| Moria | |
|---|---|
| 'The Lord of the Rings' location | |
 Durin's emblem, as on Moria's West-gate | |
| In-universe information | |
| Other name(s) | Khazad-dûm |
| Type | Greatest city ofDwarves subterranean realm,labyrinth |
| Ruled by | Kings of Durin's Folk (toT.A. 1981); Durin's Bane, Azog; Balin; Durin VII |
| Geography | CentralMisty Mountains |
| Lifespan | Years of the Trees –T.A. 1981;Fourth Age |
| Founder | Durin |
In the fictional history of the world byJ. R. R. Tolkien,Moria, also namedKhazad-dûm, is an ancient subterranean complex inMiddle-earth, comprising a vastlabyrinthine network of tunnels, chambers, mines, and halls under theMisty Mountains, with doors on both the western and the eastern sides of the mountain range. Moria is introduced in Tolkien's novelThe Hobbit, and is a major scene of action inThe Lord of the Rings.
In much ofMiddle-earth's history, Moria was the greatest city ofthe Dwarves. The city's wealth was founded on its mines, which producedmithril, a fictional metal of great beauty and strength, suitable for armour. The Dwarves dug too greedily and too deep formithril, and disturbed a demon of great power:a Balrog, which destroyed their kingdom. By the end of theThird Age, Moria had long been abandoned by the Dwarves, and was a place of evil repute. It was dark, in dangerous disrepair, and in its labyrinths lurkedOrcs and theBalrog.
Scholars have identified likely sources for Tolkien's Moria: he had studied a Latin inscription abouta lost ring at the temple ofNodens in Gloucestershire, at a place called Dwarf's Hill full of old mine-workings. The name Moria, Tolkien wrote, echoed the name ofa castle in a Norwegian folktale, while Gandalf's death and reappearance reminded critics of theresurrection andtransfiguration of Jesus. The West Gate that theWatcher in the Water crashes closed behind theFellowship recalled to commentators theWandering Rocks ofGreek mythology, andOdysseus's passage between the devouringScylla and the whirlpoolCharybdis. Finally, the Fellowship's entry into the darkness via the deadly lake by the West Gate, and its exit into the light via the beautiful Mirrormere, alongside Gandalf's death and reappearance, has been compared to abaptism, a ceremony that combines a symbolic death and the gift of new life.
Moria provided dramatic scenes inPeter Jackson's filmThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, inspired byAlan Lee's illustrations. Its multiple levels of tunnels and halls have served, too, as the basis for a variety of computer and board games.
The name "Moria" means "the Black Chasm" or "the Black Pit", fromSindarinmor, "dark, black" andiâ, "void, abyss".[T 1] The elementmor had the sense "sinister, evil", especially by association with infamous names such asMorgoth andMordor; indeed Moria itself had an evil reputation by the times in whichThe Hobbit andThe Lord of the Rings are set. The nameMoria had (within the fiction) originally applied only to the Black Chasm itself. However, after theDwarves were forced to abandon Khazad-dûm, its many lamps went out, and the whole subterranean complex became dark.Tolkienborrowed the nameMoria itself, but not its meaning, from a book he had read.[T 1][1]
Khazad-dûm is the name of the fabulous city-kingdom of the Dwarves, especially in a historical or nostalgic context. In the fictional history,Khazad-dûm was Moria's original name, given by the Dwarves in their own language,Khuzdul. It is rendered (in "translated Westron") asthe Dwarrowdelf, an archaic form of what would bethe Dwarves' delving in more modern English. Tolkien rhymesdûm with "tomb".[T 2]
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Moria was originally a system of natural caves located in Dimrill Dale, a valley on the eastern side of the Misty Mountains. The appearance of the Misty Mountains, and some of the experiences of Tolkien's protagonists, were inspired by his travels in theSwiss Alps in 1911.[T 3]
The caves led to the Black Chasm, a subterranean abyss, some fifty feet wide and of indeterminate depth, which was crossed only by Durin's Bridge, "a slender bridge of stone, without kerb or rail".[T 2] It forced any group wishing to cross to go in single file, limiting the power of any attack.[T 4]
