The Races Of Tolkien

Here are some of the races in the works of Tolkien that I like best, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and the Silmarillion. It is inevitable that I will leave a few out, so if you would like to see your favorite race described, send me an email to beleg@eudoramail.com with the name of the race, and the description you would like to see. If I use your description I will give you credit on this page. To learn more than what I have, read the books.

The "Good" Races

Druedain

Short Men that were about four feet tall, but very broad. They had heavy set faces with flat noses and no hair below their eyebrows, except a few with stubble on their chin of which they were emminsely proud. Their skin was very dark. They were not Edain, but never worshipped Morgoth or Sauron. They were very skilled in a wood. Very few were left by the end of the third age, just those in the Druedain forest.

Dwarves

Half the height of men but very heavily built. Strong and durable would be a good way to describe them. Always wore long beards, known for their mining and metalwork, especially weapons and armor. Known for their greed of gold and their crudeness, but some were quite decent folk. Descended from the seven elder fathers, with the oldest being Durin. The dwarfish language was known by very few people of other races, and their true names were only known to those of their own race, it was not even put on their grave stone. Though some Dwarves were quite evil, the dwarves in the Hobbit and LOTR were on the side of good, and as a whole, dwarves weren't an evil race, though they had a very long feud with the Elves because of the Silmarils, but to learn about this feud read the Silmarillion. (One of my favorite races).

Elves

To just say a little about elves would take a lot, so I will keep this brief. Elves are slightly taller than men, but less muscular. They are a very beautiful race, with excellent singing voices. They are as a race immortal, as in they can't die of old age, but they can be killed. The are the "firstborn" children of Illivutar. They are allowed to leave the miseries of Middle-Earth by sailing to Elvenhome in the west from the Gray Havens. Elves are very wise and keen in "magic". The High-Elves are those that lived in Valinor while the light of the Two Trees still shone; The Elves of Twilight saw the light of the Trees, but returned to Middle-Earth, ere the Trees were destroyed: The Dark Elves never saw the light of the Trees.

Ents

 An Ent is by far one of the toughest races to describe in Tolkien's works. They are in there for a short amount of time, and not a whole lot is said about them. Eru created Ents at the summons of the Valar before the dark times in order to protect the woods from Morgoth and his minions.

Half-Elves

Half-Elves are the descendants of Beren(human) and Luthien(Elf-maiden) that chose to become immortal. They are usually larger than normal Elves, but in other ways they are exactly the same.

Hobbits

 The main characters in The Hobbit (of course) and LOTR. They are about the same height as dwarves, but much smaller built. They have long, nimble fingers and toes, almost always have curly hair, both on their head and feet, and they have tough leathery feet, so they rarely wear shoes. They tend to be fat, enjoying 6 meals a day when they can get them. Their faces are jovial rather than beautiful. They always enjoy a good jest. (I know that is almost exactly how Tolkien describes them, but it seemed fitting.) Hobbits are very intriguing, mainly in the point that there beginning is never clearly defined, and if you know it, email it to me. All other races seem to be given a historical beginning, except hobbits. The main thing to know about hobbits is that they are made of tougher stuff than they seem to be made of.

Istari

 The Istari, or wizards, have a lot of mystery to them. They were Maia sent from the West to help in the long struggle with Sauron. There seem to have been five originally, but two are never really mentioned. They were all put into mortal bodies upon coming to Middle-Earth, similar to Elves, they did not grow old, but they could be killed. If you have more information contact me.

Maiar

 Servants of the Valar, or just lesser Valar. They were very powerful and nearly immortal, as in they never grow old, and it takes a whole lot to destroy one. There isn't much to say about Maiar, except for the Istari, Balrogs, and Sauron, they play very minor roles.

Men

 Simply, just like us. They are men. Some were evil, but I list them here because the Good come first in the list, and you need to know that some men are good. If you would like more breeds of men listed than I have, email me. beleg@eudoramail.com Include either the name of the type of man, and/or a brief description if you don't know the name.

Numenorean (Men of the West)

These were Elf-friends. The Kings of Men as they were called. The kings of the Numenorean were descended from Beren and Luthien. Unlike the Half-Elven, the Numenorean kings decided to keep their mortality, but they received a long life span, and other physical benefits. The complete history can be found in the "Unfinished Tales of Numenor", and some can be found at the end of "The Return of the King"

Valar

The Valar were the "Gods" of Middle-Earth. They live in Valinor and basically were the ones who shaped Middle-Earth. They are the most powerful beings that have been in Middle-Earth, but now never come there.

The "Evil" Races

Balrogs

Maiar that were enlisted by Morgoth in the beginning of his power. They are quite large, maybe four or five times the height of a man. They possibly have large wings on their back, it is not clear. They are strong in magic and are quite an opposing force. Balrogs are my favorite beings from Tolkien, if you would like to know more about Balrogs check out Middle-Earth Encyclopedia/Balrogs.

Dragons

Pretty much the same as most mythical dragons; fire breathing, gold hoarding, evil to the core. They love riddling talk, as Bilbo found out. Created by Morgoth in his second reign of evil to combat the Elves. They usually have a week spot.

Easterlings and Men of Harad

Two types of men that fight for evil in Tolkien's tales. Though not all of these men were evil, they fought on Sauron's in a couple of wars, so I put them in the evil category.

Orcs or Goblins

The most numerous creation of Morgoth. They are a little larger than dwarves, and quite ugly. They were made in mockery of Elves in Morgoth's first reign. Most live underground and cannot stand the light.

RingWraiths

These could be said to be Sauron's evil examples of wizards, except the RingWraiths were in Middle-Earth before the Istari. They were once evil men who were consumed by the rings given them until they became nothing but shadows. They are all powerful sorcerers, though not created by Sauron truly, they are his doing.

Trolls

Extremely large, Morgoth's mockery of Ents. Most cannot come out into sunlight because they will turn to stone, though some of Sauron's evil breed could.

Wargs and Wolves

Basically, highly intelligent, large versions of what we know as wolves. Made by Morgoth in his first reign. Wargs are just an extremely large breed of Wolf. They work with Orcs sometimes.