: Not end of subject at all.
: There is a distinct difference between emnity and mistrust/misunderstanding. If there was emnity between the elves and dwarves, Gimli wouldn't have got into Lorien at all. The elf who tried to blindfold him was a border ranger, not responsible for foreign policy and prob with very little understanding of anything outside his little world.
: If there was such emnity, what about the flourishing trade between Moria and Eregion??
: They were not enemies (there is NO evidence of that at all outside of the unfortunate Thingol incident (which he brought on himself), however that does not mean they were fast friends either or allies.
: Don Q

I agree. While I have been in the camp that believes there was some animosity between the elves and the dwarves, the more we have discussed this matter, it seems to have become obvious that this was not true across both races in every instance. This seems to have been more of a preconception, or even a myth tht was built up over the years; like Wyatt Earp being a truly devastating shot, when in truth he just survived a few well-remarked gunfights which were picked up by "national" papers. This gave Earp a reputation, and he actually backed more people down from fights then he ever actually participated in using that repuation (and thus the legend grew even greater). I believe the same applies here. While there is support that in cases dwarves and elves did not get along, there is also support for them having a grand ole time together. Put together, there is more reason to believe that men and elves had greater reasons for a long-standing animosity, however, LOTR does leave (IMHO) the reader with the sense that dwarves and elves never got along, often making party lists and table reservations difficult for even the most gracious of hosts!

-RobRoy