Arcane Topic Warning: Part the Fifth

[Kuruharan]

It is that time again.

This time it is a bit of a biggie: Dwarven Commerce.

This post is not going to attempt to do more than lay groundwork as this subject is rather varied and wide-ranging.

Tolkien wrote a good summation of early Dwarven commerce, and it was something of a model they subsequently tried to follow as best they could.

Thus there grew up in those regions the economy, later characteristic of the dealings of Dwarves and Men (including Hobbits): Men became the chief providers of food, as herdsmen, shepherds, and landtillers, which the Dwarves exchanged for work as builders, roadmakers, minders, and the makers of things of craft, from useful tools to weapons and arms and many other things of great cost and skill. To the great profit of the Dwarves. Not only to be reckoned in hours of labour, though in early times the Dwarves must have obtained goods that were the product of greater and longer toil than the things or services that they gave in exchange-before Men became wiser and developed skills of their own. The chief advantage to them was their freedom to proceed unhindered with their own work and to refine their arts, especially in metallurgy, to the marvelous skill which these reached before the decline and dwindling of the Khazâd.

This system developed slowly…This process began not in barter and trade, but in war…[Men] were lightly armed, chiefly with bows, for they had little metal and the few smiths among them had no great skill. These things the Dwarves amended in return for the one great service that Men could offer. They were tamers of beasts and had learned the mastery of horses, and many were skilled and fearless riders.
-Of Dwarves and Men

It appears that Necessity, as is often the case, was the mother of Invention in more ways than one. A military need was the beginning that lead to trade as each side realized what the other could offer.

However, prior to this the Dwarves had already established relations with the Elves.

but the Dwarves trafficked into Beleriand, and they made a great road that passed under the shoulders of Mount Dolmed and followed the course of the River Ascar, crossing Gelion at Sarn Athrad, the Ford of Stones, where battle after befell. Ever cool was the friendship between the Naugrim and the Eldar, though much profit they had one of the other

Obviously, there was no semi-patron/client relationship going on here with the Sindar, and later the Noldor, as there was with Men (relations with the Dark Elves are shrouded, but perhaps unlikely to have amounted to much as the Dark Elves would have little the Dwarves would wish to trade).

There does seem to be a slight disconnect here because the relationship with Men was described as developing slowly, while the relationship with Elves seems to have been a business from a very early point.

My theory on this is this resulted from two factors A) the Dwarves initially did not see much benefit to trading with early Men while the Elves had nice shiny things and were there sooner and B) the differences between the Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost and the rest of the Dwarves. Nogrod and Belegost were situated at the gate of the (comparatively) cosmopolitan environment of Beleriand. Due to this they had longer experience in dealing with another race in different circumstances than the Longbeards (which I believe the passage quoted above primarily discussed the Longbeards) and thus the Broadbeams and Firebeards more quickly realized the possibilities of trade. The Longbeards, on the other hand, were situated for a very long time in a much more isolated environment and were perhaps initially more insular than their western cousins.

(Note: Please feel free to bring up any aspect of this topic you want, don’t feel like you have to wait for me to bring up an issue before we discuss it. If you want to talk about the business dealings of refugee Dwarves in the later Third Age, knock yourself out.)

[Raynor]

In the Letters, Tolkien compares the dwarves to the jews:

Originally Posted by Letter #176

I do think of the 'Dwarves' like Jews: at once native and alien in their habitations, speaking the languages of the country, but with an accent due to their own private tongue

Imo, another similarity involves their good ability in commerce. It is stated in the Silmarillion, Of the Sindar, that they "ever demanded a price for all that they did, whether with delight or with toil".

I will note two important moments; I believe that their first great commerce deal involves the building of Menegroth; for this, they received "much wisdom" from Melian and "many fair pearls" from Thingol, who in turn got them from Cirdan; according to the Grey Annals, this occurs in 1300 Valarian Years of the First Age, 500 years after the dwarves crossed the mountains into Beleriand.

