Gimli (Middle-earth)

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Gimli, son of Glóin
Fellowship of the Ring
BooksThe Fellowship of the Ring (1954)
The Two Towers (1955)
The Return of the King (1956)
Unfinished Tales (1980)

Gimli is a fictional character in

Elves
.

Scholars have commented that Gimli is unlike other dwarves in being free from their characteristic greed for gold. They note, too, that he is unique in being granted the gift of Galadriel's hair, something that she had refused to Fëanor. The events recall the Norse legend Njáls saga, where a gift of hair is refused, with fateful consequences.

Gimli was voiced by David Buck in Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings. Gimli does not appear in Rankin/Bass's 1980 animated version of The Return of the King. In Peter Jackson's film trilogy, Gimli is played by the Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies, using a Scottish accent.

Fictional biography

Further information: The Lord of the Rings § Plot

Gimli was born in the

Dáin II Ironfoot.[T 2][T 3]

Gimli is first seen with Glóin at the

elf Legolas as their races bear an old grudge against each other.[T 6]

When the company is forced to enter the ancient underground Dwarf-realm, the Mines of Moria, Gimli is at first enthusiastic, hoping to find Balin there.

Cave Trolls, and a Balrog: Balin and his folk have all been killed. The Fellowship finds his tomb in the Chamber of Mazarbul; Orcs attack, and they have to fight their way out.[T 7] Aragorn leads the company to Lothlórien, populated by Elves hostile to Dwarves. Gimli refuses to be blindfolded, risking a conflict, so Aragorn has the entire Fellowship blindfolded.[T 8]

Gimli's opinion of Elves changes when he meets Galadriel, co-ruler of Lothlórien: her beauty, kindness, and understanding impress him so much that, when given the opportunity to ask for whatever he wishes, he responds that being able to see her and hear her gentle words is gift enough. When pressed, he admits that he desires a single strand of her golden hair, to be an heirloom of his house, but that he could not ask for such a gift. Galadriel is so moved by his bold yet courteous request that she gives him not one, but three of her hairs.[a] Gimli and Legolas become firm friends.[T 10]

At

War is over;[T 15] and eventually they make the visit together.[T 16] After the battle, Gimli witnesses Gandalf casting Saruman out of the Order of Wizards; he sees through Saruman's lies with the words "This wizard's words stand on their heads".[T 17]

Gimli accompanies Aragorn on the

Black Gate. There he recognizes Pippin Took's feet underneath a fallen troll, saving his life.[T 20][T 21]

After the destruction of the Ring, Gimli leads many Dwarves south to

Undying Lands.[T 23]

Family tree

Durin's Folk[T 2][b]
Durin I ... Durin VIDwarves of
Moria
Náin I
Thráin I
Thorin I
Glóin
Óin
Náin II
Dáin IBorin
FrórThrórGrórFarin
Thráin IINáinFundinGróin
Dís
(♀)		Thorin II OakenshieldDáin II IronfootDwalinBalinGlóinÓinOri,
Dori,
Nori		Bifur,
Bofur,
Bombur
Fili,
Kili		Thorin III StonehelmGimli
Durin VII

Concept and creation

Further information: Dwarves in Middle-earth § Concept and creation
Fan art of "Gimli son of Glóin". Dimitra Fimi notes the small leap required for fan activity to switch from book-based to film-based.[1]

The name Gimli first appeared in Tolkien's works in "The Tale of Tinúviel", the earliest version of the story of

Lúthien Tinúviel, found in the second volume of The Book of Lost Tales. Here, the name belongs to an aged elf, a prisoner along with Beren in the kitchens of Tevildo, Prince of Cats (forerunner of Sauron).[T 24] During the writing of The Lord of the Rings, as told in The Return of the Shadow, Gimli's character was first named Frar, then Burin, and he was the son of Balin.[T 25]

The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey writes that Tolkien has Gimli "swap grim proverbs" with Elrond. Shippey comments that dwarvish heroism is expressed in their veiled speech, as seen also with King Dáin's stubborn replies to the messenger of Mordor. He sees these examples as unified by "delight in the contrast between passionate interior and polite or rational expression; the weakness of the latter is an index of the strength of the former".[2]

