Who is the tallest? More Heat than Light on Height in Tolkien’s World by oshun

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Chapter 1

I owe a great debt of gratitude to IgnobleBard again for providing Beta services on this essay. He's a hero. He should be seven feet tall at least!

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This is for the SWG “Solve a Problem” canon challenge. Ever since I first came around the Silmarillion fandom (approximately thirteen years ago) the question of height among Tolkien’s Elves and Men, particularly the Númenóreans, has often been hotly discussed. Observations on the physical stature of the Noldorin Elves have compared them to the Sindar and often referenced the Men (Edain) of Beleriand and those of Númenor. The degree of specificity in this interest—an attempt to calculate exact feet and inches—has irritated me beyond reason. But one can hardly blame the readers and fans, Tolkien himself contributed to this thirst for exactness.

Under most circumstances, I am unlikely to get my knickers in a twist over the extraordinary height of heroes or villains in fairy tales, myths, or legends. Tolkien’s legendarium, however, mimics an in-world real history at times to an unexpected degree. While you will not hear me ranting about the improbable size of Paul Bunyan and his big blue ox, I have been known to whine about the unrealistic picture of eight-feet tall Númenóreans.

If I could conceal any details of Tolkien’s unfinished canon, I would start with exact references to height. As they used to say in the old LotR fandom way back when (I’m talking about the early 2000s), “it just really throws me out of the story.” I imagine one of these eight-feet-plus characters riding a horse, feet dragging along the ground. It conjures up for me visions of Maedhros the Tall squatting awkwardly on his haunches in order to talk to other Elves, Dwarves or Men. (So much for me being able to visualize an image of beautiful Maitimo, the "Well-shaped One,” so named by his mother Nerdanel in recognition of his comeliness.[1]) Although I am quite sure this was not Tolkien’s intent, it threatens to transform him in my mind’s eye from physically beautiful into a frightening giant like those who populate such tales as Jack and the Beanstalk or perhaps a monstrous creature similar to the Cyclops in Homer’s Odyssey snacking on Odysseus’ shipmates. My solution is simply to think of Maedhros as noticeably taller than average. Perhaps this is an individual reader placing personal preference over authorial intent (or maybe not).

Maedhros is said to have had a most important collaborative relationship with the renowned Azaghâl Lord of the Dwarves of Belegost. It is difficult also for me to imagine this mighty warrior of minimal height with a head and shoulders big enough to go into battle wearing the famous Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin. Trying to visualize the head that would support that particular helm in combination with such relatively short stature becomes a stretch of credibility for me that reaches into the “uncanny valley” (but more on that later).

In contrast, I have no problem accepting Beowulf, who is depicted as physically huge in the text. When the hero disembarks to provide aid against the monster Grendel, it is written that never has been seen “a mightier man-at-arms on this earth than the one standing here” and a bit later he is further described as having “the strength of thirty in the grip of each hand.”[2] Truly, Beowulf is one implausibly large-sized warrior/hero. But Beowulf’s tale is not constructed with hyper-realistic elements. (That unknown poet thankfully spares us exact units of measurement.) Tolkien observes that the poet constructs a story out of traditional stories and legend.

He [Tolkien] assumed that the poet had felt his way through the inherited material—the fabulous elements and the traditional accounts of an heroic past—and by a combination of creative intuition and conscious structuring had arrived at a unity of effect and a balanced order. He assumed, in other words, that the Beowulf poet was an imaginative writer rather than some kind of back-formation derived from nineteenth-century folklore and philology.[3]

Tolkien’s histories of Middle-earth differ from, and also resemble at times, tall tales (no pun intended), embellished myth, or bards’ renderings of oral history that have long shifted from reality into legend. Tolkien presents his readers with a subcreation that includes a world composed of a wealth of realistic detail, maps and geography, genealogy and languages. He carefully constructs this world so that when the narrator introduces Elven magic or the multitude of physical manifestations of Morgoth’s dark malice we are usually ready to accept these at face value. Readers of The Lord of the Rings are famously able to imagine themselves on a Sunday afternoon walk in the countryside of our primary world and feel they could round a verdant path and find they have stepped into Arda. (Whence spring forth unnumbered stories on ff.net of “girl falls into Middle-earth.”)

Creating a plausible fantasy world is difficult, however. Even the most predisposed readers of fantasy fiction require some strong persuasion. Once such a spell is woven, they do not want to be jerked out of it by their own too critical mind. Tolkien says it better than I can.

