Note on the average height of different peoples:
Elves: are generally said to be of the same stature as men; in this context men should be understood as the Dúnedain (descendants of the Númenóreans): 6-6.5 feet
Men:
Dúnedain (late 3rd Age): 6-6.5 feet, see quote below.
The race of the Rohirrim and Northmen (ancestors of the Rohirrim): from six feet to six feet four inches; not higher than the Dúnedain in later days, but broader and heavier build, cf.:
[of the great stature of the Númenóreans]
... two rangar was often called 'man-high', which at thirty-eight inches gives an average height of six feet four inches, but this was at a later date, when the stature of the Dúnedain appears to have decreased ...
It is however said of the great people of the past, that they were more than man-high. Elendil was said to be 'more than man-high by nearly half a ranga; but he was accounted the tallest of all the Númenóreans who escaped the Downfall.
The Rohirrim were generally shorter, for in their far-off ancestry they had been mingled with men of broader and heavier build. Éomer was said to have been tall, of like height with Aragorn; but he with other descendants of Thengel were taller than the norm of Rohan, deriving this characteristic (together in some cases with darker hair) from Morwen, Thengel's wife, a lady of Gondor of high Númenórean descent.
The
ranga is said to have been the length of the stride, from rear heel to front toe, of a full-grown man marching swiftly but at ease; a
ranga is slightly longer than a yard, approximately thirty-eight inches.
Men of other races: not higher than 6 feet, probably less in most cases, cf.:
"... the Easterlings or Romenildi, as the Elves named these newcomers, were short and broad, long and strong in the arm; their hair was black, and grew much also upon their face and breast; their skins were swart or sallow, and their eyes brown; yet their countenances were for the most part not uncomely, though some were grim and fierce."
[...]
"... the Swarthy Men first came ... in the East. They were short and broad, long and strong in the arm, growing much hair on face and breast, and their locks were dark, as were their eyes; their skins were swart, yet their countenances were not uncomely for the most part, though some were grim-looking and illfavoured. Their houses were many, and some had liking rather for the Dwarves of the mountains ... rather than for the Elves."
Orcs:
As orcs are corrupted men (see
this post), their height must be assumed to be the same as for men; due to various mutations and inbreeding between races, the Orcs might have a wider variations in height than men. Note that Tolkien often used the terms
Uruks/Orcs/Goblins in a casual way, without making any clear distinction between these.
Height probably
somewhere between 4.5 and 6.5 feet.
Dwarves: 4-5 feet (according to different sources)
Hobbits (Halflings):
The
Hobbits measured somewhere between two and four feet in height, depending on which 'tribe' they descended from: The
Harfoots were the smallest, and the most numerous. The
Fallohides were the tallest, but the least numerous. The
Stoors were the most Mannish of their race, some could actually grow beards, and they were the only Hobbits to use footwear.
A giant among Hobbits was Bandobras Took, who stood four feet and five inches tall.
Edited by Námo, 10 January 2010 - 05:49 PM.
