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106-514: In Tolkien's later conception, Balrogs could not be readily vanquished—a certain stature was required by the would-be hero. Only dragons rivalled their capacity for ferocity and destruction; during the First Age of Middle-earth, they were among the most feared of Morgoth 's forces. Their power came from their nature as Maiar , angelic beings like the Valar, though of lesser power. Tolkien invented

212-463: A seal . He decided that Hearwa was related to Old English heorð , " hearth ", and ultimately to Latin carbo , "soot". He suggested from all this that Sigelhearwan implied "rather the sons of Muspell than of Ham ", a class of demons in Northern mythology "with red-hot eyes that emitted sparks and faces black as soot". The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey states that this both "helped to naturalise

318-686: A trading card game set in Middle-earth. In the real-time strategy game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II , based on Peter Jackson's film trilogy , there is a dragon named Drogoth. In The Lord of the Rings: War in the North , players encounter the dragon Úrgost. Honegger writes that Tolkien's conception of dragons "as intelligent beings with a distinct personality" has been adopted by fantasy authors with

424-661: A demon of great power: a Balrog , which destroyed their kingdom. By the end of the Third 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 lurked Orcs and the Balrog . Scholars have identified likely sources for Tolkien's Moria: he had studied a Latin inscription about a lost ring at the temple of Nodens in Gloucestershire, at

530-728: A different order of being, one allied to the malevolent 'ghosts' of the dead", and compares this with Aragorn's description of the Balrog as "both a shadow and a flame, strong and terrible". Tolkien felt acutely the error made by the English commander, the ealdorman Byrhtnoth , at the Battle of Maldon , allowing the Vikings to step ashore and win the battle. Alexander Bruce, in Mythlore , comments that Tolkien may have used Gandalf's battle with

636-695: A facsimile of this artefact to appear in the first edition of Fellowship of the Ring . In Zlosnik's view, this sort of detail recalls Horace Walpole 's love of the " Gothic ". Erin Derwin, writing in The Artifice , compares the fellowship's time in Moria with Siegfried Sassoon 's First 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,

742-549: A love of treasure (especially gold ), subtle intelligence, immense cunning, great physical strength, and a hypnotic power called "dragon-spell". They are extremely powerful and dangerous but mature very slowly. Because of this, Melkor 's first attempts to use them against his enemies failed, as they were not yet powerful enough to be useful in battle. Tolkien named only four dragons in his Middle-earth writings. Another, Chrysophylax Dives , appears in Farmer Giles of Ham ,

848-665: A place called Dwarf's Hill full of old mine-workings. The name Moria, Tolkien wrote, echoed the name of a castle in a Norwegian folktale, while Gandalf's death and reappearance reminded critics of the resurrection and transfiguration of Jesus . The West Gate that the Watcher in the Water crashes closed behind the Fellowship recalled to commentators the Wandering Rocks of Greek mythology , and Odysseus 's passage between

954-502: A side door, but when the wizard Gandalf the Grey tried to place a "shutting spell" on the door to block the pursuit behind them, the Balrog entered the chamber on the other side and cast a "terrible" counterspell. Gandalf spoke a word of Command to stay the door, but the door shattered and the chamber collapsed. Gandalf was weakened by this encounter. The company fled with him, but the Orcs and

1060-536: A similar visual design to Jackson's monster. Balrogs appear in Middle-earth computer and video games and merchandise. In the real-time strategy game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth , and its sequel , both based on Jackson's movies, the Balrog can use its wings, although only in short leaps. In the role-playing game The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age , also based on

1166-796: A story separate from the Middle-earth corpus. Chrysophylax is a fire-breathing dragon, described as "cunning, inquisitive, greedy, well-armoured, but not over bold". Glaurung, first introduced in The Silmarillion , is described as the Father of Dragons in Tolkien's legendarium, and the first of the Urulóki, the Fire-drakes of Angband . He is a main antagonist in The Children of Húrin , in which he sets in motion events that bring about

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1272-482: A wide range of styles, including Barbara Hambly , Ursula K. Le Guin , Anne McCaffrey , Christopher Paolini , and Jane Yolen . Zirakzigil In the fictional world of J. R. R. Tolkien , Moria , also named Khazad-dûm , is an ancient subterranean complex in Middle-earth , comprising a vast labyrinthine network of tunnels, chambers, mines and halls under the Misty Mountains , with doors on both