Moria lay on the western edge of theMiddle-earth region ofWilderland. The Mountains of Moria, three of the Misty Mountains' most massive peaks, surrounded Dimrill Dale:Silvertine on the west,Redhorn on the north, andCloudyhead on the east – inSindarin respectivelyCelebdil,Caradhras andFanuidhol. TheirKhuzdûl names, respectivelyZirakzigil,[a]Barazinbar andBundushathûr, are mentioned by Gimli, as the Fellowship nears Moria. The caves of Moria, where theDwarf city-kingdom of Khazad-dûm was founded, were situated under Silvertine; their mouth overlooked Dimrill Dale, which contained many waterfalls and a long, oval lake that reflected stars even in daylight. Perceiving these stars as acrown glittering above his head, Durin took this as an auspicious sign, named the lakeKheled-zâram, the Mirrormere, and chose the eastward-facing caves above it for his new stronghold.[T 5]
TheDwarves excavated most of Khazad-dûm out of solid rock, leaving polished walls.[T 2] Minerals includedgold,gems andiron ore. However the principal mineral wasmithril, a fabulously precious and versatile metal found nowhere else in Middle-earth. It was the source of Khazad-dûm's huge wealth, but ultimatelyits mining was the cause of its downfall. Beginning under the Silvertine, the Dwarves mined ever deeper, and down towards the roots of Mount Caradhras. There they unearthed the Balrog, which drove the Dwarves into exile.[T 2]
Far below even the deepest mines of the Dwarves lay a primordial underworld of tunnels,streams andlakes in perpetual darkness, inhabited by primitive creatures. The tunnels were "gnawed by nameless things" from the beginnings ofArda,[T 6] and, asGandalf suggested, from this underworld theWatcher in the Water may have emerged.[T 2]
Moria was founded byDurin at the end of theAges of the Stars. During his reign, the precious metal mithril was discovered in the mines, and some of the major structures of Moria were built: Durin's Bridge, the Second Hall, the Endless Stair and Durin's Tower. Durin died before the end of the First Age. He was buried in the royal tombs of Khazad-dûm.[T 2][T 7]Orcs constantly attacked the dwarf kingdom; men and dwarves fought together against the orcs.[T 8] The dwarves became friendly with the Elves ofEregion to the west; the Elves assisted in developing Khazad-dûm's mansions, making it "far more beautiful" as it grew westwards through tunnels to the West Gate,[T 9] which opened on to Eregion.Celebrimbor, the Lord of Eregion, usedithildin lettering on this gate on behalf of its builder, his friend the dwarf smithNarvi.[T 2]
In theSecond Age,Rings of Power were made by elves in Eregion.Durin III, the King of Khazad-dûm at the time, obtained one of the rings; another wasNenya, made from Moria'smithril; it becameGaladriel's ring. When the elves discovered thatSauron, the Dark Lord had made theOne Ring, giving him control of all the other rings, the War of the Elves and Sauron broke out.[T 8] Sauron conquered Eregion, but Khazad-dûm's intervention enabled Elves includingElrond andCeleborn to escape Eregion's destruction and foundRivendell.[T 9] Khazad-dûm was closed, and its population dwindled. At the end of the Second Age, Khazad-dûm fought Sauron in the War of the Last Alliance, helping to defeat him.[T 10]
In the Third Age, the more easily accessible seams ofmithril were exhausted, and the Dwarves dug deeper until they disturbed aBalrog, a powerful fire-demon.It killed King Durin VI, acquiring the name Durin's Bane, and then Náin I, his son. The Dwarves abandoned Khazad-dûm and fled intoWilderland.[T 7]
Orcs occupied Moria, while the Balrog haunted its depths. The Orc-chieftain Azog became the master of Moria. Thrór, the heir of the Dwarf-kings of Khazad-dûm, attempted to enter his people's ancestral home, and was killed by Azog. This started the War of the Dwarves and Orcs; Azog was beheaded byDáin Ironfoot, but thevictory was Pyrrhic, and the Dwarves did not dare face the Balrog.[T 7] Much later,Balin left Erebor to recolonize Moria, but after five years his colony was destroyed by Orcs.[T 11]
As theWar of the Ring loomed, a messenger fromSauron offered Dáin the return of Moria and threeDwarf-Rings if he helped Sauron to find theOne Ring. Dáin refused, sendingGlóin and his sonGimli to theCouncil of Elrond, starting the quest of theFellowship of the Ring.[T 11]
