"Races of Middle Earth"

[Awar]

J.R.R Tolkien wrote THE LORD of the RINGS. Most of us have read this, probably multiple times.

My question is: Have you ever wondered which human sub-races inspired Tolkien to develop his own image of the races who populate his world of Middle Earth.

The ones that spring to mind while reading LOTR, at least to me, would be:

Elves: Halstatt Nordic
Orcs: Turanid/UP
Hobbits: Alpinid
Riders of Rohan: Kurganid
Humans of Gondor: Dinarid
Haradrim: Mediterranean/Indic

There are more, so please add them to the list.

( I didn't know where to put this thread, so I put it in the lounge.)

[Pomor]

J.R.R Tolkien wrote THE LORD of the RINGS. Most of us have read this, probably multiple times.

My question is: Have you ever wondered which human sub-races inspired Tolkien to develop his own image of the races who populate his world of Middle Earth.

Nah, you got it all wrong Hobbits are Borrebies (but very small ones), humans - Nordic/UP, Elves - Nordic, Orcs - Mongols, Nazguls - some Middle Easterners.

[Awar]

Alpinids ARE small borrebys.

[Pomor]

Alpinids ARE small borrebys.

They are much lighter in pigmentation though.

[cosmocreator]

They are much lighter in pigmentation though.

Alpinids vary in pigmentation. They can be very fair in NW Europe and darken as one moves east into Asia.

[Loki]

Riders of Rohan: Kurganid

I'd say Scandinavian/Nordic/Viking rather.

[Grimr]

What about Dwarves? and the race that the Wizards like Gandalf belong to?

[Awar]

Yeah, I forgot about dwarves!
They are short ( but much taller than Hobbits ) stocky, rufous, with heavy facial and body hair growth, usually copper-haired.....

Ainu!

I think wizards are not a race, but just powerful beings put on earth by the gods. At least that's what I got from Silmarilion. I imagine Gandalf as some Iranian Aryan, tall-stature, wide shoulders, hook-nosed etc.

BTW. I don't want to ruin it for you, but.....did you know that the Tolkien family were Jews from Austria ( before they adopted catholicism and moved to Britain )...

[Allenson]

I'd say Scandinavian/Nordic/Viking rather.

Yes and their speech was undoubtedly Olde Englisc. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Rohirrim have always struck me as Saxons-come-Scythians. Saxon in speech and perhaps phenotype and Scythian in their horsemanship and husbandry as well as their dwelling in a steppe-like clime and environment.

The Haradrim were certainly heading in a Negroid direction. The Variags of Khand (Easterlings) were likely Mongoloidish perhaps based on Huns.

I disagree with the Elf/Nordic correlation. The Elves were of course not Men and therefore to me, cannot be representative of any subtype. Also, they were quite often black-haired.

Hobbits also had several different stocks and Tolkien described them as just diminutive Men. So, they are likely Alpinish....although the Shire is representative of the English countryside and I don't believe there to be many Alpines in England.... I think the Dwarves are more akin to Alpines.

Orcs were originally Elves that Melkor/Morgoth captured and twisted into their horrible form.

I'm not sure about the Numenoreans. Their civilization has echoes of classical, Med civilization with of course, the Atlantis model in use. I forget how he described the Men of Numenor. I'm re-reading the Silmarillion now so when I get to the section on the Numenorians, I will report what I find like a good little racial soldier.

Of course Grima Wormtongue was a Jew.


p.s. My new avatar was drawn by the master himself and was the symbol for the House of Finglofin of the Noldor.

[Allenson]

BTW. I don't want to ruin it for you, but.....did you know that the Tolkien family were Jews from Austria ( before they adopted catholicism and moved to Britain )...

Where the hell did you hear that one?

They were from Germany, BTW.