1378-527: Is a beast that displays the typical characteristics of draco without becoming a mere allegorical representative of draconitas (the vice of avarice )." In Honegger's view, Tolkien's innovation, seen best in Smaug, is his creation of "a distinct 'dragon personality'". Whereas Glaurung is a mythical element, and Ancalagon is merely ferocious, Smaug and Chrysophylax Dives "go beyond both the 'primitive' draco ferox ("fierce dragon") of myths and legends as well as

1484-578: Is forbidden for any Balrog to come beneath the sky since Fionwë son of Manwë overthrew Thangorodrim ." Gothmog is developed in successive versions of Silmarillion material. He is physically massive and strong, and in one version he is some 12 feet tall. He wields a black axe and whip of flame as his weapons. He holds the titles of the Lord of the Balrogs, the High Captain of Angband , and Marshal of

1590-565: Is often considered Gothmog's Quenya name; however, in the Quenya name-list of The Fall of Gondolin another version appears, Kosomoko . In Tolkien's early Lay of the Children of Húrin is "Lungorthin, Lord of Balrogs". This might be another name for Gothmog, though Christopher Tolkien thought it more likely that Lungorthin was simply "a Balrog lord". This Balrog appears in The Lord of

1696-472: 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") as the Dwarrowdelf , an archaic form of what would be the Dwarves' delving in more modern English. Tolkien rhymes dûm with "tomb". Moria

1802-518: Is unclear. This is due both to Tolkien's changing conception of Balrogs, and to the imprecise but suggestive and possibly figurative description of the Balrog that confronted Gandalf. The Balrog of Moria used a flaming sword ("From out of the shadow a red sword leapt flaming") and a many-thonged whip that "whined and cracked" in its battle with Gandalf. In The Silmarillion , they also used black axes and maces. Earlier writings also speak of steel claws and iron mail. In earlier drafts of The Lord of

1908-565: The Battle of Five Armies . They were attacked by the monstrous Watcher 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 holding Balin 's tomb and his colony's chronicle, the Book of Mazarbul . They were attacked there by a Troll and many Orcs, before being approached by

2014-845: The Beowulf dragon . Dragons appear in the early stories of The Book of Lost Tales , including the mechanical war-dragons of The Fall of Gondolin . Tolkien went on to create Smaug, a powerful and terrifying adversary, in The Hobbit . Dragons are only mentioned in passing in The Lord of the Rings . Tolkien's conception of the dragon has been adopted both in games loosely based on his Middle-earth writings, and by other fantasy authors. Several taxa have been named after Tolkien's dragons, including both extinct and living species. Several taxa , including girdled lizards, shield bugs, and ants, carry

2120-616: The Beowulf dragon . The folklorist Sandra Unerman writes that Smaug's ability to speak, the use of riddles, the element of betrayal, his enemy's communication via birds, and his weak spot could all have been inspired by the talking Germanic dragon Fafnir of the Völsunga saga . The scholar of Icelandic literature Ármann Jakobsson writes that with the encounter with Smaug, the story in The Hobbit becomes "more unexpected, entangled, ambiguous , and political". He argues that Tolkien

2226-687: The Dwarves , and his son Frór were killed by a "Cold-drake", prompting their people to leave the Grey Mountains. It is commonly assumed that this indicates a dragon which could not breathe fire. Dragon-fire (even that of Ancalagon the Black) is described as not being hot enough to melt the One Ring ; however, four of the Dwarven Rings are consumed by Dragon-fire. All Tolkien's dragons share

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2332-659: The Lonely Mountain and the Mines of Moria." Moria first appeared in Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit . Tolkien later recalled that the name was "a casual 'echo' of Soria Moria Castle in one of the Scandinavian tales translated by Dasent . ... I liked the sound-sequence; it alliterated with 'mines', and it connected itself with the MOR element in my linguistic construction ." The tales translated by Dasent were from

2438-654: The One Ring , giving him control of all the other rings, the War of the Elves and Sauron broke out. Sauron conquered Eregion, but Khazad-dûm's intervention enabled Elves including Elrond and Celeborn to escape Eregion's destruction and found Rivendell . 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. In

2544-500: The Silvan Elves of Lothlórien , many of whom fled the "Nameless Terror". From this time Khazad-dûm was known as Moria , Sindarin for "Black Pit" or "Black Chasm". For another 500 years, Moria was left to the Balrog; though according to Unfinished Tales , Orcs crept in soon after the Dwarves were driven out, leading to Nimrodel's flight. Sauron began to put his plans for war into effect, and he sent Orcs and Trolls to

2650-537: The War of Wrath , the battle that ended the First Age . Some dragons, known as "Fire-drakes" ("Urulóki" in Quenya ), are capable of breathing fire. It is not entirely clear whether the "Urulóki" were only the first dragons such as Glaurung that could breathe fire but were wingless, or to any dragon that could breathe fire, and thus include Smaug. In Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings , Tolkien mentions that Dáin I, King of