Writing in

Mallorn, the journal of the Tolkien Society, Lilian Darvell states that Gimli's request for a gift of Galadriel's hair is to be contrasted with Fëanor's earlier request of the same gift, described in "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", in Unfinished Tales.[T 26][3] Galadriel rejected Fëanor's request, though he made it three times. Darvell comments that given Galadriel's ability to see into people's hearts, and the darkness she saw in Fëanor, she must have seen something better in Gimli than in "one of the greatest of the Noldor".[3] Darvell notes that the gift of hair has echoes in both English literature, as in Bernice and the Lock and The Rape of the Lock, and in Norse legend.[3] In Njáls saga, Gunnarr's bowstring breaks in a desperate battle; he asks his wife Hallgerðr for two hairs to use as a replacement, but she refuses because he had once struck her, and he is killed. Darvell comments that Galadriel's refusal does not kill Fëanor, but it does result in a distancing, which might have led him to refuse to send ships to rescue her from Númenor.[T 26][3]

The scholars of international relations Abigail Ruane and Patrick James view Gimli as an exemplar of "neoliberal institutionalists" within the economy of Middle-earth, since his "people avidly pursue gold and treasure".[4] In their view, he and his Dwarves also illustrate the interdependence of nations through their networks of trade and allies; the varied "relationships among Dwarves, Elves, and Men provide a foundation upon which to build and [to] ally against Sauron and illustrate how complex interdependence can reduce perceptions of insecurity and create opportunities for cooperation rather than conflict."[4]

The Tolkien scholar John Miller writes that like the Elves, the Dwarves have withdrawn from history and become subject to "an increased aesthetic sensibility",[5] exemplified by Gimli's lyrical description of the Glittering Caves of Aglarond. Miller argues that as well as praising the beauty of the caves, Gimli's account "emphasizes their stillness, their abstraction from the history marching along outside".[5] He suggests that the dwarvish love of hand-crafted workmanship could be a pre-modern aesthetic, an immature or adolescent appreciation compared to that of Elves or Men.[5]

The philologist Susan Robbins writes in Žmogus ir žodis that with the words "I say to you, Gimli son of Glóin, that your hands shall flow with gold, yet over you gold shall have no dominion", Galadriel gives Gimli, alone of all the Dwarves, immunity to the dragon-sickness. Robbins defines this as "bewilderment or confusion that makes one so greedy for ... gold that one would rather starve to death [for] rather than give any of it up",

Master of Laketown in The Hobbit. She notes that Tolkien stated that the dragon-sickness, the effect of the magic spells placed on Smaug's golden hoard, had been derived from line 3052 of the Old English poem Beowulf: iúmonna gold galdre bewunden, "the gold of men of long ago enmeshed in enchantment".[6]

Adaptations

Gimli in Ralph Bakshi's animated version of The Lord of the Rings

Gimli was voiced by David Buck in Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings. Here he is drawn as being almost as tall as the rest of the non-hobbit members of the Fellowship.[7] Gimli does not appear in Rankin/Bass's 1980 animated version of The Return of the King.

John Rhys-Davies as Gimli in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

In Peter Jackson's film trilogy, Gimli is played by the Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies. Brian Sibley has asserted that Rhys-Davies used "his distinctive Welsh-derived accent" for the character.[8] Several other sources state, however, that Rhys-Davies uses a Scottish accent; the Scottish The Press and Journal praises him for the "convincing" Scottish accent, calling his performance "raspy, croaky, bearded and brilliant".[9] Rhys-Davies himself states on The Fellowship of the Ring extended version DVD that the accent was by intention Scottish, and that it had been his decision to use it.[10] The New Zealand Herald quotes Rhys-Jones as saying of Gimli that "There is a gritty sort of fierce belligerence, and in the end I thought an almost Glasgow Scottish accent would serve the character."[11]

In Peter Jackson's films, Gimli's prosaic and blunt style, contrasting with the refined Aragorn and Legolas, provides defusing

based on his height,[12][13] along with his competitive, if friendly, feud with Legolas, where Gimli consistently finds himself out-achieved.[14]

Gimli was portrayed by Ross Williams in the 3-hour

The Lord of the Rings: The Musical, he was played by Sévan Stephan throughout its London run.[16]

The classical composer

symphonic orchestra.[17]

Notes

  1. Silmarils may have been inspired by that same silver-gold hair). Galadriel refused Fëanor's request, but she grants Gimli's, perhaps because of his humility.[T 9]
  2. ^ Names in italics in the family tree are Thorin and his company from The Hobbit.

