145
In the book, Gimli doesn't try to destroy the ring at the council, so no lost axe problem there.
And he doesn't lose an axe to Saruman in the Eaves of Fangorn either.
As far as the book is concerned, Gimli has one axe and keeps it throughout.
77
The Noldor and Dwarves liked each other
Although you're right that Dwarves tend to be insular, by all accounts they got on quite well with the Noldor; according to The Silmarillion:
[T]he Naugrim gave their friendship more readily to the Noldor in after days than to any others of Elves and Men, because of their love and reverence for Aulë; and the gems ...
63
We have the following:
Per The Hobbit:
Kíli Dies at the Battle of Five Armies.
Fíli Dies at the Battle of Five Armies.
Thorin Dies at the Battle of Five Armies.
Of the twelve companions of Thorin, ten remained. Fíli and Kíli had fallen defending him with shield and body, for he was their mother's elder brother.
The Hobbit - Chapter 18: "The ...
63
They weren't continuously on their feet fighting orcs.
The lines you quote from the Book of Mazarbul, the last entries in that book written by Ori, are fairly short, only a few lines and definitely less than a page, but they form the record for a period of some days. Over the course of those days, in between skirmishes, the dwarves had time to retreat, ...
55
Because as Himarm mentions above, they couldn't be enslaved via the rings, and in fact (from Sauron's point of view) the only effects they had on the dwarves were positive:
For the Dwarves had proved untameable by this means. The only power over them that the Rings wielded was to inflame their hearts with a greed of gold and precious things, so that if ...
55
Per my comment above, in regards the first missing axe, there are at least 2-3 other dwarves at the Council of Elrond. It seems reasonable to assume that one of them would have been willing to lend Gimli an axe for the vital journey ahead.
Later in FotR we see him carrying at least 4 axes about his person; a longer "walking axe", 2 belt-mounted "throwing ...
51
You're forgetting things like the "endless stair"; the dwarves didn't just mine down in Moria, they built hugely in the mountains surrounding those mines as well. The lake of the lurker at the western gates is almost certainly artificial, originally used to drive mechanised production equipment like bellows and trip hammers in the mine/city of Dwarrowdelf.
...
46
There does not appear to be a general method for resolving disputes between races1, suggesting a lack of universally-recognized legal system (or treaties between the systems of different races).
We see this become a problem in The Hobbit, when the Dwarves, Elves, and Men of Dale decide to resolve the ownership Smaug's Horde using the time-honoured tradition ...
45
Overall Elves and Dwarves were mutually respectful, if not friendly, in the First Age:
Ever cool was the friendship between the Naugrim and the Eldar, though much profit they had one of the other; but at that time those griefs that lay between them had not yet come to pass, and King Thingol welcomed them. But the Naugrim gave their friendship more readily ...
44
Moria is old.
According to The Silmarillion, it was founded by Durin I sometime after the elves awoke, during the Years of the Trees. This was a time before there was recorded time, before there was a sun and a moon, when all light in Middle-Earth came from two magical trees that grew in the far west, in the land of the Valar.
Tolkien was unclear as to how ...
43
The common popularity of the phrase "dwarf toss" can be traced back to a single Australian bar, the earliest reference to which that I can find online is: March 05, 1985 Chicago tribune under the headline "The Dwarf Toss" reports "the most unusual tavern competition has to be the one that was held recently in an Australian bar. You may have read about it." - ...
34
But when they were cooked these roots proved good to eat, somewhat like bread; and the outlaws were glad of them, for they had long lacked bread save when they could steal it. ‘Wild Elves know them not; Grey-elves have not found them; the proud ones from over the Sea are too proud to delve,’ said Mĭm.
‘What is their name?’ said Turin.
Mĭm looked at ...
32
One the oldest tropes in fantasy literature, movies and television regarding dwarves is that they have Scottish accents and wield axes. Dwarves in fantasy literature are usually viewed as being great engineers, miners, architects builders and warriors. These characteristics are also commonly viewed as part of the stereotypical Scotsman. Dwarves with ...