2756-457: The War of the Ring loomed, a messenger from Sauron offered Dáin the return of Moria and three Dwarf-Rings if he helped Sauron to find the One Ring . Dáin refused, sending Glóin and his son Gimli to the Council of Elrond , starting the quest of the Fellowship of the Ring . The Fellowship reluctantly passed through Moria in winter, gambling that most of its Orcs had been killed in

2862-615: The War of the Ring , crucial in The Scouring of the Shire , came from this hoard. Smaug was the last named dragon of Middle-earth. He was slain by Bard , a descendant of Girion, Lord of Dale. A deadly winged fire-breathing dragon, he was red-gold in colour and his underbelly was encrusted with many gemstones from the treasure-pile he commonly slept upon once he had taken control of Erebor (the Lonely Mountain). The Arkenstone

2968-536: The biblical mountains of Moriah , where Abraham was to sacrifice his son, Isaac . Tolkien wrote that his mind did not work that way, explaining that Moria meant "Black Chasm" in Sindarin , the root Mor occurring in Mordor , Morgoth , Morgul . He went on "As for the 'land of Morīah' (note stress): that has no connection (even 'externally') whatsoever." Peter Jackson 's portrayal of Moria in his The Lord of

3074-599: The 1852 collection Norwegian Folktales . A historic source is the Poetic Edda , with which Tolkien was familiar; the protagonist in the Skírnismál notes that his quest will involve misty mountains, orcs , and giants. The Tolkien scholar Jane 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-buried mithril . She identifies this as "their internal vice", which

3180-418: The 1940s, when Tolkien began writing The Lord of the Rings , he had come to think of Balrog as Noldorin balch 'cruel' + rhaug 'demon', with a Quenya equivalent Malarauko (from nwalya- 'to torture' + rauko 'demon'). The last etymology , appearing in the invented languages Quendi and Eldar , derives Balrog as the Sindarin translation of the Quenya form Valarauko (Demon of Might). This etymology

3286-516: The Anglo-Saxons would have had a word with this meaning, conjecturing that it had formerly had a different meaning. He emended the word to Sigelhearwan , and in his essay " Sigelwara Land ", explored in detail the two parts of the word. He stated that Sigel meant "both sun and jewel ", the former as it was the name of the Sun rune *sowilō (ᛋ), the latter connotation from Latin sigillum ,

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3392-527: The Balrog "monstrously projects". Chance notes further that Balin meets his death at the lake Mirrormere, "a very dark mirror in which he is blind to himself." The scholar Clive Tolley notes that the contest between the wizard Gandalf and the evil Balrog on Durin's Bridge somewhat recalls a shamanistic contest but that a far closer parallel is medieval vision literature, giving the example of St Patrick's Purgatory and even Dante 's Divine Comedy . Scholars such as Chance and Jerram Barrs have recognised

3498-489: The Balrog fled into the primordial tunnels of Moria's underworld. Gandalf pursued the monster for eight days, until they climbed to the peak of Zirakzigil , where the Balrog was forced to turn and fight, its body erupting into new flame. Here they fought for two days and nights. In the end, the Balrog was defeated and cast down, breaking the mountainside where it fell "in ruin". Gandalf himself died shortly afterwards, but he returned to Middle-earth with greater powers, as Gandalf

3604-534: The Balrog from Middle Earth, but he is a sort of fire demon." Early Dungeons & Dragons books featured Balrogs among other Middle-earth characters like Hobbits and Ents ; after a lawsuit brought by the Tolkien Estate , these Tolkien-specific names were changed, the Balrogs becoming Balor, after the one-eyed monster of Irish mythology . A now-defunct fantasy writing prize, the Balrog Award ,

3710-471: The Balrog in The Lord of the Rings . An early list of names described Balrog as "an Orc-word with no pure equivalent in Tolkien's invented language of Quenya : 'borrowed Malaroko-' ". In Gnomish (another of Tolkien's invented languages), Balrog is parsed as balc 'cruel' + graug 'demon', with a Quenya equivalent Malkarauke . Variant forms of the latter include Nalkarauke and Valkarauke . By

3816-516: The Balrog on the narrow bridge in Moria to "correct the behavior of the self-serving Byrhtnoth through the actions of the self-less Gandalf". Bruce notes that the Tolkien scholar Janet Brennan Croft also contrasts the two leaders. There are multiple parallels between the Fall of Gondolin and the fall of Troy , as told in the Iliad , but again the tales differ. The Elf Ecthelion leads the charge against

