Sharing Bread
Sharing Loaf (Hand Brod)
Despite reports in other places of the greedy and grasping nature of dwarfs, they are in fact mostly untouched by avarice. When it comes to chattels, they are generally open handed (as they would say) even though their lore on possession appears to indicate a certain covetousness. See "Possession" on the Lore Page when it is available.
The one area however, where this generosity may occasionally be lacking is in the matter of vittals and, in particular, regarding bread. It is quite probable that there have been more dwarfish murders over food than there have ever been over wives or she-dwarfs (or husbands and he-dwarfs - the female of the species is just as adept with weapons as the male and heterosexuality is not assumed in dwarfish society).
It is for this reason that certain conventions have developed over the centuries and along with these conventions, certain styles of food presentation. According to Snurri the Scribbler, one of a handful of dwarfs arrogant enough to claim to have see The Book of Dwarf, the Sharing Loaf is one such example. The actual name of Sharing Bread or Hand Brod, which is not included here, translates as "The Bread that is Handed From the Left by the Oldest She-Dwarf". This, it would seem, is because the bread is handed down from the oldest she-dwarf present and who passes it from her right hand to her right side - the left hand being used for less savoury matters. For the avoidance of doubt, where there is no she-dwarf present then it falls to the oldest male - the same rules apply.
It is in the nature of dwarfs to abbreviate anything that can be abbreviated and so "The Bread that is Handed From the Left by the Oldest She-Dwarf" became Hand Brod, short and sweet so to speak.
As a loaf, there is nothing particularly special about the bread, other than it is bread of course and thus the gift of the dwarfish Elder Gods. The most significant part of Hand Brod is in fact the scoring on the top. This is intended to indicate the approximate portion size for those participants in the loaf. It might be observed that this could mean that someone could be left out if the numbers are wrong but tradition (and no doubt several deaths) have managed to iron this little problem out. Hand Brod is always marked with three more segments than there are sharers. One for the Elder Gods, one for the ancestors and one for the unbidden guest. This means that there will always be at least two extra pieces even if one guest turns up uninvited. The idea is to rip the bread along the cuts and, being highly competitive in nature, dwarfs have managed to translate the potential aggression at this sharing into a form of sport. It is a recognised skill to be able to tear the neatest segment.
Naturally enough there are usually bits of crumbs and badly torn bits left over from the sharing but convention makes the eating of these to be bad luck and so the risk of a fight over crumbs is pretty much removed.
of course that doesn't always solve the problem for dwarfish tolerance is as limited as dwarfish ingenuity is boundless.
Source: The Book of Dwarf, according to Snurri the Scribbler