Middle-earth Misconceptions

[Boromir88]

This idea came up while I've been doing some prep for my Lord of the Rings DnD campaign. (Which if acceptable, I might post a campaign diary on the forums - maybe in Middle-earth Mirth? Mithadan?) I was looking into the lore on Beruthiel and her cats (the little that we have) and was surprised to find out she actually hated her cats. I always assumed the "cats of Queen Beruthiel" that she employed as spies and almost everyone seemed to avoid, at least Beruthiel loved her cats. I had this impression she was in a loveless marriage and was the "old, lonely cat lady." But no, she's even more evil, because she hated cats. She only captured them to torment them and make them her slaves.

One from the movies that's always ground my gears is the "Scottish dwarf" used as comic relief. This doesn't seem to be strictly a Peter Jackson thing, more of a generic modern fantasy stereotype that all dwarves are Scottish and comical. That doesn't mean that Tolkien's dwarves didn't have humorous moments, but what I most associate with their history is bitter-sweet and one of decline. Dwarves make great works of craftsmanship, have it taken from them, they go to war to reclaim what was taken, and usually they win but at a great cost. Their story is not comical at all (and from my understanding one of Tolkien's biggest problems with how Disney depicted the dwarves in "Snow White.")

What are your "Middle-earth Misconceptions?" Anything you thought was true for the longest time and were surprised to find out, that it was not true? Any misconceptions from others, because of the movie adaptations or Amazon show that kind of (or even seriously) annoy you?