Dwarf shortage

[Mithalwen]

Tolkien says hobbits coult be up to fourfoot normally a little shorter than dwarves. The Bullroarer was four foot five and only Merry and Pippin were taller. Now Tolkien notes that they were halflings related full Numenorean height which had diminished by the end of the third age though Aragorn was still very talll at about six foot six and Boromir a couple of inches shorter. Now Tolkien tends to make his central charactwers tall for their kind and the higher status characters tend to be literally higher so it would be conitent if Frodo Merry and Pippin as high born hobbits were closer to four foot than three even pre ent draught and so closer to two thirds than half the height of the men and elves.

[Zigûr]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

Tolkien says hobbits coult be up to fourfoot normally a little shorter than dwarves. The Bullroarer was four foot five and only Merry and Pippin were taller.

So they were, the Prologue says two to four feet and not, as I thought, two to three. Evidently my Hobbit-lore is not up to scratch! "An obscure branch of knowledge, but full of surprises" indeed.

[Mithalwen]

Verily and there is the comment that they now seldom pass three feet which is misleading unless you keep the translator conceit firmly in mind and remember that he means at the time of Tolkien "translating" the red book rather than when the events recorded took place.