"Pygmies" was a term used in relation to the height and intelligence of peoples and creatures.[1]
History
After the Awakening of Men during the First Age, the group of Men known as the Drúedain did not rise that much above the state of pygmies.[1]
Sometime during or after the Fourth Age, Hobbits "relapsed into the state of 'pygmies'" after some Men drove them from their lands, making them afraid of being seen since they were hunted like animals, with future generations scarcely reaching a height of three feet tall[2].[1]
Other versions of the legendarium
In the early version of the legendarium in The Book of Lost Tales, an unspecified group referred to as "pygmies" are mentioned in one outline of the Tale of Eärendel in which Eärendel was supposed to have an encounter with them somewhere in the south of the world along with Tree-men and Sarqindi.[3]
In an early linguistic text, pygmies were grouped with the dwarves and the giants under the category of "Earthlings".[4] In the same text, pygmies are also called Pilkir in Qenya, possibly being derived from the root PIKI ("small").[5]
In an early draft of The Hobbit, after the Eagles saved Thorin and Company from the Wolves, Tolkien wrote an outline of potential ideas on some loose paper, mentioning pygmies in the second line: "Mirkwood & <pygmies>".[6]
In a reply to a letter, Tolkien denied that his Hobbits were consciously inspired by pygmies. Despite this, however, Tolkien was skeptical of whether any influence was subconscious or conscious.[7]
In a reply to a different letter, Tolkien mentioned "pygmies of the African forest".[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, Carl F. Hostetter (ed.), The Nature of Middle-earth, "Part Two. Body, Mind and Spirit: VI. Descriptions of Characters"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "Prologue", "Concerning Hobbits"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, "V. The Tale of Eärendel", p. 254
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Early Qenya and The Valmaric Script", in Parma Eldalamberon XIV (edited by Carl F. Hostetter, Christopher Gilson, Arden R. Smith, Patrick H. Wynne, and Bill Welden), "The Creatures of the Earth", p. 9
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Early Qenya and The Valmaric Script", in Parma Eldalamberon XIV (edited by Carl F. Hostetter, Christopher Gilson, Arden R. Smith, Patrick H. Wynne, and Bill Welden), "The Creatures of the Earth", p. 7
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, John D. Rateliff (ed.), The History of The Hobbit, Mr. Baggins, The Second Phase, "Medwed"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, John D. Rateliff (ed.), The History of The Hobbit, Return to Bag-End, "Appendix II. Tolkien's letter to The Observer"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 181, (undated, written January or February 1956)