Dwalin the Dwarf

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Of course, the most likely explanation is dormitat Homerus- the Appendices in fact contain numerous mistakes, especially as Tolkien assembled them in a dreadful rush, with public and publisher clamouring for The Return of ther King.

Can we take the published age of Dwarves as a true indication of their potential life-span when so many of them died in battle, not of old age?.

Tolkien covered the lifespan of Dwarves in an essay published in HME vol XII. In it he declared that once they reached maturity, Dwarves aged little if at all until about the age of 240- after which they declined very rapidly, say in a decade or so, and died, 250 therfore being a typical lifespan. In fact, if you review those Dwarves in the family tree not said to have been killed, they all come within a very few years of 250 plus or minus...save Dwalin.

This BTW is the same essay in which he declares positively what had long been surmised- that Dwarf-women do indeed have beards just like the menfolk. Also, interestingly, that baldness is unknown among the Dwarves (sorry, Disney).