Two millenia later, in 52 Years of the Sun of the First Age, the dwarves of Blue Mountains help Finrod build Nargothrond and they also make for him the Nauglamir, the necklace of the dwarves, which will bring much suffering later. In return, Finrod gave them many treasures from Tirion, since he brought many more than any noldo prince.

I presume that there was some barter on "intelectual property" concerning craftsmith, between elves and dwarves, which could or could not have involved money/goods; we have Eol the Dark who learns a great deal of metal work from them - and he probably teaches them in return the making of galvorn. There is also the making of the enchanted doors of Moria, where Celebrimbor gave a hand at least in drawing the elven-letters.

[Kuruharan]

Imo, another similarity involves their good ability in commerce.

A good point. I'd never made that connection before.

The building jobs also reminds me of an often overlooked but important aspect of dwarven activities of the First Age...roadbuilding. The dwarves built the road in eastern Beleriand for the purposes of trade with Menegroth. It became a primary route for groups of Men moving into Beleriand (note that Estolad sits astride the road). It is certainly not difficult to imagine that the dwarves conducted extensive trading with the Men who passed through the mountains and then lived in the area. Estolad may, in fact, have become something like a big open air bazaar due to its circumstances of having a local population and close proximity to several different peoples.

EDIT:

I’ve received a couple of nervously phrased e-mails asking me to clarify my remark on the mercantile history of the Jewish people. My comment was historically based. For a considerable portion of their history the Jewish people did primarily work in commerce…due to the fact that the societies they were attempting to live in would not allow them any other means to sustain themselves. They were also, throughout a large portion of the Middle Ages, in the position to be able to successfully trade with both the Christian and Muslim worlds.

My comment didn’t refer to anything beyond this little parallel.

[Mithadan]

Tolkien's description of Dwarven commerce makes sense when applied to Khazad Dum but makes less sense in the context of Beleriand. The first thing that leaps to mind when considering vast underground mansions is where did they get their food? Trade is an obvious answer, though they no doubt grew some of their own in neighboring areas. Things must have been hard after Sauron razed Eregion and the west gate was shut.

But Beleriand was different. One can conceive of Dwarves trading with the Sindar, but once the Noldor arrived trade must have lessened because the Elves of the West were quite capable of forging their own weapons and doing their own construction.

Speculatively, since Tolkien describes the Dwarves as being somewhat insular, only those who enjoyed, or could tolerate, the company of Elves and Men would engage in trading. Others might have rarely left their cities, being content to engage in their first love -- the manufacture of goods. The love of creation, by the way, was likely inherited from Aulë.

As to the comparison of Dwarves to Jews, Tolkien did make this comparison himself. Way back before there were message boards I would surf for information on Tolkien and came upon a transcription of an interview in which he was asked about the inspiration for the Dwarves. His response, which I found almost offensive at first, was "don't they remind you of the Jews?" or something to that effect. After I got over being offended and read carefully, he was speaking of the Dwarves' "secret language" and their insular nature. I suppose he was referring to highly orthodox Jews that he might have observed, who spoke Yiddish or Hebrew, languages replete with consonants like Dwarvish, and who tended to maintain themselves separate from non-Jews. The men also favor beards.

But the similarity ends there. Historically, Jews were forced into commerce in order to have any degree of financial security or success because they were denied the right to own real property in many countries. Thus they operated businesses, shops, became bankers or lawyers. I am certain Tolkien never intended to imply that Dwarves were similar to Jews in connection with greed, which would be highly anti-semitic. He abhored anti-semitism and even refused to allow the Hobbit to be published in germany because the censors there required him to affirm that he had no Jewish blood. Rather he was speaking of cultural characteristics. I have even heard that Dwarvish was based upon Hebrew to some extent. I am not skilled in linguistics and cannot comment directly, but I note that the Dwarves' war cry "Baruk Khazad" resembles the Hebrew word "baruch" which signifies ""bless". "Bless the Dwarves" would not be an inappropriate war cry... I think, by the way, that some degree of sensitivity needs to be taken on the issue.