3922-634: The Balrog" and contributed to the Silmarils , which combined the nature of the sun and jewels. The Aethiopians suggested to Tolkien the Haradrim , a dark southern race of men. A real-world etymological counterpart for the word "Balrog" existed long before Tolkien's languages, in Norse mythology ; an epithet of the Norse god Odin was Báleygr , "fire-eyed". Joe Abbott, writing in Mythlore , notes that

4028-454: The Balrog, taking a different route, caught up with them at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm . The Elf Legolas instantly recognized the Balrog and Gandalf tried to hold the bridge against it. As Gandalf faced the Balrog, he proclaimed, "You cannot pass, flame of Udûn !", and broke the bridge beneath the Balrog. As it fell, the Balrog wrapped its whip about Gandalf's knees, dragging him to the brink. As

4134-630: 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. 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

4240-528: The Balrogs fled into hiding. When Melkor returned to Middle-earth from Valinor , he was attacked by the evil giant spider Ungoliant ; his scream drew the Balrogs out of hiding to his rescue. Tolkien's conception of Balrogs changed over time. In all his early writing, they are numerous. A host of a thousand is mentioned in the Quenta Silmarillion , while at the storming of Gondolin Balrogs in

4346-835: 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. The Dutch composer Johan de Meij wrote

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4452-441: The Dwarf-King of Khazad-dûm, whereafter it was called Durin's Bane by the Dwarves. Avarice , principally for mithril , drove the dwarves to go too deep and awaken the Balrog. The Dwarves attempted to fight the Balrog, but its power was far too great for them. In their efforts to hold Khazad-dûm against it, many Dwarves were killed: Durin's successor Náin ruled for only a year. The survivors were forced to flee. This disaster reached

4558-433: The Fellowship looked on in horror, Gandalf cried "Fly, you fools!" and plunged into the darkness below. After a long fall, the two crashed into a deep subterranean lake, which extinguished the flames of the Balrog's body; however it remained "a thing of slime, stronger than a strangling snake". They fought in the water; the Balrog clutched at Gandalf to strangle him, and Gandalf hewed the Balrog with his sword , until finally

4664-400: The Fellowship nears Moria. The caves of Moria, where the Dwarf 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 a crown glittering above his head , Durin took this as an auspicious sign, named the lake Kheled-zâram ,

4770-482: The First Hall of Moria. The West-gate enabled travellers to pass right through the Misty 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." The Doors of Durin, also called

4876-406: 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". 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

4982-425: The Hosts, he is in command of the Storming of Gondolin . He is about to kill Tuor when Ecthelion of the Fountain, a Noldorin Elf-lord, intervenes. Gothmog fights Ecthelion in single combat, and they kill each other. In The Book of Lost Tales , Tolkien describes Kosomot , the original version of Gothmog, as a son of Morgoth and the ogress Fluithuin or Ulbandi. Gothmog is Sindarin for "Dread Oppressor". Kosomot

5088-433: The Hosts. In the Second Battle, Dagor-nuin-Giliath , he leads a force that ambushes Fëanor and wounds him mortally. He leads Balrogs, Orc -hosts, and Dragons as Morgoth's commander in the field in the Fifth Battle, Nírnaeth Arnoediad, and slays Fingon, High King of the Noldor . In that same battle, he captures Húrin of Dor-lómin, who had slain his personal guard of Battle- trolls , and brings him to Angband. As Marshal of

5194-404: The House of Fëanor . Tolkien's drawing of the designs on the Doors of Durin was the only illustration in The 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 to open the doors . When the Fellowship entered, the Watcher in the Water , the aquatic guardian of the gates, slammed

5300-449: The Jackson movies, the Balrog uses its wings to fly into the air, and comes crashing down, sending a damaging shockwave of flames at the player. In another game based on Jackson's movies, The Lord of the Rings: Conquest , the Balrog is a playable hero. A Balrog features in King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard 's 2017 album Murder of the Universe (2017) as a giant reanimated monster. Songwriter Stu Mackenzie explained: "It might not be

5406-413: The Lord of Eregion, used ithildin lettering on this gate on behalf of its builder, his friend the dwarf smith Narvi . In the Second 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 was Nenya , made from Moria's mithril ; it became Galadriel 's ring. When the elves discovered that Sauron , the Dark Lord had made

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5512-426: The Mines of Moria and kill a Balrog. Moria is featured in board games such as Reiner Knizia's Lord of the Rings . The first expansion pack of the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online named Mines 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