31
First off, the Dwarves were involved in the war – Sauron had Erebor under attack at the same time as Gondor, though the books themselves mention it only indirectly:
'Now why did not we wish for some of our kinsfolk?' [said Gimli.]
Legolas stood before the gate and turned his bright eyes away north and east, and his fair face was troubled. 'I do ...
31
Why would Eitri be so unusually tall in the film, given that he's a dwarf
Plainly it is a joke that the "dwarf" is enormously tall.
Also part of the joke is that the actor playing the "giant dwarf" is Peter Dinklage, who is famously only 4 foot 5 inches tall due to his dwarfism, and that Dinklage has always resisted playing the typical "fantasy creature" ...
30
I think there's evidence on this. From the Appendices:
We have heard tell that Legolas took Gimli Glóin's son with him because of their great friendship, greater than any that has been between Elf and Dwarf. If this is true, then it is strange indeed: that a Dwarf should be willing to leave Middle-earth for any love, or that the Eldar should receive him, ...
29
No, in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, female dwarfs are bearded and indistinguishable from males. It's an homage to Tolkien, of course.
29
Between men and elves, it all seems pretty natural.
Peredhil are not infertile, and there's nothing to suggest they're conceived and born in anything other than the normal way. From Tolkien Gateway (emphasis mine):
Half-elven (Sindarin singular Peredhel, plural Peredhil), are the children of the union of Elves and Men. Half-elven are not a distinct race ...
28
Short answer:
If they looked like women, human or otherwise, they weren't Dwarf women.
Long answer:
From the movie; Gimli to Eowyn on the way to Helms Deep:
Gimli: It's true you don't see many Dwarf women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they are often mistaken for Dwarf men.
Aragorn: It's the beards.
Gimli: And ...
27
Dain, who becomes the ruler of Erebor after the death of Thorin, is mentioned several times in The Lord of the Rings. He is the one who sends Gloin and Gimli to Rivendell:
'And so I have been sent at last by Dain to warn Bilbo that he is sought by the Enemy, and to learn, if may be, why he desires this ring, this least of rings. Also we crave the advice ...
26
As it was originally tagged LoTR dwarfs:
Lord of The Rings
In The War of the Jewels , Tolkien wrote:
"no Man nor Elf has ever seen a beardless Dwarf - unless he were shaven in mockery, and would then be more like to die of shame... For the Naugrim have beards from the beginning of their lives, male and female alike..."
And to add now that the tag has ...
26
Let's begin by correcting what appears to be a misunderstanding: In the book, at least (I don't remember about the movie), Aragorn, not Boromir, is the one chosen as the representative of Men. Boromir is chosen simply because he and Aragorn happen to be going the same way as the Fellowship:
"I thought you were going to Minas Tirith with Boromir."
"I ...
23
You can trace their association back to Norse mythology:
Dvergar or Norse dwarves (Old Norse dvergar, sing. dvergr) are entities in Norse mythology associated with rocks, the earth, deathliness, luck, technology, craft, metal work, wisdom, and greed.
I should point out that the pluralization of "Dwarf" spelled as "Dwarves" is a Tolkien invention.
23
In Appendix F, Tolkien suggests that "dwarfs" has become associated with more childish stories, so his use of "dwarves" is meant to disassociate his race from the others (bold is my emphasis, italic is Tolkien's):
It may be observed that in this book as in The Hobbit the form dwarves is used, although the dictionaries tell us that the plural of dwarf is ...
22
Other than Gimli, I assume?
The Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain came to the aid of Laketown against the forces of Sauron.
From Appendix B:
At the same time as the great armies besieged Minas Tirith a host of the allies of Sauron that had long threatened the borders of King Brand crossed the River Carnen, and Brand was driven back to Dale. There he had ...
22
The Mountain did indeed have a main entrance, which the Dwarves called "the Front Gate". However, the point of the Dwarves bringing Bilbo was that, as far as they knew, the dragon was still alive and active. This could have posed a problem for their entrance:
... We none of us liked the idea of the Front Gate. The river runs right out of it through the ...
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