References

Primary

  1. ^ Tolkien 1980, part 3 "The Third Age", ch. 3 "The Quest of Erebor"
  2. ^ a b Tolkien 1955, Appendix A, part 3, "Durin's Folk"
  3. ^ Tolkien 1954a, book 2, ch. 5 "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm"
  4. ^ Tolkien 1954a, book 2, ch. 2 "The Council of Elrond"
  5. ^ a b Tolkien 1954a, book 2, ch. 3 "The Ring Goes South"
  6. ^ Tolkien 1954a, book 2, ch. 4 "A Journey in the Dark"
  7. ^ Tolkien 1954a, book 2, ch. 4 "A Journey in the Dark"
  8. ^ Tolkien 1954a, book 2, ch. 6 "Lothlórien"
  9. Celeborn
    "
  10. ^ Tolkien 1954a, book 2, ch. 8 "Farewell to Lórien"
  11. ^ Tolkien 1954, book 3, ch. 1 "The Departure of Boromir"
  12. ^ Tolkien 1954, book 3, ch. 2 "The Riders of Rohan"
  13. ^ Tolkien 1954, book 3, ch. 6 "The King of the Golden Hall"
  14. ^ Tolkien 1954, book 3, ch. 7 "Helm's Deep"
  15. ^ Tolkien 1954, book 3, ch. 8 "The Road to Isengard"
  16. ^ Tolkien 1955, book 6, ch. 6 "Many Partings"
  17. ^ Tolkien 1954, book 3, ch. 10 "The Voice of Saruman"
  18. ^ Tolkien 1955, book 5, ch. 2 "The Passing of the Grey Company"
  19. ^ Tolkien 1955, book 5, ch. 6 "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields"
  20. ^ Tolkien 1955, book 5, ch. 10 "The Black Gate Opens"
  21. ^ Tolkien 1955, book 6, ch. 4 "The Field of Cormallen"
  22. ^ Tolkien 1955, Appendix A, part 3.
  23. ^ Tolkien 1955, Appendix B, "Later Events Concerning the Members of the Fellowship of the Ring"
  24. ^ Tolkien 1984b, volume 2, ch. 1 "The Tale of Tinúviel".
  25. ^ Tolkien 1988, [part 4] "The Story Continued", ch. 23 "In the House of Elrond"
  26. ^ a b Tolkien 1980, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn".

Secondary

  1. ISBN 978-0-7864-8473-7
    .
  2. ISBN 978-0261102750
    .
  3. ^
    JSTOR 48614834
    .
  4. ^
    doi:10.1111/j.1528-3585.2008.00343.x
    .
  5. ^ a b c Miller, John (Spring–Summer 2016). "Mapping Gender in Middle-earth". Mythlore. 34 (2): 133–152.
  6. ^
    ISSN 1392-8600
    .
  7. ISBN 978-1-56976-222-6
    .
  8. ISBN 978-0007498079
    . John Rhys-Davies' distinctive Welsh-derived accent for Gimli was adopted by New Zealanders John Callen and Peter Hambleton in portraying characters who are Gimli's father [Gloin] and uncle [Oin].
  9. ^ "The best and worst Scottish accents ever to hit our screens". The Press and Journal. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  10. ^ Rearick, Anderson (2004). "Why Is the Only Good Orc a Dead Orc". Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016. 4: Article 10. in the actors' commentary found on the extended DVD version of The Fellowship of the Ring, John Rhys- Davies describes his decision—not Jackson's nor Tolkien's—to add a Scottish accent to his portrayal of Gimli the dwarf.
  11. ^ Baillie, Russell (December 2003). "Gimli role that dwarfs the rest". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  12. ^ Croft, Janet Brennan (February 2003). "The Mines of Moria: 'Anticipation' and 'Flattening' in Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring". Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association Conference, Albuquerque. University of Oklahoma. Archived from the original on 2011-10-31.
  13. ISBN 978-0-7864-8473-7
    .
  14. S2CID 161197262
    .
  15. ^ "The Lord Of The Rings". Shaun McKenna. Retrieved 1 September 2020. The World Premiere production opened at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto on February 4, 2006 and had its press opening on March 23, 2006.
  16. ^ "Sevan Stephan Broadway and Theatre Credits". Broadway World. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  17. ^ 4 American Classics Craig Russell: Rhapsody for Horn and Orchestra Middle Earth • Gate City (PDF) (CD). Chandos. Retrieved 3 August 2022.

Sources

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