5618-422: The Mirrormere, and chose the eastward-facing caves above it for his new stronghold. The Dwarves excavated most of Khazad-dûm out of solid rock, leaving polished walls. Minerals included gold , gems and iron ore . However the principal mineral was mithril , a fabulously precious and versatile metal found nowhere else in Middle-earth. It was the source of Khazad-dûm's huge wealth, but ultimately its mining

5724-444: The Misty Mountains to bar the passes. During the reign of Thráin II , the Dwarves attempted to retake Moria in the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, culminating in the Battle of Azanulbizar before the eastern gate of Moria. This was a victory for the Dwarves, but the Balrog prevented them from reoccupying Moria. Dáin II Ironfoot , having slain the Orc Azog near the gate, perceived the terror of the Balrog within and warned Thráin that Moria

5830-422: The Old Norse Voluspa mentions that the fire-demon Surt carries both a sword and a sviga laevi , a deadly whipping-stick or switch; he suggests that it is "a short step" from that to the Balrog's flaming whip. Abbott makes a connection, too, with the Beowulf poet's account of the monster Grendel : he notes that Tolkien wrote that Grendel was "physical enough in form and power, but vaguely felt as belonging to

5936-411: The Orcs, and fights Gothmog, the greatest Balrog; they wound each other and both fall into the king's fountain in Gondolin; both drown. Bruce compares this to how Aeneas rallies the Trojans, but fails, and sees king Priam perish. The Balrog in Ralph Bakshi 's 1978 animated version was named Durin's Bane and had large wings like those of a bat. Peter Jackson 's 2001 and 2002 films The Fellowship of

6042-402: The Ring and The Two Towers had similar wings, expressing its "satanic, demonic nature". Earlier artists such as Ted Nasmith had depicted Balrogs without wings; Jackson's films used the design of Tolkien illustrator John Howe , making wings standard, in the same way that Jackson has made pointed ears standard for elves. A Balrog appears in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power , with

6148-451: The Rings , encountered by the Company of the Ring in the Mines of Moria . It survived the defeat of Morgoth in the War of Wrath , escaping to hide beneath the Misty Mountains . For more than five millennia, the Balrog remained in its deep hiding place at the roots of Caradhras , one of the Mountains of Moria , until in the Third Age , the mithril -miners of the Dwarf -kingdom of Khazad-dûm disturbed it. The Balrog killed Durin VI ,

6254-411: The Rings , some further indications of Tolkien's evolving conceptions appear, as when A figure strode to the fissure, no more than man-high yet terror seemed to go before it. They could see the furnace-fire of its eyes from afar; its arms were very long; it had a red [?tongue]. At this writing Tolkien contemplated an edict of the Valar concerning Balrogs, having Gandalf challenge the Balrog by saying "It

6360-415: The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie was mostly inspired by Alan Lee 's illustrations. Lee worked as the project's conceptual artist in New Zealand throughout the making of the film trilogy. Moria was modelled for the film at 1/12 scale. The roguelike computer game Moria was modelled on The Lord of the Rings events. The goal in the game is to reach the bottom of a maze-like simulation of

6466-499: The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring , inspired by Alan 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", from Sindarin mor , "dark, black" and iâ , "void, abyss". The element mor had the sense "sinister, evil", especially by association with infamous names such as Morgoth and Mordor ; indeed Moria itself had an evil reputation by

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6572-400: The Third Age, the more easily accessible seams of mithril were exhausted, and the Dwarves dug deeper until they disturbed a Balrog , 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 into Wilderland . Orcs occupied Moria, while the Balrog haunted its depths. The Orc-chieftain Azog became

6678-412: 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. Tolkien was asked whether the name Moria meant

6784-400: 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 in ithildin made by the elf-Lord Celebrimbor of Eregion and the dwarf Narvi from mithril mined in Moria. The designs included the emblems of Durin, the two trees of the High Elves, and the Star of

6890-401: The White , "until his task was finished". Critics such as Jerram Barrs have recognised this as a transfiguration similar to that of Jesus Christ , suggesting Gandalf's prophet-like status . The critic Clive Tolley notes that the contest between Gandalf and the Balrog on Durin's bridge somewhat recalls a shamanistic contest, but that a far closer parallel is medieval vision literature, giving

6996-481: The White. Khazad-dûm lay empty. Some centuries into the Fourth Age , the auspiciously-named Durin VII, a descendant of Dáin Ironfoot , succeeded as the King of the Longbeards and heir of the Kings of Khazad-dûm. 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". The city of Khazad-dûm had many levels, linked by flights of stone steps. There were at least six levels above