[Aiwendil]

I have to say I'm perplexed as to why Tolkien's comparison of the Dwarves with Jews is sometimes seen as possibly anti-semitic. It seems quite valid to me to compare a fictional race from Middle-earth with a real ethnic group. When the Hobbits are compared with the English (as is often done), no one suspects racism on the part of the person making the comparison.

I think that the tendency for jobs in commerce to be filled by Jews in European history, which Kuruharan has noted, may very well have had something to do with Tolkien's association of them with the Dwarves. Or maybe not; it's hard to read his mind. I don't think that this implies he was anti-semitic. Certainly, there's ample evidence that he was not anti-semitic.

I know that this is beside the point of the original topic, and I'm sorry if this leads it further astray . . .

[Celuien]

Originally Posted by Aiwendil

I think that the tendency for jobs in commerce to be filled by Jews in European history, which Kuruharan has noted, may very well have had something to do with Tolkien's association of them with the Dwarves. Or maybe not; it's hard to read his mind. I don't think that this implies he was anti-semitic. Certainly, there's ample evidence that he was not anti-semitic.

I think the issue is raised more by comparisions that use quotes such as "ever demanded a price for all that they did, whether with delight or with toil" as evidence than by historical context comparisons.

Originally Posted by Mithadan

I am certain Tolkien never intended to imply that Dwarves were similar to Jews in connection with greed, which would be highly anti-semitic.

And Mithadan says it perfectly here. In fact, I think Mithadan's post generally addresses the entire issue beautifully.

As for the origins of Dwarves and 'demanding a price,' it shouldn't be forgotten that their characterization draws heavily on Norse sagas, in which Dwarves weren't always the most pleasant or generous of characters. Durinn and Dvalin in the Hervarar saga, and Regin's scheming against Sigurd spring to mind.

On the original topic, a trading relationship would seem to develop most quickly between cultures with a similar level of technological achievement. The Dwarves had most in common with the Noldor, as the two most skilled groups in metal crafts, and I think it would be logical for a relationship of some kind to arise there first. They would have the most to offer each other.

These things the Dwarves amended in return for the one great service that Men could offer. They were tamers of beasts and had learned the mastery of horses, and many were skilled and fearless riders.

I'd place the emphasis on the phrase one great service. If trade is limited to one item, commerce might be expected to develop at a slower rate than if more types of goods and services were exchanged.

So theory portion A in particular makes quite a bit of sense.

[Raynor]

As far as I saw, there is little if any reference to dwarven greed - and requiring remuneration for services done doesn't equal greed, this is how I earn my living and I don't consider myself greedy. The dwarves were mostly related to Aule, of whom it is said that he submited all he did to Eru's will, that he did not envy the works of others and sought and gave counsel; the dwarves too exchanged their craft lore with others, such as Eol or Celebrimbor. Greed is mentioned in relation to the dwarves when they are overpowered by the Elven rings, but those were tainted by Sauron. When they contemplate the Nauglamir and the Silmaril together, a lust to possess them arises, but this again is explainable by the curse that laid on the noldorin jewel, which instilled evil feelings to the once mightiest ainu, to elves or men. In the letters, greed is not recognised as a datum for the dwarves, but, as I read it, a possible, worst case scenario.

Strangely enough, I have not received any request to clarify my meaning, although it was me who put that idea forward. I regret that my remark has caused discomfort, to those who suspected anti-semitism, or to Kuruharan. It was not my intention.

[Celuien]

Well, of course Tolkien's Dwarves are far more pleasant than their Norse ancestors, and greed only seems to rear its ugly head on occasion.

Thanks for the clarification, Raynor, and apologies for any misunderstandings on my part.

[Kuruharan]

One can conceive of Dwarves trading with the Sindar, but once the Noldor arrived trade must have lessened because the Elves of the West were quite capable of forging their own weapons and doing their own construction.

