Post by Falconer on Mar 20, 2023 21:19:36 GMT -6
In two interesting passages in “Descriptions of Characters” from The Nature of Middle-earth, JRRT discusses the heights of the races.
Hobbits
Halflings was derived from the Númenórean name for them (in Sindarin Periannath). It was given first to the Harfoots, who became known to the rulers of Arnor in the eleventh century of the Third Age; later it was also applied to the Fallohides and Stoors. The name thus evidently referred to their height as compared with Númenórean men, and was approximately accurate when first given. The Númenóreans were a people of great stature. Their full-grown men were often seven feet tall.
The descriptions and assumptions of the text are not in fact haphazard, and are based on a standard: the average height of a male adult hobbit at the time of the story. For Harfoots this was taken as 3 ft. 6; Fallohides were slimmer and a little taller; and Stoors broader, stouter, and somewhat shorter. The remarks in the Prologue [concerning the height of hobbits] are unnecessarily vague and complicated, owing to the inclusion of references to supposed modern survivals of the race in later times; but as far as the LR is concerned they boil down to this: the hobbits of the Shire were in height between 3 and 4 feet, never less and seldom more. They did not of course call themselves Halflings.
Heights
The Quendi were in origin a tall people. The Eldar were those who accepted the invitation of the Valar to remove from Middle-earth and set forth on the Great March to the Western Shores of Middle-earth. They were in general the stronger and taller members of the Elvish folk at that time. In Eldarin tradition it was said that even their women were seldom less than 6 ft. in height; their full-grown elfmen no less than 6 ft. 6, while some of the great kings and leaders were taller.
The Númenóreans before the Downfall were a people of great stature and strength, the Kings of Men; their full-grown men were commonly 7 ft. tall, especially in the royal and noble houses. In the North where men of other kinds were fewer and their race remained purer this stature remained more frequent. Elendil the Tall, leader of the Faithful who survived the Downfall, was said to have surpassed 7 ft., though his sons were not quite so tall. Aragorn, his direct descendant, in spite of the many intervening generations, must still have been a very tall and strong man with a great stride; he was probably at least 6 ft. 6. Boromir, of high Númenórean lineage, would not be much shorter: say 6 ft. 4.
These figures [of the Fellowship] are thus all too short. Gandalf even bent must have been at least 5 ft. 6; Legolas at least 6 foot (probably more); Gimli is about the height that the hobbits should have been, but was probably somewhat taller; the hobbits should have been between 3 ft. 4 and 3 ft. 6. (I personally have always thought of Sam as the shortest, but the sturdiest in build, of the four).
Dwarves were about 4 ft. high at least. Hobbits were lighter in build, but not much shorter; their tallest men were 4 ft., but seldom taller. Though nowadays their survivors are seldom 3 ft. high, in the days of the story they were taller, which means that they usually exceeded 3 ft. and qualified for the name of Halfling. But the name “halfling” must have originated circa Third Age 1150, getting on for 2,000 years (1868) before the War of the Ring, during which the dwindling of the Númenóreans had shown itself in stature as well as in lifespan; so that it referred to a height of full-grown males of an average of, say, 3 ft. 5.
The dwindling of the Dúnedain was not a normal tendency, shared by peoples whose proper home was Middle-earth; but due to the loss of their ancient land far in the West, nearest of all mortal lands to “The Undying Realm”. In both Arnor and Gondor, apart from mixture of race, the Númenóreans showed a dwindling of height and longevity in Middle-earth that became more marked as the Third Age passed. The much later dwindling of hobbits must be due to a change in their state and way of life; they became a fugitive and secret people, driven as Men, the Big Folk, became more and more numerous, usurping the more fertile and habitable lands, to refuge in forest or wilderness: a wandering and poor folk, forgetful of their arts and living a precarious life absorbed in the search for food and fearful of being seen; for cruel men would shoot them for sport as if they were animals. In fact they relapsed into the state of “pygmies”. The other stunted race, the Drúedain, never rose much above that state.