The Fellowship reluctantly passed through Moria in winter, gambling that most of itsOrcs had been killed in theBattle of Five Armies. They were attacked by the monstrousWatcher in the Water as they entered the West-gate, and faced further perils in the subterranean passages. They reached the Chamber of Mazarbul, the ancient repository of documents holdingBalin's tomb and his colony's chronicle, theBook of Mazarbul.[T 2] They were attacked there by aTroll and many Orcs, before being approached by the Balrog.Gandalf confronted the Balrog on Durin's Bridge. The two duelled briefly before plunging together into the chasm, allowing the rest of the Fellowship to escape to the Eastern Gates.[T 4]
Unknown to the Fellowship, Gandalf climbed to the top of Mount Celebdil and continued to fight the Balrog for two days in the Battle of the Peak; both died, but Gandalf returned to Middle-earth as Gandalf the White.[T 6]
Khazad-dûm lay empty. Some centuries into theFourth Age, the auspiciously-named Durin VII, a descendant ofDáin Ironfoot, succeeded as the King of the Longbeards and heir of the Kings of Khazad-dûm.[T 12] He led his people back to Khazad-dûm, where they remained "until the world grew old and the Dwarves failed and the days of Durin's race were ended".[T 12]
The city of Khazad-dûm had many levels, linked by flights of stone steps. There were at least six levels above the Great Gates, and many more levels —or Deeps— below it. Every level consisted of a network of arched passages, chambers and many-pillared halls, often with "black walls, polished and smooth as glass".[T 2] Below the level of the Gates lay treasuries, armouries, dungeons, and mines. The Endless Stair of many thousands of steps rose in an unbroken spiral from the lowest dungeon of Moria to Durin's Tower at the summit of Celebdil; it was destroyed in the battle betweenGandalf and the balrog,Durin's Bane.[T 6]
During the kingdom of Khazad-dûm, the subterranean realm was "full of light and splendour", illuminated by many "shining lamps ofcrystal".[T 2] The higher levels hadskylights carved through the mountain-side which provided daylight. The East-gate or the Dimrill Gate was the main entrance, looking overDimrill Dale.[T 2] It opened into the First Hall of Moria. The West-gate enabled travellers to pass right through theMisty Mountains, thus providing a weather-free alternative to the notorious and arduous Redhorn Pass, 15–20 miles to the north.The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia notes that Middle-earth gates are important both symbolically and practically: "They mark exclusion or admission. They test character and wisdom. They suggest mystery, secrecy, and privilege."[3]
The Doors of Durin, also called the West-gate or the West-door, formed the western entrance to Moria. When shut, the gates were invisible and impossible to open by physical means. They were however decorated with designs engraved inithildin made by the elf-Lord Celebrimbor of Eregion and the dwarf Narvi frommithril mined in Moria. The designs included the emblems of Durin, the two trees of the High Elves, and the Star of the House ofFëanor. Tolkien's drawing of the designs on the Doors of Durin was the only illustration inThe Lord of the Rings during his lifetime (other than cover-art and calligraphy). In moonlight, a password made the designs visible. The designs contained a second password toopen the doors. When the Fellowship entered, theWatcher in the Water, the aquatic guardian of the gates, slammed the doors shut with its tentacles, plunging the Fellowship into darkness.[T 13][T 14][5]
The inscription was in the Elvish language ofSindarin, using theTengwar script;[4] Gandalf translates it as "The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter. I, Narvi, made them. Celebrimbor of Hollin drew these signs."[T 13] Scholars have commented that "Moria", an unfriendly Elvish description meaning "The Black Pit", was hardly how a ruler of Khazad-Dûm would choose to describe his realm; and that since the name was not used until the Balrog was awakened in the Third Age, it was also anachronistic. Possible resolutions have been proposed: that Celebrimbor had foresight of the name; that the magic lettering reshaped itself; or that Gandalf indeed saw the Sindarin name "Hadhodrond" on the door, and read it out as "Moria" for the benefit of those listening (and in the same way, he must have seen "Eregion" and read out "Hollin").[4]