Fantasy, of course, starts out with an advantage: arresting strangeness. . . .  Fantasy has also an essential drawback: it is difficult to achieve. . . . Anyone inheriting the fantastic device of human language can say the green sun. Many can then imagine or picture it. But that is not enough -- though it may already be a more potent thing than many a 'thumbnail sketch' or 'transcript of life' that receives literary praise.

To make a Secondary World inside which the green sun will be credible, commanding Secondary Belief, will probably require labour and thought, and will certainly demand a special skill, a kind of elvish craft. Few attempt such difficult tasks. But when they are attempted and in any degree accomplished then we have a rare achievement of Art: indeed narrative art, story-making in its primary and most potent mode.”[4]

Tolkien’s subcreation offers a world replete with evolving languages, a complex creation story, peoples with long histories, families with inherited characteristics and sturdy family trees with a multitude of branches. This specificity of detail can suspend a lot of disbelief. But start giving feet and inches for the exact height of the implausibly tall fictional characters peopling that world and my own conviction is shaken. Less is more to me under such circumstances. I am not alone. Nevertheless, there are other readers who enjoy those overly specific, to me, discussions of feet and inches. 

The internet is filled with discussions of the question of character height in Tolkien’s works. Much of such discussion references feet and inches while others touch upon authorial motivation. Matthew Bailey notes on a debate on The Tolkien Forum that “Tolkien uses Norse and Finnish Elves as the Template for the Elves of Middle-earth, as well as the Elves of Beowulf and the Saxons, where such Elves were very tall, otherworldly beings.”[5]

Nonetheless, to imagine these Noldor or later Men of Númenor hitting their heads on door frames or riding one-ton or heavier draft horses, which could be perhaps strong enough but probably still a little on the short side takes away from my ability to accept and empathize with these characters. Making them unusually tall does not necessarily make them awesomely impressive. I can, however, relate to Tolkien wanting to distinguish his Elves from tiny woodland sprites buzzing around like humming birds. “He [Tolkien] disliked the word [fairy], as a borrowing from French—the English word is “elf”—and he also disliked the whole Victorian cult of fairies as little, pretty, ineffective creatures, prone to being co-opted into the service of moral tales for children. . .”[6]

The Professor wanted his Eldar to be tall and strong.

In Tolkien’s earliest description of the Noldor (or Gnomes as he first named them) in The Book of Lost Tales, Tolkien writes that they are “tall, fair of skin and grey-eyed, though their locks were dark, save in the golden house of Finrod….” Christopher Tolkien opines in his notes that these characteristics were not actually meant to apply to all of the Eldar but the Noldor only.[7] Fëanor the greatest of the Noldor is unsurprisingly described as “tall, and fair of face, and masterful, his eyes piercingly bright and his hair raven-dark.”[8]

There are so many references to the very tall or tallest that I cannot mention them all. Because I am writing this for a monthly challenge, I do not have time to treat the subject of height in Tolkien’s legendarium with the seriousness it deserves. But I will pass onto my readers the names at least of some of those very tall people and the circumstances under which this element is raised.

Thingol of Doriath is also said to have been extraordinarily tall. The texts are unclear as to whether he awakened or was born tall or if he acquired his amazing height in connection with his association with Melian the Maia. After disappearing in the forest on the long march to the sea, when Thingol finally reappears he has changed.

His people gathered about him in joy, and they were amazed; for fair and noble as he had been, now he appeared as it were a lord of the Maiar, his hair as grey silver, tallest of all the Children of Ilúvatar; and a high doom was before him.[9]

Women among the Eldar are noted to be tall as well. Aredhel, the sister of Fingon and daughter of Fingolfin, was said to have been “younger in the years of the Eldar than her brothers; and when she was grown to full stature and beauty she was tall and strong, and loved much to ride and hunt in the forests.”[10] Her cousin Galadriel, of course, is “tall beyond the measure even of the women of the Noldor; she was strong of body, mind, and will, a match for both the loremasters and the athletes of the Eldar in the days of their youth."[11] Later, in The Lord of the Rings, we are told both Galadriel and Celeborn are tall, “Very tall they were, and the Lady no less tall than the Lord; and they were grave and beautiful.”[12]

Turgon is said to be very tall also. In the tale of Tuor in Unfinished Tales, we read Christopher Tolkien’s account of Turgon and his domain found in his father’s unpublished notes.