7102-439: The army of the godlike Valar , Morgoth sent Ancalagon to lead a flight of dragons from his fortress of Angband to destroy his enemies. So powerful was the assault that the army of the Valar was driven back from the gates of Angband. Eärendil in his airborne ship Vingilot , aided by Thorondor and his great Eagles , battled Ancalagon's dragons for an entire day. At length Eärendil gained the upper hand, throwing Ancalagon down on

7208-402: The awakening of the Orcs and the Balrog by the hobbit Pippin. The scholar of English literature Charles A. Huttar compares this "clashing gate" that crashed shut behind the travellers to the Wandering Rocks that in Greek mythology lie near the opening of the underworld , Hades , and, along with the monstrous Watcher in the Water, to Odysseus 's passage between the devouring Scylla and

7314-408: The beginnings of Arda , and, as Gandalf suggested, from this underworld the Watcher in the Water may have emerged. Moria was founded by Durin at the end of the Ages 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

7420-446: The benefit of those listening (and in the same way, he must have seen "Eregion" and read out "Hollin"). In 1928, a 4th-century pagan mystery cult temple was excavated at Lydney Park , Gloucestershire. Tolkien was asked to investigate a Latin inscription there: "For the god Nodens . 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

7526-528: The creation of the World. Power of the order of Gandalf's was necessary to destroy them, as when Gandalf at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm tells the others "This is a foe beyond any of you." As Maiar, only the physical form of a Balrog could be destroyed. Tolkien says of the Valar and the Maiar that they can change their shape at will, and move unclad in the raiment of the world , meaning invisible and without form. But it seems that Morgoth, Sauron, and their associated Maiar could lose this ability: Morgoth, for example,

7632-705: The death of Gandalf the Grey (at the hands of the Balrog), and his reappearance as Gandalf the White, as a transfiguration , the change in colour hinting at "a parallel with Christ 's own death and resurrection ". The professor of English literature Sue Zlosnik notes that the fantasy world in Tolkien's invented mythology for England is constructed with elaborate detail. She cites Humphrey 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

7738-537: The devouring Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis . 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 a baptism , a ceremony that combines a symbolic death and the gift of new life. Moria provided dramatic scenes in Peter Jackson 's film The Lord of

7844-534: The difference, saying that in earlier versions they were "less terrible and certainly more destructible". He quotes a very late marginal note that was not incorporated into the text saying "at most seven" ever existed; though in the Annals of Aman , written as late as 1958, Melkor still commands "a host of Balrogs". In later writings they ceased to be creatures, but are instead Maiar , lesser Ainur like Gandalf or Sauron , spirits of fire whom Melkor had corrupted before

7950-520: The doors shut with its tentacles, plunging the Fellowship into darkness. The inscription was in the Elvish language of Sindarin , using the Tengwar script; 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". Scholars have commented that "Moria", an unfriendly Elvish description meaning "The Black Pit",

8056-696: The dragons in the Legendarium , the winged dragons had not yet been devised by Morgoth at the time of the Fall of Gondolin. The first winged dragons appeared at the same time as Ancalagon the Black. In the late Third Age , the dragons bred in the Northern Waste and Withered Heath north of the Grey Mountains. In Tolkien's works, dragons are quadrupedal , and may be either flightless, like Glaurung, or winged, like Smaug . Winged dragons first appeared during

8162-541: The earliest drafts of " The Fall of Gondolin ", the Lost Tale that is the basis for The Silmarillion , the Dark Lord Morgoth (here called Melkor ) sends mechanical war-machines in the form of dragons against the city; some serve as transport for Orcs . These do not appear in the published Silmarillion , edited by Christopher Tolkien , in which real dragons attack the city. As in the later conception of

8268-484: The end of the First Age. He was buried in the royal tombs of Khazad-dûm. Orcs constantly attacked the dwarf kingdom; men and dwarves fought together against the orcs. The dwarves became friendly with the Elves of Eregion 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, which opened on to Eregion. Celebrimbor ,

8374-481: The example of St Patrick's Purgatory , and even Dante 's Divine Comedy . The name "Balrog", but not the meaning, emerges early in Tolkien's work: it appears in The Fall of Gondolin , one of the earliest texts Tolkien wrote, around 1918. Tolkien began a poem in alliterative verse about the battle of Glorfindel with the Balrog in that text, where both were killed by falling into the abyss, just like Gandalf and

8480-494: The hundreds ride on the backs of the Dragons . They are roughly of twice human size, and were rarely killed in battle. They were fierce demons, associated with fire, armed with fiery whips of many thongs and claws like steel, and Morgoth delighted in using them to torture his captives. In the published version of The Lord of the Rings , however, Balrogs became altogether more sinister and more powerful. Christopher Tolkien notes

