What's up with Scottish Dwarves?!?

[Griffith Dragonlake]

I've seen a number of references here and of course OoTS for Dwarves with Scottish accents. What is the origin of this stereotype?

The LotR movies featured John Ryhs-Davies as Gimli. John spoke with his native Welsh accent.

Baldur's Gate II featured an NPC Dwarf with a Scottish accent? Is that the source?

The D&D Dwarf appears to have been influenced by Tolkein and Norse mythology. Neither source makes Dwarves speak like Robert Burns.

The Wormy comic in The Dragon had an episode dealing with Dwarves who spoke with a faux Scandinavian accent.

Any thoughts?

…

And why the stereotype of Dwarven Clerics of Thor (as seen in OoTS)? Thor was not their deity in the Norse myths. In fact the Aesir had an uneasy relationship with the Dwarves. In the story of Baldur's Death, Thor is so distraught while attending Baldur's funereal pyre that he kicks a nearby dwarf onto the bier who is consumed in the flames. There is another story where Odin cheats some dwarves out of an agreed upon payment and in turn the Dwarves curse the magic items.

If Dwarves are going to worship a "human" god, it should be Wayland/Volund the Germanic/Norse lame smith god, Hephaistos/Vulcan the Greco-Roman lame smith god, or Govannon/Goibhniu the Welsh/Irish smith god (who is a Dwarf IIRC). Or maybe they would worship the underworld deity since they themselves live in the underworld. Hel, Arawn, and Orcus/Pluto/Hades come to mind.

Any thoughts?

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FWIW the Norse drank Mead and the English Ale long before beer was common. In the Middle Ages it was pretty much the Germans that were drinking beer. According the OED, Alehouse and Alewife preceed the word beer.

 

[EricNoah]

I think it mostly has to do with the fact that most DMs have a very limited repertoire of accents, and Scotish is almost always one of them. It's an easy one to "fake."

 

[Griffith Dragonlake]

I think it mostly has to do with the fact that most DMs have a very limited repertoire of accents, and Scotish is almost always one of them. It's an easy one to "fake."

Fair enough. I've been guilty of giving my Dwarves Yiddish accents. Then again, I've always thought that in Human societies, Dwarves would fill a niche comparable to that of the Medieval Urban Jew.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Warcraft dwarves also speak with Scottish accents.

Didn't the Norse and old Germans whorship Thor? And aren't dwarves derived from their myths? It makes sense then that the dwarves would worship those deities. (Now maybe the dwarves actually worshipped their own deity, but I don't know enough Norse mythology to say for sure.)

 

[greywulf]

Lemme see.....

Dwarves are stereotypically tight with their money, dour, live in clans, prone to drinking lots of alcohol and enjoy a good fight.

No, I can't see anything to link them to the Scots at all.........

 

[trancejeremy]

I think it's because they look Scottish. Not being short, but the beards and the color of their hair. (Not a lot of blonde dwarves.)

And also, because a Scottish accent is more credible for the Dwarvish personality than a German or Scandanavian accent, I think. Especially Scandanavian, thanks to the Swedish Chef from the Muppets.

 

[Ranger REG]

I think it mostly has to do with the fact that most DMs have a very limited repertoire of accents, and Scotish is almost always one of them. It's an easy one to "fake."

That and the fact that a dwarf that sounds like Britain's Prince Charles makes him more of a fairy wuss.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

My dwarves have been Scottish since the early '80s. Not sure why -- Tolkien influence I think, but now that I think about it I don't remember anything that would cause me to think dwarves are scottish from reading Tolkien.

 

[Griffith Dragonlake]

Didn't the Norse and old Germans whorship Thor? And aren't dwarves derived from their myths? It makes sense then that the dwarves would worship those deities. (Now maybe the dwarves actually worshipped their own deity, but I don't know enough Norse mythology to say for sure.)

Yes the Norse and pagan Germans worshipped Thor. As you'll note in the original post, relations between the Germanic gods and the Dwarves were not at all that great. Thor especially makes a poor choice, viz. deity of the Atmosphere not Earth, literally kicked Dwarves around, etc.

 

[Griffith Dragonlake]

Dwarves are stereotypically tight with their money, dour, live in clans, prone to drinking lots of alcohol and enjoy a good fight.

Touché