A description of Gondolin was to follow, of the stairs up to its high platform, and its great gate; of the mounds (this word is uncertain) of mallorns, birches, and evergreen trees; of the Place of the Fountain, the King’s tower on a pillared arcade, the King’s house, and the banner of Fingolfin. Now Turgon himself would appear, ‘tallest of all the Children of the World, save Thingol’, with a white and gold sword in a ruel-bone (ivory) sheath, and welcome Tuor.[13]

Naturally, Turgon’s grandmother Indis was tall also. “Now it came to pass that Finwë took as his second wife Indis the Fair. She was a Vanyar, close kin of Ingwë the High King, golden-haired and tall, and in all ways unlike Míriel.”[14] Well, that makes one wonder if Míriel was shorter, or if Indis was more psychological stable, or both? 

In Unfinished Tales, we read that the infant Tuor, son of Huor of the people of Hador, was given into the care of Elves to be raised. “He was fair of face and golden-haired after the manner of his father’s kin. He became strong and tall and valiant, and being fostered by the Elves acquired lore and skill not less than that of the princes of the Edain, before ruin came upon the North.”[15]

Tuor’s grandfather Galdor the Tall had been noted for his exceptional height (and valor, of course).[16] He led the people of Hador during their glory days before they were scattered and all but destroyed by their devastating losses at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. Galdor himself had died before that tragic battle defending the great fortress at Eithel Sirion. Within this most illustrious family among the First Age Edain, their leaders are known as tall and valorous, as though those two characteristics—one physical and the other indicative of noble spirit and moral fiber—are inextricably joined. To be tall is often stated in Tolkien legendarium as though it in itself is worthy of admiration or a sign of goodness. (Of course, this is not always true—villains can be big as well. Nothing or no one is comparable in size to the greatest of all dragons Ancalagon the Black.[17] See my biography of Ancalagon the Black for additional yammering on the size question.)

Speaking of these tall, strong, mortal Men brings us to the history of the famous Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin. The helm was gifted to Maedhros the Tall by the strong and heroic Azaghâl Lord of the Dwarves of Belegost. Tall as Maedhros was, he did not have the head and shoulders to carry it. Azaghâl was not tall, but a giant in heart and spirit. And, most significantly in this case, he must have had a massive head and shoulders. (Does this mean poor Maitimo had an unusually small head for his size? Not seriously! Never mind me—I am really trying to buy this stuff. I want to. I love these stories.)

Being unable to wear the helm, Maedhros gifted it to his dearest of friends Fingon. One cannot help but wonder if this gift was presented somewhat tongue-in-cheek, an affectionate joke if you will. Tall as he was, Maedhros was not big and strong enough to bear it, so it is unlikely Fingon would have been. Yet it was a splendid gift, with magical qualities. Additionally, its crest was crafted in the image of the head of Glaurung—the very same firedrake that Fingon had triumphed over when he was little more than a baby dragon and had driven back into his lair. Fingon, never to be daunted by something as trifling as an unusable gift, found someone who could use and appreciate it. He gave it to Hador, another big guy, the father of the previously mentioned Galdor the Tall.

Maedhros afterwards sent it as a gift to Fingon, with whom he often exchanged tokens of friendship, remembering how Fingon had driven Glaurung back to Angband. But in all Hithlum no head and shoulders were found stout enough to bear the dwarf-helm with ease, save those of Hador and his son Galdor. Fingon, therefore, gave it to Hador, when he received the lordship of Dor-lómin.[18]

Galdor passed the famous helm to his son Húrin who seldom wore it. Húrin was shorter and smaller than his antecedents but kept the helm as an heirloom. After Húrin was captured by Morgoth, his wife Morwen sent it to Doriath with young Túrin who matured to be big and strong enough to wear it. He ran off from Doriath without it, but Beleg tracked him down and gave it back to him. Túrin a fierce warrior was a terrifying opponent clad in his magic helm. The formidable team of Beleg and Túrin became known as "the Bow and the Helm." The last thing we read about the dragon-helm is that Túrin wore it during the tragic Battle of Tumhalad where the host of Nargothrond was defeated by Morgoth’s forces. The helm alone allowed Túrin to escape the battlefield alive.[19]

Finally, we get to the good part (or the bad part, depending upon one’s taste and inclinations)—the startling heights of the Númenóreans. In Unfinished Tales, Tolkien spends several paragraphs detailing Númenórean linear measurements and talking about height—the appendix that launched thousands of words about height and the Númenóreans within the Tolkien fandom.

