: The first clue comes from The Hobbit. The aforementioned
: passage about Dwarves considering the Elves filghty. Then we
: have the misunderstandings leading up to the imprisonment of
: the Dwarves. The mutual distrust between Thorin and Thranduil
: is palpable. These events lead to the confromtation at Erebor,
: which would have degenerated into combat had not the orcs
: arrived. Admittedly, after the battle cooler heads prevail and
: nascent alliances are forged between the three races.

And yet when I read THE HOBBIT I see that the problem between Thorin and Thranduil stems from Thorin's behavior, not from any dislike between the races. And as I pointed out before, the Elves of Rivendell WERE flighty, or silly and foolish. The Dwarves' opinion was therefore vindicated by the author, but that's hardly an indication of HOSTILITY between the races.

: Next look at LOTR. Consider the comments in Rivendell and
: Lorien (suppressed groan--not again!)...

Right. No indication of racial hostilities, as I said before.

: ...But consider these comments from the context of a first time
: reader who has read The Hobbit, but none of the other works...

And yet not all readers leap to the same conclusion. I'm hardly a voice in the wilderness here.

: When you hear of "all the grievences between Elves and Dwarves"
: does it not imply that there were signifigant grievances?...

What it implies is that there were also grievances between Elves and Men and grievances between Dwarves and Men, but it doesn't imply the grievances between Dwarves and Elves were significant grievances. It's clear that Gandalf felt the grievances between Dwarves and Men were irrelevant when addressing the grievances between Dwarves and Elves.

But the Dwarves certainly suffered far worse at the hands of Men than at the hands of Elves.

: ...When Legolas and Gimli disclaim responsibility for the
: waning of the friendship between Elves and Dwarves, and Gandalf
: refuses to assign blame, does it not seem that there had to be
: some large event or group of events that drove the races apart?

Nope. Especially given the fact that it's already been established that ALL the races have been estranged from one another. And Gandalf merely spoke of happier days when all the races were closer. He didn't say or imply there was hostility between Elves and Dwarves. Nor did Gimli or Legolas say or imply anything like that.

: ...Finally, if the friendship of Legolas and Gimli was not
: unusual, then why was such a large deal made of it?

But it was unusual, but only in that they became so close. Legolas took Gimli over sea. They were inseparable. No other Elf became so close to a Dwarf. That is worth mentioning.

It doesn't, however, imply that there is racial emnity between Elves and Dwarves.

: Now look at the Silmarillion. In addition to the citation I
: made earlier, look at this, "Ever cool was the friendship of
: the Naugrim and the Eldar, though much profit they had one of
: the other; but at that time those griefs that lay between them
: had not yet come to pass, and King Thingol welcomed them. But
: the Naugrim gave their friendship more readily to the Noldor in
: after days than to any others of Elves and Men, because of
: their reverence for Aule" [Of the Sindar, The Sil, p 104]

Right. FRIENDSHIP. Tolkien speaks of FRIENDSHIP.

: Now, the problem arises that there is only one war documented
: between the Elves and Dwarves. Fine. But do you not agree that
: there is support for the idea that D & E do not get along
: particularly well?...

Nope. I see quite the opposite, and you just pointed out that there was FRIENDSHIP between the Elves and Dwarves in Beleriand.

: ... Nobody doubts the existence of the Blue Wizards, even
: though there is no textual evidence of their deeds.

Then why should people doubt the many friendships between Elves and Dwarves, when there IS textual evidence of those relationships?

: Perhaps Tolkien did not document it sufficiently in his
: ancillary works, but the major works seem to indicate to an
: unbiased reader that the two races did not get along.

Really? So I and others like me are biased? How did we become so biased? What led us to conclude before we read these books that the Elves and Dwarves were really close friends?

Be careful with your comments. We don't allow taking things to a personal level here.

[snip]

: One final note--It is possible to have a profitable
: relationship with someone you despise.

Tolkien never indicated either the Elves or the Dwarves despised each other. Caranthir's attitude might strike some people that way, but he was hardly representative of the Noldor, let alone all Elves.

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