Editing Dwarf (section)

=Historical Comparison=
On the whole Dwarves across fiction tend to have the following tendencies...

* Are typically employed in metal related artisanry rather than as agricultural workers
** Additionally in fantasy settings with technology on higher level (warhammer fantasy is a good example) Dwarves are typically the ones with the most advanced. If any one has gun powder, they do. 
* Tend to live in tightly-knit relatively insular communities and have interconnected extended families.
* Despite that, these communities work in conjunction and are dependent on other peoples (ale is made from barley, which - like all plants - tends not to grow well at the bottom of a mine without sunlight) which generally outnumber them, trading their metalworks and other products in exchange for food.
* While they can speak the languages of others that surround them quite well, they usually use their own language amongst themselves
* Are conservative (in that their society is the way that they like it, thank you very much, and seldom change it, if ever)
* Tend to put a great amount of emphasis on the written word
* Often have their communities come under assault by [[Orc|stupid brutish morons]]
* Grow long beards (depending on the universe, women included)
* Generally are a declining race having suffered some disaster at their golden age and are slowly dying off.

As such, if one thinks in terms of historical analogues, Dwarves come across as early Germanics, Australians and, in a more [[Tolkien]]-influenced work, Jews. Tolkien said that his "dwarves of course are quite obviously - wouldn't you say that in many ways they remind you of the Jews? Their words are Semitic obviously, constructed to be Semitic." The comparison was largely a stylistic choice - semitic languages are quite different in structure from Indo-European languages (being a linguist, he put a lot of thought into his made-up languages), while thematically, the loss of Erebor and the exile of Thorin's people resembled the plight of the post-Roman Jewish diaspora. Of course, [[SJW|some people]] suggest that the real reason for the comparison was racist in nature - both dwarves and the stereotype of Jews are that they're greedy. Tolkien however made it a point that his characters, while just as fallible as any other human being, were ultimately heroic and honorable.

On the other hand, much of Dwarven culture, like most aspects of Tolkien's major races, derives from early Germanic culture - Tolkien's Dwarves are even named after Dwarves from Norse mythology; nearly all dwarven names come directly from the Norse Eddas. In many fantasy universes, they tend to ape Scandinavian culture much more directly, which is fitting, considering the mythology they come from. [[Warhammer Fantasy|Even if there are already]] [[Warriors of Chaos|Scandinavian]] [[Warhammer Fantasy|people in the setting]].

Another common historical analogue are Celts, in particular Scots, living in clans, in the mountains, full of berserker rage when angered, hospitable when not, gruff, wear horned helmets, are drunkards, short, grippy with money, brew the strongest ales, skilled artificers and usually starters of anything remotely resembling industrialization, are fond of Celtic knotwork and of course speak in Scottish accents like many depictions of dwarves.

Of note is is the spelling: Dwarves VS Dwarfs. when in doubt, look for how it's used in the setting involved. Nearly everyone uses the first spelling when regarding the fantasy creature. The Dwarfs variation is mainly used in astronomy, biology (dwarfism), the Snow White animation movie, the Discworld novels, and the [[Warhammer_Fantasy_Battle|WFB]] race. The latter is actually the original, more common version. Tolkien viewed 'dwarfs' rather unsightly, and coined 'dwarves' (paralleling elf-> elves, and wolf -> wolves. Related: milf -> milves). Usually, Dwarf is the singular, Dwarves is the plural.
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