I’ve wondered about this myself. I think perhaps that an exchange of ideas may perhaps have played some role in motivating the parties to continue their contact. My guess would be they were interested in the different skill sets that the other brought to the table. There is also something to be said that there is an element of interest in having stuff that comes from someplace else. This has always been an underlying element in engaging in commerce. I think that this might have been a factor for the Elves. Even though they may not have liked the Dwarves overmuch, I think that their inherent curiosity would drive them to maintain the contact.

However, there has to have been a material side to this as well. I think that, given the environment each group lived in, the Dwarves probably served as the source of raw materials to the Elves as well as manufacturing to a certain extent. True, the Noldor were more than capable of forging their own weapons, but they had to have metal to work. While the northern Noldor under Fingolfin and Fingon had access to ample mountain ranges for mining, the western Noldor and Finrod were a bit lacking in this department. I think the Sons of Feanor and Doriath were the Dwarves’ primary trading partners. I’m not so sure about Nargothrond as I don’t remember if there is any reference to Dwarves visiting the place after it was finished. The secrecy that the Elves of Nargothrond tried to maintain leads me to believe that there probably wasn’t a whole lot (or any) contact that went on there (although I might be wrong).

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't trade have sprung up almost instantly between the Elves and the Dwarves due to mithril? Given that the only source of "truesilver" is smack in the middle of the Dwarven homeland (and not by accident, of course), and given that the Elves were in a life and death struggle with Morgoth it makes sense that they would be highly motivated to trade for something as potentially useful as mithril. The question I come to after this is would the Elves have preferred to trade for ore or completed goods? Would they have wanted to fashion their own mithril weapons and armour or would the work of the Dwarves have been sufficient...or even better....hmmmmm

It occurs to me that this could very well provide a clue as to the reason for the ongoing trade and its necessity. If the Dwarves were really the only people who could mine mithril then it makes sense that they would have a much better understanding of how to refine it and work it. Given that they are such a secretive race, it makes sense, I think, to assume that they would not divulge such important information even to trading partners (and remember how frosty relations were with the Elves even at the best of times) -- so it would make sense to me to say that the mithril armour and weapons made by the Dwarves would be better than that made by the Elves (for the first few thousand years, at least, until the Elves had a chance to become more familiar with it themselves).

[Raynor]

Would they have wanted to fashion their own mithril weapons and armour or would the work of the Dwarves have been sufficient...or even better.

Some noldor went to Eregion exactly because they learned that mithril has been discovered in Moria; they particulary made the ithildin, the starmoon, which is seen on the doors of Moria. In Late Writings, Celebrimbor is said to have equaled the art of the dwarves in using mithril.

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

I’ve wondered about this myself. I think perhaps that an exchange of ideas may perhaps have played some role in motivating the parties to continue their contact. My guess would be they were interested in the different skill sets that the other brought to the table. There is also something to be said that there is an element of interest in having stuff that comes from someplace else. This has always been an underlying element in engaging in commerce. I think that this might have been a factor for the Elves. Even though they may not have liked the Dwarves overmuch, I think that their inherent curiosity would drive them to maintain the contact.

Quite apart from speculation on such matters, we KNOW that the Dwarves continued a profitable trade with the Eldar after the coming of the Noldor. In passages pertaining to Caranthir's establishment of his fiefdom in Thargelion, we're told that he became wealthy, through his contact and trade with the Dwarves of Nogrod. I believe it also goes on to say, as Kuru speculates, that there was no particular love of the two races, but it was a profitable relationship- implying a good deal of trade.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Originally Posted by Raynor

Some noldor went to Eregion exactly because they learned that mithril has been discovered in Moria; they particulary made the ithildin, the starmoon, which is seen on the doors of Moria. In Late Writings, Celebrimbor is said to have equaled the art of the dwarves in using mithril.