Account has to be taken both of the great stature of the Númenóreans (since hands, feet, fingers and paces are likely to be the origin of names of units of length), and also of the variations from these averages or norms in the process of fixing and organising a measurement system both for daily use and for exact calculations.[20]

The average height of latter-day Númenóreans, those rangers of the north, including Aragorn, and Éomer (because Tolkien says so and he is of mixed Rohirrim and Dúnedain ancestry), was over two Rangar or 6 feet 4 inches (that would be 193.04 centimeters).[21] That is tall but does not nearly enter the uncanny valley for me. My high school boyfriend (basketball player) was six feet 4 inches, as are Jason Momoa, Alexander Skarsgård, and Liam Neeson, while Chris Hemsworth is a shade shorter at 6 feet 3 inches (and he was big enough to play Thor). But when one hits 7 feet, I think of professional basketball players and only a few of those. Brushing 8 feet (243.84 centimeters) like Elendil and serious health issues come into my mind unbidden and I cannot get rid of them. And remember, Elendil was born well after the Númenóreans were shrinking in height. 

Tolkien writes of Númenóreans diminishing in height after coming to Middle-earth also.

The dwindling of the Dúnedain was not a normal tendency, shared by peoples whose proper home was Middle-earth; but due to the loss of their ancient land far in the West, nearest of all mortal lands to the Undying Realm.[22]

And she closes, not with a bang but a whimper. This essay was written not to convince anyone of my opinion—actually it’s not really an opinion but a reaction. I have been torturing my friends with my knee-jerk reaction to this question for as long as I have been active in the Tolkien fandom.

I would like to conclude with a defense of Tolkien’s position from a long-time participant in the Tolkien fandom Michael Martinez who has shown a remarkable capacity to discuss, explain, raise, and defend all manner of minutiae to be found in Tolkien’s writings. In these cases, he may often come close to authorial intent, if that is important to one.

So what is the significance of height among Númenoreans? It is most certainly a sign of nobility and God’s grace, a gift bestowed upon the Númenoreans as a reward for their ancestors’ deeds against Morgoth. But this was also one of the gifts that was retracted from the Númenoreans after their rebellion. And Tolkien also seems to imply that Númenor itself bestowed some of these gifts upon its inhabitants. This is a point most people overlook. The Númenoreans lose their years and extra height after returning to Middle-earth at least in part because that is the nature of Middle-earth itself. 

I don’t think there is some subconscious message from Tolkien that means “tall men are better than short men”.  I just think he recognized that tall men are more likely to be leaders and he made his “Kings of Men” tall and leaderly, until they behaved badly.[23]

I did want to give him the last word. He has invested much more of his life in these discussions than I have. In fact, as one can see, I am much more likely to dismiss them.

Someday I will write something about how I feel about fandom discussions of Glorfindel’s horse and whether he should wear tack or not. Why not?

 

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[1] The Peoples of Middle-earth, The Shibboleth of Fëanor.

[2] Beowulf, (Bilingual Edition) [Seamus Heaney translation.] “Introduction.” W. W. Norton & Company. Kindle Edition.

[3] Ibid.

[4] “On Fairy-Stories.” The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1983.

[5] Matthew Bailey, discussion thread of “The Stature of Elves,” The Tolkien Forum, 27 June 2016. < https://www.thetolkienforum.com/threads/the-stature-of-elves.21239/>, accessed 15 August 2019.

[6] Tolkien, J.R.R. Tales from the Perilous Realm, “Introduction.” HMH Books. Kindle Edition.

[7] The Book of Lost Tales: Part One, Christopher Tolkien’s notes.

[8] The Silmarillion, “Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor.”

[9] The Silmarillion, “Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië.”

[10] The Silmarillion, "Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië."

[11] Unfinished Tales, History of Galadriel and Celeborn.

[12] The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Mirror of Galadriel."

[13] Unfinished Tales, “Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin,” footnote 31.

[14] The Silmarillion, "Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor."

[15] Unfinished Tales, Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin.

[16] The Silmarillion, "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin."

[17] The Silmarillion, "Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath."

[18] Unfinished Tales, Narn i Hîn Húrin.

[19] Ibid.

[20] Unfinished Tales, "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields," "Appendix: Númenórean Linear Measures."

[21] Ibid.

[22] Ibid.

[23] Michael Martinez, Questions and Answers, “What is the Significance of Height Among Númenoreans?” 28 July 2016 < https://middle-earth.xenite.org/what-is-the-significance-of-height-among-numenoreans/>. Accessed 15 August 2019.