In 1928, a 4th-century pagan mystery cult temple was excavated atLydney Park, Gloucestershire.[7] Tolkien was asked to investigate aLatin inscription there: "For the godNodens.Silvianus has lost a ring and has donated one-half [its worth] to Nodens. Among those who are called Senicianus do not allow health until he brings it to the temple of Nodens."[8] An old name for the place was Dwarf's Hill, and in 1932 Tolkien traced Nodens to the Irish heroNuada Airgetlám, "Nuada of the Silver-Hand".[T 15] The Tolkien scholarTom Shippey thought this"a pivotal influence" on Tolkien's Middle-earth, combining as it did a god-hero, a ring, dwarves, and a silver hand.[6]The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia notes also the "Hobbit-like appearance of [Dwarf's Hill]'s mine-shaft holes", and that Tolkien was extremely interested in the hill's folklore on his stay there, citing Helen Armstrong's comment that the place may have inspired Tolkien's "Celebrimbor and the fallen realms of Moria and Eregion".[6][9] The scholar of English literature John M. Bowers notes that the name of the Elven-smith Celebrimbor is the Sindarin for "Silver Hand" and that "because the place was known locally as Dwarf's Hill and honeycombed with abandoned mines, it naturally suggested itself as background for theLonely Mountain and the Mines of Moria."[10]
Moria first appeared in Tolkien's 1937 novelThe Hobbit. Tolkien later recalled that the name was "a casual 'echo' ofSoria Moria Castle in one of the Scandinavian tales translated byDasent. ... I liked the sound-sequence; it alliterated with 'mines', and it connected itself with the MOR element inmy linguistic construction."[T 1] The tales translated by Dasent were from the 1852 collectionNorwegian Folktales.[1] A historic source is thePoetic Edda, with which Tolkien was familiar; the protagonist in theSkírnismál notes that his quest will involve misty mountains,orcs, and giants.[11]
The Tolkien scholarJane Chance observes that the fall of the dwarves, first those of Durin, then those of Balin, is brought about through avarice, their greed for Moria's deeply-buriedmithril. She identifies this as "their internal vice",[13] which the Balrog "monstrously projects".[13] Chance notes further that Balin meets his death at the lake Mirrormere, "a very dark mirror in which he is blind to himself."[13]
The scholar Clive Tolley notes that the contest between the wizard Gandalf and the evil Balrog on Durin's Bridge somewhat recalls ashamanistic contest but that a far closer parallel is medieval vision literature, giving the example ofSt Patrick's Purgatory and evenDante'sDivine Comedy.[14]
Scholars such as Chance and Jerram Barrs have recognised the death of Gandalf the Grey (at the hands of the Balrog), and his reappearance as Gandalf the White, as atransfiguration,[15] the change in colour hinting at "a parallel withChrist's own death andresurrection".[16][17][18]
The professor of English literature Sue Zlosnik notes that the fantasy world in Tolkien'sinvented mythology for England[19] is constructed with elaborate detail. She citesHumphrey Carpenter's biographical account of Tolkien's "painstaking crafting" of The Book of Mazarbul that appears in Moria, complete with "burnt and tattered" pages, and Tolkien's disappointed wish for a facsimile of this artefact to appear in the first edition ofFellowship of the Ring. In Zlosnik's view, this sort of detail recallsHorace Walpole's love of the "Gothic".[19]
Erin Derwin, writing inThe Artifice, compares the fellowship's time in Moria withSiegfried Sassoon'sFirst World War poem "The Rear-Guard", in which he describes "groping along the tunnel" in a labyrinth of dark trenches, with "muttering creatures underground", recalling, Derwin suggests, the awakening of the Orcs and the Balrog by the hobbit Pippin.[20]
