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In Arthurian companion (un dizionario/enciclopedia) ho trovato questo:
Dwarves
Dwarves appear everywhere, usually as servants. They often seem to
fill a role similar to that of squires, but, presumably, with no chance of
becoming knights. Occasionally, as in the Vulgate, we read of the
daughter or niece of a dwarf becoming the lover of a knight. I theorize
that dwarves may have been members of an earlier, conquered race, the
folk who are supposed to have gone into the caves and burrows as their
land was engulfed by successive waves of Celts, Angles, and so on, the
folk who according to one theory became the "fairies" of folklore—
Sutcliff's "little dark people." There are also tales, however, of traders
called Comprachicos or Comprapequenos who bought children and surgically
made them into misshapen dwarves, apparently for resale.
An indication of one dwarf's size is found in Malory VII, 19:
And then when [Sir Gringamore] saw Sir Beaumains fast asleep, he
came stilly stalking behind the dwarf, and plucked him fast under his
arm, and so he rode away with him as fast as ever he might unto his
own castle.
A dwarf of Morgan's is described as having "a great mouth and a flat
nose" [Malory IV, 8]. I wonder if the term "dwarf" might not have
become at least partially synonymous with a certain type of servant, so
that not all "dwarves" were actually members of a dwarvish race or
mutilated children.
Whether a dwarf could serve as a physical bodyguard is doubtful, but
dwarves may show considerable intelligence and resourcefulness. Dame
Elyzabel once traveled from Britain to Gaul on a fairly dangerous mission
with a squire and a dwarf as—seemingly—her only companions.
As an example of master-dwarf relationships, Gareth and his damsel
came to a pavilion. The master was gone, but the dwarf was ready to welcome
them provisionally on his master's permission. When the master
came back, however, he began beating his dwarf for extending even this
much courtesy unauthorized. Gareth thrashed the master and made him
beg his dwarf's pardon. The dwarf forgave his master on condition he
would never lay hands on him again and would bear him no grudge.
[Vulgate V]
For all their importance as a class, I do not remember one dwarf who
is given a name. The only one I have included is Gareth's dwarf.
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