8586-534: 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 by Dáin Ironfoot , but the victory was Pyrrhic , and the Dwarves did not dare face the Balrog. Much later, Balin left Erebor to recolonize Moria, but after five years his colony was destroyed by Orcs. As

8692-526: The mythology in The Silmarillion , the evil Vala Melkor , later called "Morgoth", corrupted lesser Maiar (angelic beings) to his service, as Balrogs, in the days of his splendour before the making of Arda . After the awakening of the Elves , the Valar captured Melkor and destroyed his fortresses Utumno and Angband . But they overlooked the deepest pits, where, with many of Melkor's other allies,

8798-593: The name Smaug . Dragons are already present in The Book of Lost Tales . Tolkien had been fascinated with dragons since childhood. As well as "dragon", Tolkien called them "drake" (from Old English draca , in turn from Latin draco and Greek δράκων ), and "worm" (from Old English wyrm , "serpent", "dragon"). Tolkien named four dragons in his Middle-earth writings. Like the Old Norse dragon Fafnir , they are able to speak, and can be subtle of speech. In

8904-544: The name "Balrog", providing an in-universe etymology for it as a word in his invented Sindarin language. He may have gained the idea of a fire demon from his philological study of the Old English word Sigelwara , which he studied in detail in the 1930s. Balrogs appear in the film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings by Ralph Bakshi and Peter Jackson , in the streaming series The Rings of Power , and in computer and video games based on Middle-earth . According to

9010-666: The peaks of Thangorodrim , destroying both Ancalagon and the towers. With his last and mightiest defender slain, Morgoth was defeated and made captive, thus ending the War of Wrath. Scatha was a mighty "long-worm" of the Grey Mountains . Little is known of Scatha except that he was slain by Fram in the early days of the Éothéod , the ancestors of the Riders of Rohan . Scatha's name was likely taken from Anglo-Saxon sceaða , "injurious person, criminal, thief, assassin". After slaying Scatha, Fram's ownership of his recovered hoard

9116-529: The power of any attack. Moria lay on the western edge of the Middle-earth region of Wilderland . The Mountains of Moria, three of the Misty Mountains' most massive peaks, surrounded Dimrill Dale: Silvertine on the west, Redhorn on the north, and Cloudyhead on the east – in Sindarin respectively Celebdil , Caradhras and Fanuidhol . Their Khuzdûl names, respectively Zirakzigil , Barazinbar and Bundushathûr , are mentioned by Gimli, as

9222-488: The protagonist Túrin Turambar 's eventual suicide before being slain by him. Glaurung is shown to use his ability to control and enslave Men using his mind to wipe the memory of Túrin's sister Nienor, though it was restored after Glaurung had perished. He is described as having four legs and the ability to breathe fire, but no wings. Ancalagon the Black ( Sindarin : rushing jaws from anc "jaw", and alag "impetuous" )

9328-507: The summit of Celebdil; it was destroyed in the battle between Gandalf and the balrog, Durin's Bane . During the kingdom of Khazad-dûm, the subterranean realm was "full of light and splendour", illuminated by many " shining lamps of crystal ". The higher levels had skylights carved through the mountain-side which provided daylight. The East-gate or the Dimrill Gate was the main entrance, looking over Dimrill Dale . It opened into

9434-580: The temple of Nodens." An old name for the place was Dwarf's Hill, and in 1932 Tolkien traced Nodens to the Irish hero Nuada Airgetlám , "Nuada of the Silver-Hand". The Tolkien scholar Tom 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. The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia notes also the "Hobbit-like appearance of [Dwarf's Hill]'s mine-shaft holes", and that Tolkien

9540-466: The times in which The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set. The name Moria had (within the fiction) originally applied only to the Black Chasm itself. However, after the Dwarves were forced to abandon Khazad-dûm, its many lamps went out, and the whole subterranean complex became dark. Tolkien borrowed the name Moria itself, but not its meaning, from a book he had read. Khazad-dûm

9646-479: The western and the eastern sides of the mountain range. Moria is introduced in Tolkien's novel The Hobbit , and is a major scene of action in The Lord of the Rings . In much of Middle-earth's fictional history , Moria was the greatest city of the Dwarves . The city's wealth was founded on its mines, which produced mithril , a fictional metal of great beauty and strength, suitable for armour. The Dwarves dug too greedily and too deep for mithril , and disturbed

