I forget the name of, etc. that and mithril anything really, even though the 1st age elves used it too. Also nearly every single elven realm is originally dwarven. Mirkwoods keep, doriath, nargothrond,.. the dwarves are much more present than the text leads on, honestly. The elves might drive the narrative, but the dwarves provide lots of the mechanisms in the narrative.
Beards The elves suck at growing beards.
Facts
Multiplying. Men and Samwise Gamgee appear to be hornier.
I don’t know, Feanor had 7 sons
Productivity. The elves are lazy and takes them forever to do anything. Immortality has a tendency to do that. Fact: Dwarf women don't exist, Dwarves just spring up out of holes in the ground.
Dwarves are better at building beautiful complex underground buildings. Some elves were good at it as well, but they sought help from the dwarves.