Hobbits
Halflings was derived from the Númenórean name for them (in Sindarin Periannath). It was given first to the Harfoots, who became known to the rulers of Arnor in the eleventh century of the Third Age; later it was also applied to the Fallohides and Stoors. The name thus evidently referred to their height as compared with Númenórean men, and was approximately accurate when first given. The Númenóreans were a people of great stature. Their full-grown men were often seven feet tall.
The descriptions and assumptions of the text are not in fact haphazard, and are based on a standard: the average height of a male adult hobbit at the time of the story. For Harfoots this was taken as 3 ft. 6; Fallohides were slimmer and a little taller; and Stoors broader, stouter, and somewhat shorter. The remarks in the Prologue [concerning the height of hobbits] are unnecessarily vague and complicated, owing to the inclusion of references to supposed modern survivals of the race in later times; but as far as the LR is concerned they boil down to this: the hobbits of the Shire were in height between 3 and 4 feet, never less and seldom more. They did not of course call themselves Halflings.
Heights
The Quendi were in origin a tall people. The Eldar were those who accepted the invitation of the Valar to remove from Middle-earth and set forth on the Great March to the Western Shores of Middle-earth. They were in general the stronger and taller members of the Elvish folk at that time. In Eldarin tradition it was said that even their women were seldom less than 6 ft. in height; their full-grown elfmen no less than 6 ft. 6, while some of the great kings and leaders were taller.
The Númenóreans before the Downfall were a people of great stature and strength, the Kings of Men; their full-grown men were commonly 7 ft. tall, especially in the royal and noble houses. In the North where men of other kinds were fewer and their race remained purer this stature remained more frequent. Elendil the Tall, leader of the Faithful who survived the Downfall, was said to have surpassed 7 ft., though his sons were not quite so tall. Aragorn, his direct descendant, in spite of the many intervening generations, must still have been a very tall and strong man with a great stride; he was probably at least 6 ft. 6. Boromir, of high Númenórean lineage, would not be much shorter: say 6 ft. 4.
These figures [of the Fellowship] are thus all too short. Gandalf even bent must have been at least 5 ft. 6; Legolas at least 6 foot (probably more); Gimli is about the height that the hobbits should have been, but was probably somewhat taller; the hobbits should have been between 3 ft. 4 and 3 ft. 6. (I personally have always thought of Sam as the shortest, but the sturdiest in build, of the four).
Dwarves were about 4 ft. high at least. Hobbits were lighter in build, but not much shorter; their tallest men were 4 ft., but seldom taller. Though nowadays their survivors are seldom 3 ft. high, in the days of the story they were taller, which means that they usually exceeded 3 ft. and qualified for the name of Halfling. But the name “halfling” must have originated circa Third Age 1150, getting on for 2,000 years (1868) before the War of the Ring, during which the dwindling of the Númenóreans had shown itself in stature as well as in lifespan; so that it referred to a height of full-grown males of an average of, say, 3 ft. 5.
The dwindling of the Dúnedain was not a normal tendency, shared by peoples whose proper home was Middle-earth; but due to the loss of their ancient land far in the West, nearest of all mortal lands to “The Undying Realm”. In both Arnor and Gondor, apart from mixture of race, the Númenóreans showed a dwindling of height and longevity in Middle-earth that became more marked as the Third Age passed. The much later dwindling of hobbits must be due to a change in their state and way of life; they became a fugitive and secret people, driven as Men, the Big Folk, became more and more numerous, usurping the more fertile and habitable lands, to refuge in forest or wilderness: a wandering and poor folk, forgetful of their arts and living a precarious life absorbed in the search for food and fearful of being seen; for cruel men would shoot them for sport as if they were animals. In fact they relapsed into the state of “pygmies”. The other stunted race, the Drúedain, never rose much above that state.