9752-456: The whimsical draco timidus ("timid dragon") of contemporary children's literature." Thus, Honegger concludes, Tolkien's "good dragons" admit their mythical ancestry but are at the same time recognisably modern characters. When Iron Crown Enterprises gained the licensing rights for games made from Tolkien's books, they expanded the selection of named dragons beyond the Middle-earth canon in both Middle-earth Role Playing and The Wizards ,

9858-665: The whirlpool Charybdis . Matthew Dickerson , writing in The 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". He writes that these dark places, home to many of the major events in the stories, from the Paths of the Dead to Gollum 's various tunnels and the Glittering Caves of Aglarond serve as symbols of darkness and death,

9964-554: Was a dark form, of man-shape maybe, yet greater". Though previously the Balrog had entered the "large square chamber" of Mazarbul, at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm it "drew itself to a great height, and its wings spread from wall to wall" in the vast hall. The Balrog's size and shape, therefore, are not given precisely. When Gandalf threw it from the peak of Zirakzigil , the Balrog "broke the mountain-side where he smote it in his ruin". Whether Balrogs had wings (and if so, whether they could fly)

10070-463: Was a dragon bred by Morgoth during the First Age, as told in The Silmarillion . He was one of Morgoth's most powerful servants, the mightiest of all dragons, and the first of the winged "fire-drakes". He arose like a storm from the pits of Angband beneath the Iron Mountains , as a last defence of the realm of Dor Daedeloth . Near the end of the War of Wrath that pitted Morgoth's armies against

10176-462: Was buried right in the pile he slept on, but Smaug never noticed it. Smaug had only a single weakness: there was a hole in his jewel encrusted underbelly on his left breast area. The hobbit Bilbo Baggins discovered this weakness, and the information led to Smaug's death above Esgaroth . Tolkien's dragons were inspired by medieval stories, including those about Fafnir in Germanic mythology and

10282-627: Was effectively translating the subtext of his Old Norse sources, creating in his dragon a far more subtle, uncanny, and frightening monster than those in the earlier, more or less unconnected, travel narrative episodes. The use of dragons as an allegorical device lasted until the early 20th century. Tolkien makes clear that he prefers the actual dragon, draco (just meaning "dragon" in Latin ), to any kind of abstract or moralising usage, which Tolkien names draconitas . The Tolkien scholar Thomas Honegger notes that Tolkien pointed out that "a 'good dragon'

10388-616: 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". 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

10494-470: 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

10600-427: Was named after the monsters. The Japanese novel series Restaurant to Another World introduces a Balrog as a butler; this Balrog is described as polite. Dragons in Middle-earth J. R. R. Tolkien 's Middle-earth legendarium features dragons based on those of European legend, but going beyond them in having personalities of their own, such as the wily Smaug , who has features of both Fafnir and

10706-660: 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 the Swiss Alps in 1911. 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". It forced any group wishing to cross to go in single file, limiting

10812-492: Was published in The Silmarillion . Gandalf on the bridge of Khazad-dûm calls the Balrog "flame of Udûn" ( the Sindarin name of Morgoth's fortress Utumno ). Tolkien was a professional philologist , a scholar of comparative and historical linguistics . The Balrog and other concepts in his writings derived from the Old English word Sigelwara , used in texts such as the Codex Junius to mean "Aethiopian". He wondered why

10918-488: 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. Far below even the deepest mines of the Dwarves lay a primordial underworld of tunnels, streams and lakes in perpetual darkness, inhabited by primitive creatures. The tunnels were "gnawed by nameless things" from

11024-493: Was then disputed by the Dwarves of that region. Fram rebuked this claim, sending them instead Scatha's teeth, with the words, "Jewels such as these you will not match in your treasuries, for they are hard to come by." This led to his death in a feud with the Dwarves. The Éothéod retained at least some of the hoard, and brought it south with them when they settled in Rohan . The silver horn that Éowyn gave to Merry Brandybuck after

11130-413: Was unable to heal his burns from the Silmarils or wounds from Fingolfin and the eagle Thorondor; and Sauron lost his ability to assume a fair-seeming form after his physical body was destroyed in the downfall of Númenor . Tolkien does not address this specifically for Balrogs, though in his later conception, as at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, the Balrog appears "like a great shadow, in the middle of which

11236-506: Was unachievable until some greater force could remove the Balrog. The Dwarves departed and resumed their exile. Despite Dáin's warning, Balin made another attempt to retake Moria. His party managed to start a colony, but was massacred a few years later. The Fellowship of the Ring travelled through Moria on the quest to destroy the One Ring in Mount Doom . They were attacked in the Chamber of Mazarbul by Orcs. The Fellowship fled through

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