[symestreem]

Originally Posted by narfforc

President Bush is quite small, and unfortunately one of the most powerful men on the planet.

He's 5'11"... I'd hate to see what you think of my height!

Also, here's an interesting article I found when searching for the President's height.

Getting back to the original topic, it's possible that Tolkien did this deliberately, but a lot of the examples listed by Thinlomien are merely logical.

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

We have Faramir, who is said to be taller than his companions.

In ROTK, I believe, it said that the blood of Numenor ran "nearly true" in Faramir, whereas his companions would have been of lesser lineage. Thus it makes sense that he would have been taller. In the same way, Aragorn is logically taller than Boromir because he is of the Dunedain and part-elven.

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

We have Éomer, who is the tallest of his éored.

Eomer was also of Gondorian descent, through his grandmother Morwen Steelsheen.

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

We have Galadriel, the most powerful elf in Middle-Earth, who is very tall for a woman.

Wasn't this description given in FOTR, which was ultimately recorded by Frodo? She is tall for a woman, but not necessarily for an elf. It makes sense for an elven woman to be taller than a mortal one.

The other examples may be chance, or Tolkien might be trying to make a point... but in his stories, might doesn't equal right. It's not a clear parallel of the Stone Age days when the tallest, strongest man often led the tribe. Purity of heart and courage count for much more than height-- as other posters have already pointed out, two of the shortest people in Middle-earth had more of these qualities than some of the tallest men.

My theory is that by making people tall Tolkien was trying to emphasize their noble heritage, in the case of the men, and in the elves, indicate that the blood of their parents ran true in them, and that they had received their favorable traits.