Well that cinches it: if the height of Elvish mithril crafting went no furher than equalling the Dwarves then finished goods of mithril would have formed an important part, if not the most important part, of their trade. Think of it: one Elf can do it, but all (or at least a lot) of Dwarves can do it. If you're trying to equip an army it would take a long time for just one guy to make everything you need, even if it's Celebrimbor, but a raft of Dwarves hammering way would do the job in no time.

As to what the Elves would trade in return, just look at the things we see them using and/or referred to as making in LotR: rope, boats, glasswares, wood-crafts, gems, weaving, clothes, cloth, leather-goods, jewellry, and on. Why would a Dwarf who has a mithril sword bother trading that for wood so he can carve a table when he would trade the sword for 50 Elvish-made tables?

And there's other things the Elves could trade: technology and knowledge...

Elf: If you give me that mithril sword I'll show you how to make a torch that never goes out.

Dwarf: Throw in some tips on how to kill trolls and it's a deal.

Elf: Done and done!

[Mithadan]

Mithril would explain things in the Second and Third Ages, and indeed I conceded the likilhood of trade to and from Khazad Dum. But Kuruharan's thesis and the section he quotes is that the Dwarves traded primarily for food and livestock which they could not grow or maintain underground. Beleriand was a long ways away from Khazad Dum, probably too far to transport crops. No doubt the Longbeards traded locally, but trade to Beleriand seems a bit of a stretch, particularly at wartime.

[Aiwendil]

No doubt the Longbeards traded locally, but trade to Beleriand seems a bit of a stretch, particularly at wartime

But it does seem that some trade routes ran all the way from Beleriand out into the east, beyond Khazad-dum (though perishable items probably did not travel that far). In the alliterative Children of Hurin, Beleg is said to have carried wine that came from Dorwinion - a land that is probably far to the east and south of Beleriand (Pauline Baynes's map, which is based on information given to her by Tolkien, places it near the sea of Rhun).

[Kuruharan]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't trade have sprung up almost instantly between the Elves and the Dwarves due to mithril?

&

then finished goods of mithril would have formed an important part, if not the most important part, of their trade.
-Fordim

-and-

No doubt the Longbeards traded locally, but trade to Beleriand seems a bit of a stretch
-Mithadan

While I can't say for certain that some items of mithril didn't make their way to the west during the First Age, I'm inclined to agree with Mithadan that such trade would have been so limited as to not be a viable basis for a long lasting relationship. I think any mithril that did make it west to Beleriand and then from the Dwarves to the Elves would have been an extremely rare and novelty product that the Elves had to purchase with an arm and a leg. Although if there are any instances where Tolkien mentioned Elves using mithril weapons in the First Age I might have to revise my opinion.

I guess evidence suggests that some mithril did make it west for the Elves to know about it and want to move near its source. Aiwendil's point is very interesting in this context. (Now if only we could say for sure who the inhabitants of Dorwinion were...we might have a picture of the Dwarves serving as middlemen for different groups of Elves. There's a thought to roll around in the head.)

Clearly, mithril was the basis for the relationship between the Longbeards and Eregion in the Second Age. It is tempting to speculate on the prices mithril could command during that time. Undoubtedly the price was high, but this would also have been the era when mithril was the most widely available. I think Fordim is on to something in his theory regarding what the Dwarves were getting in return in this period because it has to be remembered that this was the era of the height of the Longbeard's empire in Wilderland and their relationship with the Men living in that land was at its most prosperous. They were not dependent on their relationship with the Elves for food.

On another train of thought, it is also tempting to speculate on the role Dwarves played in the development of currency in Middle-earth. They were obviously sitting on top of the largest reserves of precious metals in the world, but metal is rather unpleasant to eat. What they needed was food. I personally don't think it unlikely that the Dwarves invented coinage as an easy means of transfer of their metal for the food they needed.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

I'm still not sure why it would be so unlikely for mithril to travel to Beleriand -- simply because of the distance and the danger? Not likely, tea, spices and silk were coming from China to Europe regularly throughout the 1200s-1400s. That was a distance easily greater than what we're talking about here and through dangers like we can't imagine...and that was by puny humans! It seems to me that if you have a race as hardy (and as eager for money and trade) as the Dwarves, and a race as indefatiguable and long-lived as the Elves, trading across long distances and difficult terrain is hardly a barrier!

