Fattest of the Dwarves

[Mithalwen]

Faramir Jones is an expert on Lalia. But Dwarves are generally larger so probably once they had reached the point of being so fat they could not move, Bombur probably was larger. But Lalia seems to have been less active and mobile through more of her life whereaa Bombur was more or less able to keep up. When he wasn't enchanted.

[Faramir Jones]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

Faramir Jones is an expert on Lalia. But Dwarves are generally larger so probably once they had reached the point of being so fat they could not move, Bombur probably was larger. But Lalia seems to have been less active and mobile through more of her life whereaa Bombur was more or less able to keep up. When he wasn't enchanted.

Thanks for the compliment, Mithalwen.

According to Tolkien's 'Prologue' in LotR, Hobbits are a little people 'smaller than Dwarves: less stout and stocky, that is, even when they are not actually much shorter'. (My emphasis) Hobbits vary, he says, between 2 to 4 feet in height.

Let us assume that both Lalia and Bombur are of average height for their respective races, making Bombur taller. It would seem, from this information alone, that a fat dwarf like Bombur was relatively fatter than a fat hobbit like Lalia.

But we have further information making this difference clear. You, Tuor in Gondolin, gave the correct information that Lalia was, towards the end of her life, 'so fat she couldn't walk and was confined to a wheelchair'. However, according to information given by Gloin to Frodo in Rivendell in 3018, Bombur, towards the end of his life, was 'now so fat that he could not move himself from his couch to his chair at table, and it took six young dwarves to lift him'. It seems, therefore, that Bombur was certainly relatively fatter, needing six young dwarves to move him around, while Lalia needed only one young hobbit (Pearl, Pippin's sister) to move her around.

[Mithalwen]

Yes but as we all know it is easier to push something on wheels rather than to carry it which is why airports are thick with wheelycases and the mini trolleys so popular at supermarkets. Odd as a side note that the hobbits had wheelchairs at their disposal while dwarves who I would have thought were relatively technically advanced seem to have moved Bombur on a litter. Also events seem to indicate that one young, female hobbit was not up to the task. Nevertheless for reasons previously stated I concur that Bombur was likely bigger.

[Morthoron]

The debate shall never cease,
As both of their weights increased.
They each kept getting fatter,
So what is the matter
with agreeing they're equally obese?

[Inziladun]

Though Hobbits they say
Can pack it away
And eat til the cows come home,
Bombur would exclaim
'If a cow to me came
My belly would soon be a dome!'

[Morthoron]

Lalia was so morbidly fat,
In a wheeled chair she sat.
But Bombur was so large
He was carried in a barge,
Lifted by ten dwarves at that!

[Inziladun]

Good-natured debate
continued til late
O'er Hobbit and Dwarven largeness,
Then Forlong stepped in,
And grinning a grin,
Said '"The Fat" is how I'm addressed!'

[Galadriel55]

As both fatties munched on their bread,
The gossip of their sizes has spread.
Within sixteen lines, the tales grew bigger,
And the rumours soon grew larger than either!
So hold your horses and steady your ships -
Bombur needed not ten Dwarves, only six.



(Edit: x'ed with Inzil)