Gimli

Gimli is a fictional character from Middle-earth created by writer J. R. R. Tolkien. On some occasions he is referred to as Gimli son of Glóin or Gimli Friend of the Elves . He was born in the Blue Mountains, west of Middle Earth. He was a descendant of Durin I the Immortal.

History

Gimli, son of Glóin, is a young dwarf of Durin's clan. He was born in the year 2879 of the Third Age of the Sun. He was chosen to accompany Frodo as a member of the Fellowship of the Ring on his mission to destroy the One Ring. He initially distrusted elves, but later became an ardent admirer of Galadriel and a close friend of Legolas.

At the beginning of the story, Gimli appears as your typical rude, violent, and elven-hater dwarf. He actually has a hot temper and is impatient to fight the orcs; he also has a great enthusiasm for the mines of Moria, the home of his ancestors. Gimli has a high sense of honor (and is very stubborn), which explains why he is deeply insulted by the treatment of the elves in Lothlórien, who forced him to travel blindfolded if he wished to enter the realm of he. So Aragorn avoids a potentially violent situation by agreeing that all members of the Fellowship be blindfolded, even when Aragorn and Legolas should be welcomed as princes by right.

Gimli, son of Glóin
(Draft of Perrie Nicholas Smith).

Later on, Galadriel greatly impresses him with her beauty, kindness, and understanding, so Gimli, when given the opportunity to ask for anything he wishes, asks not for any treasure or magical item, but for a golden lock of hair. of Galadriel, which he treasures forever. An interesting historical note is that, according to the "Tale of Galadriel and Celeborn" from Unfinished Tales, this very request was previously made thousands of years ago by Fëanor, the greatest of the Noldorin elves. (who is said to have created the Silmarils inspired by Galadriel's own hair). Three times Galadriel refused Fëanor's request, as he considered her arrogant and not good-hearted, but she did agree to Gimli's, perhaps because of his humility.

Gimli's love for Galadriel is demonstrated in his first meeting with Éomer of Rohan. Éomer speaks rudely about Galadriel, uttering false rumors about her. Gimli then retaliates with insults, telling Éomer that she will teach him manners at the point of the axe, leading to a hostile situation that is once again reconciled by Aragorn.

By the end of the first book, he is already developing an unusual friendship with the elf Legolas. In the second book (The Two Towers), Gimli tests his mettle in combat (though not for the first time). At the Battle of the Hornburg, he and Legolas face off in a contest to see who can kill the most orcs (Gimli wins by one, but both have mutual respect). Later the vivid description of the Aglarond Caves provokes the elf to make him promise that they would both visit them when the war is over. They eventually manage to keep this promise, in which Gimli also agrees to visit Fangorn Forest. His friendship becomes a benchmark, even going so far as to ride the same horse. After the war, Gimli would lead a large number of the dwarves of Durin's clan to establish a new dwarven kingdom in Aglarond, and would become the first lord of the Glittering Caverns during the Fourth Age of the Sun. Lonely, led by Gimli, they would repair the damage done during the War of the Ring. Most notably, they replaced the Great Gate of Minas Tirith with a new one made of mithril and steel, as well as improved the layout of the entire city.

According to the Red Book of the Western Frontier, after Aragorn's death in 120 CE, Gimli traveled with Legolas to Valinor (perhaps with permission obtained for him by Galadriel), and was the first dwarf to set foot on the Undying Lands.

Gimli was 139 years old when the Fellowship of the Ring set out from Rivendell, making him 52 years older than Aragorn.

In the film adaptation

Gimli's axe, just like she's represented in Peter Jackson's movies.

In the trilogy made into a film by Peter Jackson, Gimli is played by John Rhys-Davies, who was chosen because he was taller than the actors playing the Hobbits. Thus, in scenes where Gimli and the hobbits appeared at the same time, they seemed to be in proportion to their respective sizes, and in scenes where they interacted with human characters, tricks were employed to scale their size.

In the movies, Gimli's rude personality is deliberately exaggerated compared to that of Aragorn and Legolas, and at times corresponds to the comic side, which some followers of Tolkien's books found off-putting. One defense of this position is that originally, in the books, Pippin and Merry were the comic characters; as the story progresses, the war makes them mature, so Gimli becomes the comic character to ease the dramatic tension.^{[citation needed]}

However, in Ralph Bakshi's film, Gimli is much more like the book in character, with a very calm personality unlike in Peter Jackson's trilogy.