The scholar of English literatureCharles A. Huttar compares this "clashing gate" that crashed shut behind the travellers to theWandering Rocks that inGreek mythology lie near the opening of theunderworld,Hades, and, along with the monstrous Watcher in the Water, toOdysseus's passage between the devouringScylla and the whirlpoolCharybdis.[5]
![Scholars such as Jane Chance have compared Gandalf's death in Moria and subsequent reappearance as "the White" to Christ's Transfiguration,[16] as in this painting by Raphael, c. 1520.](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTransfiguration_Raphael.jpg)
![Gateway to Hell: the Fellowship's passage through the West-gate has been compared to Odysseus's passage between the devouring Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis.[5] Painting by Ary Renan, 1894](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aCharybde_et_Scylla.jpg)
![Matthew Dickerson writes that Moria, symbolising both Tomb and Womb, can be seen as a place of Baptism.[21] Detail of painting by Jean Bozia, 1825](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aLabastide-de-L%25C3%25A9vis_-_Peinture_Bozia_03_(cropped).jpg)
Matthew Dickerson, writing inThe J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia, suggests that of all the caves, barrows, tunnels and underground kingdoms in Tolkien's writings, Moria is "the most significant".[21] He writes that these dark places, home to many of the major events in the stories, from the Paths of the Dead toGollum's various tunnels and theGlittering Caves of Aglarond serve as symbols of darkness and death, the Tomb, or of fertility and new life, the Womb. Moria, he argues, citing Hugh Keenan's description of the two contrasting lakes at the Fellowship's entrance and exit from Moria, and giving the example of Gandalf's death and rebirth, functions as both Womb and Tomb. In Christianity, he notes,Baptism is at once a symbolic death and the gift of new life.[21][22]
| "Tomb" | "Womb" |
|---|---|
| Baptism | |
| Gandalf falls to his death in the Black Chasm | Gandalf is reborn as "the White" |
| Entrance lake: MonstrousWatcher in the Water offers death | Exit lake: Beautiful Mirrormere (Kheled-Zaram) offers life |
Tolkien was asked whether the nameMoria meant thebiblical mountains ofMoriah, whereAbraham was to sacrifice his son,Isaac. Tolkien wrote that his mind did not work that way, explaining thatMoria meant "Black Chasm" inSindarin, the rootMor occurring inMordor,Morgoth,Morgul. He went on "As for the 'land of Morīah' (note stress): that has no connection (even 'externally') whatsoever."[T 1]
Peter Jackson's portrayal of Moria in hisThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie was mostly inspired byAlan Lee's illustrations.[24][23] Lee worked as the project's conceptual artist in New Zealand throughout the making of the film trilogy.[25] Moria was modelled for the film at 1/12 scale.[24][23]
Theroguelike computer gameMoria was modelled onThe Lord of the Rings events. The goal in the game is to reach the bottom of a maze-like simulation of the Mines of Moria and kill a Balrog.[26]
Moria is featured in board games such as Reiner Knizia'sLord of the Rings.[27]
The first expansion pack of theMMORPGThe Lord of the Rings Online namedMines of Moria takes place almost entirely in Moria, which has several levels. The uppermost is the path of Durin's Way, which pierces the mountain to reach the cliffs of Zirak-Zigil. The main levels of Moria span from the Doors of Durin to Dolven-View, Zelem-Melek, Nud-Melek and the East doors, known as the First Hall. Further down in the subterranean realm are the Silvertine Lodes and the Redhorn Lodes, and the furthest depths contain the submerged Water-Works, the fiery Flaming Deeps, and the Foundations of Stone, where Gandalf and the Balrog fought before ascending the Endless Stair.[28][29]
The Dutch composerJohan de Meij wrote a movement in hisSymphony No. 1 "The Lord of the Rings" called "Journey in the Dark", that was directly inspired by Moria. The movement is split into two sections, "The Mines of Moria" and "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm", and it depicts the events that take place there inThe Fellowship of the Ring (novel).[30]
Clearly Charybdis is yet another route to hell.