[Kuruharan]

I'm still not sure why it would be so unlikely for mithril to travel to Beleriand -- simply because of the distance and the danger? Not likely, tea, spices and silk were coming from China to Europe regularly throughout the 1200s-1400s. That was a distance easily greater than what we're talking about here and through dangers like we can't imagine...and that was by puny humans! It seems to me that if you have a race as hardy (and as eager for money and trade) as the Dwarves, and a race as indefatiguable and long-lived as the Elves, trading across long distances and difficult terrain is hardly a barrier!

A fair point. I will attempt to explain my thinking.

In this case I think there would be too many middle-dwarves. The mithril had to make it through the hands of two (or three) different groups of dwarves. First of all, the Longbeards who mined it. It would probably take a lot to persuade them to sell it, and the only ones in position to do it would have been the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains as the Elves in Beleriand were never in contact with Khazad-dum. Now, I think some mithril must have passed to the Blue Mountains so it could be done. However, how eager to sell the mithril would the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains have been? My guess would be "not very." It had cost them plenty to begin with and if they bought it they probably wanted to use it themselves. If they sold it again to the Elves they probably would have wanted a healthy profit on the deal, getting into the realm of being prohibitively expensive...especially for articles like food...although perhaps some sort of payment plan could have been arranged.

Saaaay...I wonder if the dwarves also invented credit...

Obviously, I think some mithril made it to the Elves, but I think it must have been a very small quantity and not the basis for large scale trading operations.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

I guess it depends on what you mean by "amount of trade" -- you seem to be using it in terms of simple tonnage (i.e. not much mithril went to the Elves in trade) but I mean it in terms of value (i.e. not a lot made its way into Beleriand but it was worth a LOT, so while the amount of material going back and forth was not impressive it accounted for a lot in terms of trade -- think about diamonds today. A single suitcase can hold a mine's entire output for a year.

So here's a scenario: the Dwarves spend twenty years working like, well, Dwarves and make 10 000 mithril coats. Not enough for the whole Elven army but enough for the real champions. That many coats could easily fit onto the back of a single mule train of, say, 100 mules. They take that train to Beleriand and get paid as only people who are trading with the Elves can get paid. So with one trip only, they make good on a 20 year investment. Not a lot of activity in terms of people going back and forth, but in that single transaction is a LOT of value.

Perhaps by way of downpayment the Dwarves have been accepting caravans of goods from the Elves for the 20 years it took to produce, and can now expect 50 years more of such shipments. These are Elves, remember, what is 70 years to them??

OK, so now I'm thinking that this would be an intersting RPG: Mithril Road. A band of Dwarves leads their precious cargo through the dangers of Beleriand to Fingolfin's stronghold!

[Kuruharan]

Perhaps by way of downpayment the Dwarves have been accepting caravans of goods from the Elves for the 20 years it took to produce, and can now expect 50 years more of such shipments. These are Elves, remember, what is 70 years to them??

A reasonable theory and I think a number of things could have worked this way.

However, I'm not sure mithril was one of them. Remember, the Longbeards were the source of mithril. They were not in contact with the Elves of Beleriand. The Broadbeams and Firebeards were in the position of having to import mithril themselves, which would have cost them dear. I guess it comes down to I don't think that the Elves would have had the goods or the ability to pay enough of them to have trade in mithril occur in large volumes.

Another thing I wonder about is the sort of trade that went on between the Lonely Mountain, Laketown, Dale, and the Woodland Realm. It is kind of interesting that we are given a more specific list of commodities: toys, metalwork, architectural skill, food, wine, etc...